Overview

• Since 2021, 66,366 Syrian nationals have been naturalized in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to the state statistics office.
• Syrians now form the second-largest foreign-nationality group in NRW, totaling about 288,000 residents by the end of 2024.
• Germany recorded a nationwide high of 291,955 naturalizations in 2024, up 46 percent year over year, with Syrians accounting for 28 percent.
• The June 2024 law cut the standard residency requirement to five years, enabled three-year fast tracks for special integration achievements, and generally allowed dual nationality.
• Syrian residents are concentrated in the Ruhr area, with over 125,000 people (43.5 percent of NRW’s Syrian population), led by counts in Essen, Dortmund, Kreis Recklinghausen, Wuppertal and Bochum.