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Germany's lower house of parliament passed new citizenship laws on Thursday, relaxing some of the strictest rules in Europe to allow young Germans of foreign origin to hold two passports -- a move that benefits the large Turkish community.
Until now, children of immigrants from most non-EU countries have had to choose at the age of 23 between German citizenship or that of their parents' country of origin.
The dual passport prohibition has long rankled the roughly 3 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany, just under half of whom have taken German citizenship.
The move reportedly came after long negotiations between the German Christian Democrat Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrat Party (SPD). According to the new law, young people can now have two passports if, at the age of 21, they can prove they have lived in Germany for at least eight years or have gone to school in the country for six years and gained school-leaving qualifications. According to Cihan news agency, 500,000 children will benefit from the newly passed law in the beginning.
A commission under the name of “Härtefall Kommission” will be founded to discuss the situation of young people who cannot meet the criteria for holding two passports.
Turkish community leaders have criticized the new law because it applies only to young people and does not cover older people, many of whom have spent decades in Germany.
Dual citizenship was a pet project of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) who share power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.
Merkel's conservatives have long opposed dual citizenship, arguing it was impossible to be loyal to two countries at the same time. The SPD had been in favor of completely abolishing the obligation to choose between passports.
The interior affairs spokesman of Merkel's conservative group, Stephan Mayer, said Germany would continue to avoid the principle of double nationalities, according to Deutsche Welle.
"That is a good message, because it promotes societal cohesion," Deutsche Welle reported him as saying. He also reportedly stated that the long-standing German citizenship law represented an avoidance of "parallel communities."
Minister Özoğuz: Important decision regarding future of Germany
Aydan Özoğuz, a SPD politician of Turkish origin and the state minister for immigration, refugees and integration, called the law an “important decision for the future of Germany.”
“With the change in the citizenship law, dual citizenship will be accepted both politically and socially. I am sure that there will be more changes in the law,” Özoğuz said, adding that she is optimistic that the law will apply to everyone, including older people, in the future.
German parliament approves dual citizenship
Until now, children of immigrants from most non-EU countries have had to choose at the age of 23 between German citizenship or that of their parents' country of origin.
The dual passport prohibition has long rankled the roughly 3 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany, just under half of whom have taken German citizenship.
The move reportedly came after long negotiations between the German Christian Democrat Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrat Party (SPD). According to the new law, young people can now have two passports if, at the age of 21, they can prove they have lived in Germany for at least eight years or have gone to school in the country for six years and gained school-leaving qualifications. According to Cihan news agency, 500,000 children will benefit from the newly passed law in the beginning.
A commission under the name of “Härtefall Kommission” will be founded to discuss the situation of young people who cannot meet the criteria for holding two passports.
Turkish community leaders have criticized the new law because it applies only to young people and does not cover older people, many of whom have spent decades in Germany.
Dual citizenship was a pet project of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) who share power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.
Merkel's conservatives have long opposed dual citizenship, arguing it was impossible to be loyal to two countries at the same time. The SPD had been in favor of completely abolishing the obligation to choose between passports.
The interior affairs spokesman of Merkel's conservative group, Stephan Mayer, said Germany would continue to avoid the principle of double nationalities, according to Deutsche Welle.
"That is a good message, because it promotes societal cohesion," Deutsche Welle reported him as saying. He also reportedly stated that the long-standing German citizenship law represented an avoidance of "parallel communities."
Minister Özoğuz: Important decision regarding future of Germany
Aydan Özoğuz, a SPD politician of Turkish origin and the state minister for immigration, refugees and integration, called the law an “important decision for the future of Germany.”
“With the change in the citizenship law, dual citizenship will be accepted both politically and socially. I am sure that there will be more changes in the law,” Özoğuz said, adding that she is optimistic that the law will apply to everyone, including older people, in the future.
German parliament approves dual citizenship
