Berlin: According to official data released on Tuesday, the number of individuals naturalising in Germany increased by 28% in the past year, with Syrian citizens making up more than 25% of the total.

The Federal Statistical Office reported that according to preliminary numbers, 168,500 people will receive German citizenship in 2022. That figure represented the highest since 2002.

29 percent of those, or 48,300, were citizens of Syria. Due to the rising number of immigrants who arrived in Germany between 2014 and 2016 who are eligible for citizenship, this number was more than twice what it was the year before and seven times higher than what it would be in 2020.

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They must also show they can support themselves financially and have a basic understanding of German.

Although spouses and children are exempt, it is generally required that residents have resided in Germany for at least eight years. For those who exhibit "special integration accomplishments" such as exceptionally high language proficiency, professional success, or civic engagement, the period may be shortened to six years. There were 23,100 of these "early" naturalisations last year, which is more than double the amount from 2021 and 60% Syrians.

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14,200 Turkish nationals, a 16 percent increase from 2021, who had lived in Germany for an average of more than 24 years, were the second-largest group to be granted German citizenship in 2018.
5,600 Ukrainians were granted German citizenship last year, nearly three times as many as the year before, according to the statistics office. As opposed to their Syrian counterparts, they had lived in Germany on average for 13.3 years.

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The socially liberal government of Germany intends to make it easier for people to become citizens by lowering the minimum residency requirement from eight years to five years. After three years, those with "special integration accomplishments" would be eligible.

Additionally, the government intends to remove limitations on having dual citizenship. The majority of foreigners who obtain German citizenship currently have to renounce their prior nationality, with the exception of citizens of the European Union and Switzerland.

opposition parties on the right and far right have criticised those strategies. When the parliament will consider them is not yet known. There are 84 million people living in Germany.