This post is written by guest blogger and interpreter Suzanne Fischer.
Fellow Brits, this post is written with you in mind. Have you lived in Germany for 6+ years? Do you speak terrific German? You have the chance to gain German citizenship earlier than the usual 8-year period of unbroken residency. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to retain your status as a European with dual nationality. No promises, of course – it’s all dependent on providing a stack of extra documentation.
The key is proving that you are especially well-integrated in terms of your command of the German language. This could be by having a master’s degree from a German higher education institution or a language certificate for C1 German or above. You would then qualify to apply for citizenship earlier than usual.
If you’ve been in Germany 8+ years, then you have the right to become a citizen at any time, with far fewer documents than I am about to describe below, BUT your right to dual nationality depends on the reciprocal agreement between Germany and your home country at the time that you submit your application.
“Einbürgern” – How to do it
Much paper.
Documents with your name on them
Your birth certificate, any official documentation on name changes such as marriage certificates or deed poll all need to be translated by a state-certified translator. These sorts of translations also get called sworn translations, certified translations, legalised translations or official translations. The translator will do a very pretty fancy-pants job using the exact formatting of the certificate you send them as a PDF. It will be translated, stapled and stamped over the top. If you use Red Tape Translation to do this for you, then it can all be done by uploading the PDFs online and the translated document/s will be posted directly to your address a few days afterwards.
Cost – varies, around €40 for one page incl. postage
Time: fast < 1week
Proof of German language skills
If you have super German skills, but no official documentation, book a ‘Sprachtest zur Einbürgerung’ through the berlin.de website. It’s a 45-minute test, consisting of 30 minutes reading and 15 minutes speaking.
Cost – €25
Waiting time to take the test – currently 8 weeks
Einbürgerungsprüfung – Citizenship test
!News flash! – I had been holding off on submitting my naturalisation application because I was waiting for my certificate from the Einbürgerungstest to arrive – don’t do this! You don’t need to wait! This is the one document that can be submitted later, after you’ve paid. I did my exam in mid-December 2018 in Pankow at the Prenzlauer Berg Volkshochschule and the certificate finally arrived at the beginning of February. The current waiting time to receive the certificate is 9-10 weeks. so this was earlier than expected.
The exam itself was quite exciting, in a classic old German state building where it’s all very ernst and serious. Someone’s phone went off during the exam and hilariously (or not), they were almost banned from ever taking another official test in Germany!
The Einbürgerungstest can be taken in most Bezirke / districts in Berlin, booked through the berlin.de website, it doesn’t need to be in the Bezirk where you live. The exam is certified by BAMF (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge). Studying involves learning 300 general questions and 30 extra questions specific to the part of Germany in which you take the test. The test itself is reduced down to 33 questions, 30 from the general questions and 3 related to your Kantone (Berlin in my case). Some questions seem silly and obvious, some check your understanding of language nuance, and some you simply have to learn by rote: dates, political structure and important historical events. The pass mark is 17/33 and there is an app to help you study. Or you can have a go at all 300+ questions online.
Cost – €25
Time – 6 weeks wait for test + 10 weeks wait for certificate = 4 months
Then…
…everyone’s case is different from hereon in.
It’s time to schedule your ‘Erstberatung’/first advice session at the Einbürgerungsbehörde/Staatsangehörigkeitsbehörde for your Bezirk/district. Without this meeting, you can’t get the official form to start the process, and the forms are different in each Bezirk (and sometimes, even the requirements!!). You need to find out which office is responsible for your district, and a Google search to find your closest office is not as reliable as you’d think. I, for example live on the border of Pankow/Wedding so presumed my office would be in Wedding, but then I found out that Wedding is actually handled in Mitte – who knew?! Research this before spending hours queuing at the wrong Amt..
Once you know your district office, rest assured it is nigh on impossible to book an appointment online. Don’t be put off by this, but instead turn up in person about 30 mins before the doors open at your office. There will be specific opening times for citizenship applications.
I turned up at the Einbürgerungsbehörde for Mitte (cunningly located in Moabit…) about 15 mins before they opened on a Thursday afternoon. I joined the queue, which was remarkably quick. I made it into the first office within 30 minutes. There, they assessed my eligibility. Once they saw I was a Brit applying for German citizenship at the 6 year+ mark (i.e. earlier than usual), they gave me an appointment for an Erstberatung on the same day. I waited for another half an hour to be seen.
More Documents
Everyone is asked to provide:
- – Birth certificate + certified translation
- – All documents to do with name changes + certified translations
- – Einbürgerungstest certificate (can be submitted later)
- – Rental agreement if renting – original contract plus proof of any changes to the monthly costs
Employees (angestellt) provide
- a work contract / pay slips / bank statements.
