The chairman of the Turkish community in Germany, Gökay Sofuoglu, expects a sharp increase in naturalization applications after the new citizenship law comes into force on Thursday. “People have now internalized that there will be dual citizenship,” he told the newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). “And many are now submitting an application as quickly as possible.”
He expects “50,000 applications per year,” Sofuoglu continued. “That seems realistic to me.” However, the processing will take time. In many cities, it is difficult to even get an appointment at the immigration office.
Many applicants have in mind that they will be able to take part in the federal election next year after naturalization, said Sofuoglu.
“I therefore appeal to the parties to realise that the applicants are potential voters,” he said. “If you want to win them over, you have to implement appropriate policies. This includes creating more opportunities for participation within the parties – and seriously combating racism.”
However, the chairman of the Kurdish community in Germany, Ali Ertan Toprak, sees criticism of the law: “I think the law is wrong in this form,” he told the RND. “Because I don’t want anti-Semites, Turkish nationalists and Islamists to get German passports. We already have enough Nazis in this country.”
Toprak made it clear that he had “made a cut from the third generation of guest workers onwards”. After all, children born in Germany should identify with this country. “The way the law is now, at some point there will only be dual citizens,” said Toprak.
According to the new citizenship law, which comes into force on June 27, immigrants can obtain German citizenship more quickly. Naturalization is now possible after five years instead of the previous eight, and in cases of “special integration efforts” even after three years. Multiple citizenship is generally permitted.
