By guest author Katie Kruse

Citizenship application sent off? Then it’s time to hit the books!

Brexit is still looming; come Hallowe’en, the ghosts and ghouls won’t be the only thing making you quiver with fright. Lucky for you Brits, 31^st October is still a way off, which means you can still get your citizenship application in before Britain departs from the EU for good.

If you read my blog post German Citizenship: Six Tips for Skittish Brits, then you may have already taken the first vital step towards citizenship; you’ve been to the Einbürgerungsamt and have made your initial application. You took all your papers home and diligently filled them out, you made photocopy after photocopy and tried very hard not to smile for your future passport photo, you sent everything off in a thick, padded envelope, you checked and double-checked the address, you registered for your citizenship test and as you play the waiting game for your application to go through the Senate, you have plenty of time to cram for your upcoming exam, the Einbürgerungstest.

What to Expect from the Einbürgerungstest

• The citizenship test contains 33 multiple choice questions.
• Themes covered in the test are; Living in Democracy, History and Responsibility, and People and Society. 30 of the questions asked relate to these themes and a further three relate to the specific Federal State you live in.
• You have 60 minutes to complete the test and you will need a minimum of 17 correct answers in order to pass.
• If you fail, you can repeat it.
• It costs 25 EUR to take the test and you can sit it at most Volkshochschule
• The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has an online test centre, which is the best place for you to practice.

Things to remember

• You can only register for your test in person – take your passport with you when you do
• You also need to take your passport with you to your exam
• A classic: don’t forget to take a pen, and possibly a back-up pen. I can almost guarantee you that somebody will have forgotten their pen, or will have a broken pen, and someone else will have brought seven pens along for the ride. It’s a nice social experiment.
• You may have to wait. When I registered in November 2018, there was a six-week wait to sit the test itself, and having completed it, a further two weeks before receiving my results certificate. Here are the next available dates at your local Volkshochschule.

Allzeit bereit! With a good few weeks to wait, you’ll have plenty of time,  so prepare to ace your test!