Germany to grant citizenship to foreigners in just three years

Under a revamped immigration system, Germany is looking to grant citizenship to foreigners who are particularly well integrated in just three years.

The country of 80 million is battling to fill a huge shortfall of around a quarter of a million workers by 2026.

Under a plan unveiled by the labour ministry, Europe's biggest economy is also looking at making it more attractive for workers to retrain or take on further education.


"For many businesses, the search for skilled labour is now an existential question," Germany's Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said.

"And our country needs skilled labour, to manage the digitisation of our economy, and its shift towards becoming climate-neutral."

Factors including the digital transformation of the economy, the pandemic and the impacts of the Ukraine war were presenting new challenges for the labour market, it said.

The ministry outlined its strategy to tackle the issue, including improved training and modernising the immigration system.

The government wants to make it easier for people to hold multiple nationalities and make naturalisation of foreigners easier, it said.

In future, naturalisation will be possible after five years instead of eight years currently, and as little as three years in cases where people are deemed to have integrated particularly well.

The strategy will be presented to the cabinet in autumn for its consideration.

With agency inputs