However, I’m a freelancer. So, I was also asked to submit:
- Proof of income for the past three months in the form of a ‘Formlosebescheinigung des Steuerberaters’ – a stamped letter from my accountant stating what I earned after tax/insurance contributions.
Cost – €50-ish – my Steuerberater was kind
Time – 2 weeks
- A certificate from my Finanzamt stating that I pay my taxes promptly and that there are no arrears. The application form for the certificate is available online
Cost – €17.90
Time – received same-day when I visited the Finanzamt
- Proof of current freelance work
- contracts, receipts, invoices, bank statements, anything that confirmed I earn enough to support myself.
- Proof of 6 years worth of contributions to the German state pension (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) – this should be for the entirety of your residency in Germany. I was exempt from this for the time I was a Master’s student in Germany, so in addition, I had to provide
- All of my enrollment certificates (Immatrikulationsbescheinigung) for the duration of my studies
- A letter from my tertiary institution confirming that I was exempt from making these contributions during my studies
- Evidence of my contributions to the Deutsche Rentenversicherung. This proof can vary (e.g. Rentenverlauf). In my case, I submitted documents from the Künstlersozialkasse.
Don’t be intimidated by all this, it’s a faff, but it’s well worth it.
I am currently gathering the last one or two documents. I will then make sure I have a beautiful pile of photocopies, plus a copy of my receipt for a €255 processing fee I paid. Then I will return to the Einbürgerungsbehörde in Mitte to hand it in in person.
The total cost of my early Einbürgerung
approx. €600
I got confirmation of receipt by post 1-2 weeks after I submitted my application. With a request for more documents (don’t laugh, I’m not kidding!). My case worker asked me to prove that I remained a resident in Germany during my semester breaks while I was doing my master’s.
The GOOD NEWS is that the application was dated from the moment I handed it in with payment. So even if it then takes 12 months for them to process, the current law (at least until 31.10.19) still allows EU citizens to have dual nationality. It is therefore highly advisable to complete this process in the event of a no-deal scenario…
Good luck everyone!
Thanks for this great write up Suzy! I just had a few questions for you! I have lived in Berlin now for 10 years. My command of german isn’t great, I’d say I’m at A2! I just passed the einburgerungstest and only just found out about the simpler sprachtest I can do instead of a proper B1 telc exam. I just had a couple of questions for you!
1. Do I need to supply my original birth certificate or can i use a photocopy ?
2. Considering I’ve been here for 10 years (unbroken) do you think they would be lenient with me regarding my german skills?
3. I own my own flat here and also have paid years or tax, should I also supply that information too?
4. Could you supply a link to the form that I can download and fill out for citizenship?
Also just to recap all the things you need (if you have a full-time job and have not been freelancing) are:
1. Einburgerungstest certificate
2. Sprachtest certificate at B1
3. Birth Certificate – Translated
4. Work contracts for the time you have lived here
5. Proof of 6 years worth of pension contributions
6. Flat / Housing Contract
Hi TJ,
Thanks for commenting! Responding to your questions..
1. I supplied a certified copy of my birth certificate which I requested from the British government as I didn’t have the original. I think it cost me £30 or so and they posted it to me fairly quickly. I then had this translated by a Red Tape state-certified translator as they need each original document also in translation. I wouldn’t advise not having an original document, or state-issued copy to hand.
2. I’m sure your german is better than you think after10 years! B1 is the level they require for this, but that’s only one level different to what you already have and wouldn’t take you long to get your skills up. Be aware that your case worker’s assessment of your language skills at the appointment will very likely influence the proof you’ll have to provide.
3. Yes, in the same way that you supply your rent agreement, I imagine you would show the deeds for your property. Same goes for tax returns for the length of time you’ve been in Germany. NB. It could be you don’t need to supply any of these things as you have been there longer than 8 years. The post above is specifically for the more extensive information required if you are applying for german citizenship when living there for less than 8 years.
4. You receive the form that you need to fill out only at the stage of the ‘Erstberatung’/First Advisory Meeting at the Einbürgerungsbehörde (the form differs depending on where you live as each Bezirk has a different one (!!) ). So, as detailed above, you go with your passport and queue, once they see you have a British passport (I presume you do since you’re reading this article!) you’ll be given an appointment for an ‘Erstberatung’. At that stage the case worker will sit down with you and go through what you need to supply – It’s very much on a case-by-case basis.
Thanks for the recap you wrote! The complete info on the berlin.de website is here:
https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/318998/
The pension contributions for me needed to be for 6 years, because that’s how long I had been living in Germany for. So – as far as I understand it – for you it will be 10 years.
