Overview

• CDU/CSU and SPD back the bill to abolish the accelerated three-year route, with the vote scheduled in the Bundestag on Wednesday.
• The regular pathway allowing citizenship after five years remains in place, and liberalized dual-citizenship rules are unchanged.
• Nationwide uptake of the fast-track path was very small, reportedly under one percent of cases, while Berlin was a notable outlier.
• Berlin’s Landesamt für Einwanderung reports 27,055 naturalizations from January to August and projects up to 40,000 for 2025 as it processes a large backlog digitally.
• The Interior Ministry says there is no statutory transition for pending three-year applications and advises Länder to pause such cases, as debate also turns to implementing the EU asylum reform.