Turks to benefit from German immigration shake-up

Berlin relaxes immigration rules to attract foreign workers

Germany is home to millions of people of Turkish descent. Getty

A German immigration shake-up is set to give many Turks the chance to take up dual citizenship.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is relaxing immigration laws to plug gaps in the German labour market.

Germany has in the past frowned upon dual nationality, but Mr Scholz’s coalition has committed to loosening the rules.

Syrians currently top the list of those seeking German passports, as large numbers become eligible after arriving in 2015 and 2016.

People from Turkey have often preferred to keep their original passports but may soon apply for both, said Peter Schlotzer, an immigration official in Darmstadt.

“Dual nationality will certainly lead to many applications being made; from what I’ve heard, especially from the Turkish community,” he said on Thursday.

“The Turkish community is the largest group of foreign nationals in Germany. Many of them meet the theoretical requirements, but have so far shied away from applying because they want to keep their Turkish citizenship.”

Mr Schlotzer, who is also a lecturer on nationality law, said people from the US, Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan or Serbia might fall into the same category.

“If the law comes in, many people will want to apply quickly because they fear what might happen later and whether the law will be changed again,” he said.

Germany is home to an estimated 2.8 million people of Turkish descent, of whom about half have German citizenship.

Many Turks migrated in the 1960s and 1970s under a “guest worker” scheme to address labour shortages of the day in West Germany.

A more recent migration peak saw many refugees from Syria and Iraq resettle in Germany.

A survey of 23 cities by the Migration Media Service found that in “almost all” of them, people from Syria were the largest group taking up German nationality.

Future migrants will be able to take up German citizenship after five years, rather than eight, under the proposed reforms.

A six-year pathway for those who excel at integration courses could be shortened to three.

The citizenship reforms are expected to follow measures announced on Wednesday to send a “signal of welcome” to foreign workers.

Migrant workers will be taught about life in Germany before they arrive, under the plans agreed by Mr Scholz’s cabinet.

The “pre-integration” plans championed by Mr Scholz’s integration chief, Reem Alabali-Radovan, include German lessons that will be offered in advance.

The government estimates that two million jobs are vacant and says a larger workforce is needed to fund Germany’s welfare state.