German citizenship: three-year route scrapped, dual nationality stays
The Bundestag has scrapped naturalisation after only three years of residence, introduced in 2024. The standard requirement is five years, and the option of keeping an existing citizenship has not been touched.
The 2024 reform cut the standard naturalisation requirement from eight years to five, and added a separate, shorter route after three years. That short route has now been scrapped. ZDF reported the change on 8 October 2025. According to that report, the short route covered only a small share of cases: about seven percent of all naturalisations in 2024. What remains matters more to most people. The standard five-year requirement still applies. So does the option of keeping an existing citizenship — as the rule, not as an exception. For anyone who does not want to give up a Bosnian passport, that part of the law has not been changed. This is an overview of what has been made public, not legal advice. The remaining conditions — language, supporting yourself without state benefits, proof of residence — are settled with the naturalisation office where you live, because procedures and paperwork differ from city to city.
