Since the German parliament has been observing discussion on the newly proposed citizenship/naturalization law, many other conflicts have also occurred. Many politicians in general and politicians from the CSU party, in particular, want to connect the German citizenship process with Israel. As per reports from German newspapers BILD and WELT the politicians from opposition parties are demanding tougher naturalization laws.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz demands that people in Germany should only be naturalized in the future if they recognize Israel’s right to exist. “The rapid naturalization must be stopped,” said the opposition leader on ZDF on Sunday. Unlike the traffic light government, the Union wants first integration, then naturalization. The prerequisites must include a firm agreement with those to be naturalized to commit to Israel’s security, which is ultimately Germany’s reason of state. “Anyone who doesn’t sign this has no place in Germany,” added Merz.
On Saturday, the CDU leader suggested at the Junge Union’s Germany Day that only Muslim associations could be partners at the Islam conference if they recognized Israel’s right to exist.
CSU General Secretary Martin Huber told BILD (German newspaper): “Anyone who wants to become a German citizen must stand by Israel’s right to exist and Jewish life without any ifs or buts: no German passport without a clear commitment.”
Jew-haters and terror supporters “have no place in our country and are certainly not allowed to become citizens.” According to Huber, the traffic light reform for citizenship is a mistake: “The requirements for the German passport must not be relaxed, but must be tightened.”
CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann (46) had previously called for “a mandatory integration agreement” for migrants in BamS: “Anyone who comes to us must sign that they accept this constitutional state and our basic law – and also Israel’s right to exist and the way it is done “How we live.”
What is Germany’s new proposed citizenship law?
In the future, foreigners should be able to be naturalized after five instead of eight years. In the case of “special integration achievements”, such as a proven language level of C1, three years should also suffice. Previously, this shortest nationality period was only possible for those who used to marry a German national.
The prerequisite for the German passport is that:
- you have passed a naturalization test and,
- earn your living “mainly yourself”.
The coalition government wants to enable naturalization applicants to keep their foreign passports if they want to become German citizens. This emerges from a draft law on citizenship law that the ministries of the traffic light government have agreed on. Conversely, anyone who acquires foreign citizenship should be able to keep their German passport in the future.
There were also differences when it came to the extent to which applicants had to secure their own livelihood. The Ministry of Justice, led by the FDP, only wants to naturalize people in exceptional cases who cannot, i.e. who have less than 60 percent of the median income – that is the threshold generally defined by poverty researchers. The exception should apply to:
- contract and guest workers,
- People who have been in full-time employment for 20 months in the past 24 months, as well as
- Spouses of those people who care for minor children.
There are doubts as to whether this regulation would be constitutional. This would exclude people with disabilities or the chronically ill.