All the best and good luck!
Suzy
Hi there – When you write that you “only just found out about the simpler sprachtest I can do instead of a proper B1 telc exam.” – Could you possibly explain a bit more about this? It’s a bit confusing to me… I am applying in Baden-Württemberg, and they have told me that I can do the test wherever I want, but I need to prove my level is B1. Does the simpler one do this, and do you know if it’s ok for other states, or is this only Berlin? What exactly is the difference between ‘the simpler’ and ‘the TELC’ versions? Thanks!
Dear Anton,
Responding to your comment regarding what TJ wrote about language courses. I’m not sure just how different they are, but I think TJ meant that to take a B1 German exam is more intensive than the ‘Sprachtest zur Einbürgerung’ which is a shorter test at B1 level.
So, one is to see if you can answer questions at B1 level, and the other is taken upon completion of a B1 course and you get a language certificate at the end.
My feeling was that my case-worker was assessing my language skills during our Erstberatung and if she hadn’t have been satisfied, then she would have asked me for an additional certificate for language. It really is on a case-by-case basis and you won’t know for sure until you’ve been to the Einbürgerungsbehörde and asked for a first meeting/Erstberatung. They’ll then tell you when they’ve met you if you need to provide any further documentation.
Best,
Suzy
Thanks so much for your reply, which i’ve only just discovered! It’s still completely unclear to me if Ba-Wü does this shorter Sprachtest or if it’s just a Berlin thing. I was signed up to the full B1 TELC test but it was cancelled due to Coronavirus, along with my Einbürgerungstest. Hope things get fixed up soon as there’s only ’til the end of the transition period to hold onto double nationality… let’s hope that gets pushed back too.
Heyy Suzanne,
Can you update on the process afterwards? I mean you submitted the documents, they sent the confirmation letter asking for more documents. What after that, did you get your citizenship already?
Thanks, Maayish.
Hi Maayish,
Yes, I had to confirm one query (via post) and then without much a-do I had a letter a week or two later saying the process was complete, inviting me to the Rathaus responsible for my application to receive my citizenship. With that certificate/documentation I then went to appointments at my local Amt and have since applied and received my Personalausweis and Passport and was even invited to attend a celebratory evening for new citizens at the Berlin Parlament!
All in all, successful times.
Suzy
Hi Suzanne,
For people who changed their name in UK, and only new name is now displayed on UK passport, do you know what name appears on the german pass/personalatsweys after german einbuergerung?
I’ve been hearing conflicting info on this. Some say DE doesn’t recognise deed polls anyway, so it’s a waste of time and money getting them translated. You have to go around with UK passport (new name), DE passport old name.
Others say a UK name change is “kind of” recognised when you get eingebuergert, except that both old (geburtsname) and current names must be displayed on new DE pass.
In both cases, this means UK and DE passport names won’t exactly match, which is really quite offputting.
Hi Stace,
I’m not able to answer this with absolute certainty, only from my own personal experience. I have actually changed my own name long before Einbürgerung and it didn’t even occur to me that they could do what you mention above (and make a person use their birth name).
What I did was, I applied as my name is now (it is my name on my British passport, Anmeldung in Berlin, all official documents including tax, bank, insurance etc), and I included state-certified translations of my change of name deed from the UK, along with the state-certified translations of my birth certificate and my British passport as my ID. My name is Suzanne Fischer on everything, also on my (German) driving licence and there was a bit of discussion/comment about it at the appointment and observations from the Beamtin about how it is easier to change ones name in the UK than in Germany. But that was it.
I think… get all of your ducks in order and have absolutely NO risk that they think you’re using two names. Perhaps because my old surname is now a middle name they were more lenient.
I’m sorry I don’t have anything more definitive than my own experience to offer.
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks for the write-up.
I am planning to apply for citizenship as well. I have not taken Erstberatung yet. Could you tell me your experience of that meeting? What questions did you ask in that meeting? My case is a bit different. I have been living in Germany for already 6,5 years and I studied in German University for 3 years and then worked for the rest of the years. So my pension contribution is not 6 years even though I worked as a student during my Uni time.
Would you say that they have a strict rule on pension contribution? And I did not do tax return file, even though I was about to get some return. I think I can still do that for previous years. What would you recommend to have a smooth process?
Thanks!
Hi thank you for your post.
I have been trying to get an appointment for the Einbürgerung first appointment but there are none available on the calendar on the website. I called and they told me they are full. Do you know what I could do? Wait for a certain time or day when new appointments are released?
