Schulz thus announced his position in favor of an imminent reform of the law on the acquisition of German citizenship for foreigners. According to the new mechanism proposed by German Interior Minister Nancy Weser, the naturalization of foreigners in Germany will be easier.

involved – The reform, which will be discussed at the end of the month in the Council of Ministers, provides for new rules for acquiring citizenship for residents, children of immigrants and people over 67 years of age. Barriers to dual nationality are also expected to be removed.

reduce time – The residence time required to become a German citizen has been reduced from eight years to five (and sometimes three) years. Shorter periods for acquiring citizenship status for children of immigrants and streamlining naturalization pathways for people over 67 years of age were also studied.

internal debate in Parliament – Schulze’s words seemed to respond to an internal debate within the majority coalition, in which FDP liberals had expressed themselves critically against Weser’s plans. The opposition Cdu-Csu also criticized the Interior Minister’s project. As reported by the German news agency DPA, Weisser personally responded to the opposition, saying that the Christian Democrats must “finally arrive in the 21st century”.