Just keep reloading the website and checking – something will come up eventually, but maybe give yourself a break from doing this too often while the public offices are all closed due to the pandemic.
Hi,
I’m not Brit, nor EU, but I’m also not required to give up my original nationality thanks to my home country making it a bit of a pain to give up. However, as I live in Prenzlauer Berg, I’m subject to the slowest of all Standesämter in Berlin: Pankow. Up until recently they only had 2 case workers. Now they finally got 2 more, but I guess corona either slowed things down with them (the average duration of the entire process was ALREADY 18 months – so said my case worker on my first consultation back in January 2019) or it just cleared the way for them to work with the cases already going on. I also applied making use of the shortened time for spouse/partner of German-born citizen. However they had my partner prove both his deceased father and grandfather were German as well (he was very WTF-ish about it, as he feels he doesn’t have to prove he is more or less German-born than any other German-born, but he was ok with it – despite us depending mostly on his 80-year old mother to hunt down some of these documents). I’m also a freelancer and I had to depend on my new Steuerberater to get me all the tax-related stuff from 2018. Bottom line is I only presented my application by LATE 2019. And they still insisted on some redundant documents: first my C1 certificate from a regular course (GLS) was no good, but I still have a B1 from Goethe; also I did study a master’s in political science in a German school, but it was in English, so they also almost didn’t want to waive the Integrationskurs (FFS!). I decided I wasn’t going to do any other language test and I wasn’t also going to put myself through an integration course and just went ahead and did the Einbürgerungstest and it did come faster than expected. As for my language, B1 is enough, according to the StAG. And the Einbürgerungstest should prove integration enough. It’s not like I come from an absurdly exotic country with radically different customs from christian Germany. It was really all the tax stuff from 2018 that held me back the most and then later they insisted on the father/grandfather documents from my partner AND my Master’s certificate – wait? wasn’t that pointless for not being in German? They kept changing the list of documents and it was really annoying, but since early this year I handed them EVERYTHING for either an application based on being spouse of a German or on my own for 6 years continued residency. And, in theory, shouldn’t they even be working faster with double the workforce and a strong decrease in appointments for new applications because of corona? But I have no clue about this last part. My current visa expires mid-2021. It would be perfect if I already didn’t have to go after another renewal due to my German citizenship having been already approved. Does anyone have any clue how things are going in the Standesamt Pankow?
No further insights, except that I know it’s slow, and I really enjoyed your rant. 🙂
Thank you for the great information.
It was really helpful.
I have a few questions regarding the requirements to citizenship.
I am an Indian citizen. Living in Germany since 11.2014.
I have completed 2Master degrees in Germany in STEM field.
Right now i am searching for permanent employee in my studies related field. At the moment I have full time contract working in McDonald’s which is completely not relevant to my technical subject.
Is am I still eligible to apply for the citizenship in 2021?
Thank you in advance. Is it a good idea to contact lawyer about applying for citizenship in the coming year. I can speak German upto B1level.
Best regards,
Ashok
I can’t possibly tell you whether you’re eligible. You’d have to attend the appointment and have someone at the citizenship office assess your case individually. Or, as you said, you can go to a lawyer. Good luck!
Hi Ashok
Just wondering how did you proceed with your application?
We live in Dubai and am planning on getting my son to do his bachelors in Germany as well. Your insight will be really helpful.
Regards
Hi Suzy,
Thanks a million for the information you share here. This is all very helpful. I have a question for you cause I am just at the point of applying: You mention that they need the original contract of the rental agreement. Do they return this to you at some point? I am asking cause it is an important piece of paper that I would like to keep in my documents for future use.
All my best,
Vasilis
Hi Vasalis,
I think – in the mood for being very thorough – I had my rent contract in the original AND as a copy. Of course they didn’t keep the original. Some landlords can also print you a separate document that states you live at the property which you could als for if you want I cover all bases.
Hi Suzy,
This is all very interesting and helpful, thank you for going into such detail.
Question: how did you prove you remained resident in Germany on your semester breaks? Did you have to get a passport printout of your travel or something, or was it just that you hadn’t registered residency somewhere else?
many thanks,
John
Hi,
Thank you so much for all the insights !
I have applied for my Einbürgerungs in Mannheim. I submitted my application on Feb 4, 2021. Later in first week of May, submitted Einbürgerungstest certificate and Loyalitätserklärung. First week of June, I paid fees(255 euros) and since the case worker informed that my birth certificate needs to be verified by my home country- India. I had to pay 400 euros(so, a total of 655 euros). I am still waiting to hear back. Anybody else with the same experience ? any idea how long verification of only one document(birth certificate) could take ?
Thanks in advance,
Best Regards