Demonstrating financial stability, and not relying on certain welfare benefits, is among the basic requirements to gain German citizenship. We asked our readers if they thought this was fair, and some mentioned cases where it gets complicated.
There are six basic requirements to become a German citizen: residency, language proficiency, financial stability, having knowledge about German society, having a clean criminal record and being committed to Germany’s democratic principles.
Of these financial stability, or financial independence, can be a major sticking point for many applicants who are otherwise well-qualified.
In this case financial independence is defined as having the ability to support yourself and any dependent family members without relying on state-funded assistance like long-term unemployment benefits.
Putting aside people who are obviously not financially independent, some applicants who do work hard to afford their own rent and subsistence can still have a hard time proving their stability to the immigration authorities, for example if they are self-employed or have just lost a job.
The Left party recently brought a proposal to the Bundestag to end the requirement that citizenship applicants prove they can support themselves financially. Their proposal was not approved, but it allowed Die Linke to highlight the issue.
The party argued that citizenship should not be a privilege for those with means, but accessible to all long-term residents who are part of German society.
So we put the question to our readers in a survey, asking whether they thought the requirement for applicants to prove financial stability is fair.
Of those who responded to our questions, half said they were currently in the process of applying for citizenship themselves. Another third of the respondents said they had already naturalised, and the remaining respondents said they currently have no plans to apply.
Is financial independence a fair requirement for citizenship?
The majority of respondents to our survey said they thought it was fair that financial independence remain a requirement for German citizenship.
“Citizenship is both a privilege and a responsibility to contribute to society, not rely on it,” said Sushmita Rai, who comes from India and lives in Berlin.
She added that she “strongly supports” the current requirement.
Eulah W. who comes from the Caribbean and lives in Dortmund put it another way: “It’s totally fair. You can’t join the country club if you don’t pay the fees. Citizenship is the same.”
Many readers shared these sentiments, demonstrating a widespread belief among many foreigners in the country that immigrants can and should be expected to earn their place here first, typically through employment, before they can become German citizens.
“Why would a country want to offer citizenship to people who are at high risk to add an additional burden on an already stressed social system?” asked Jessica, who has come to Frankfurt from the United States.
“There are significant benefits to earning German citizenship,” she added, “It is reasonable that Germany should expect something in return.”
Advertisement
Of course not everyone was in agreement on the issue. A few readers suggested that tying citizenship to someone’s financial status was wrong.
“No, I don’t think it’s fair. A lot of people are integrated and contribute to society even though they are not particularly well off,” said a respondent from Britain who did not share their name.
A bank customer withdraws money from an ATM in Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez
Unfair to the recently unemployed
Among those who did not think the current requirements were fair, many suggested that a basic requirement around financial stability was fine but that the current rules were unfair to people in certain situations.
One example, cited by multiple respondents, concerned candidates for citizenship who receive temporary unemployment insurance payments (Arbeitslosengeld – ALG).
The Local recently highlighted the case of one woman who was told to withdraw her citizenship application for exactly that reason despite having been employed for most of her seven years in Germany.
Advertisement
READ ALSO: ‘I’ve always had jobs’ – Woman’s German citizenship bid blocked by unemployment
“ALG is literally insurance for unemployment that people are themselves paying into,” said Adi Sinn who lives in Munich. “So considering it social welfare is akin to saying that using my health insurance is also a social welfare and grounds for rejection. Absurd!”
Sinn suggested it would be fairer if one’s work history was viewed more holistically.
He argued that if someone had held a job for four out of the past five years, for example, and then fallen on hard times just as their application was being submitted or reviewed, they may deserve a pass.
Carla Mortensen, from the US and living in Berlin, thought similarly: “People should be able to show that they are currently secure, but it should be acceptable if they get help during periods of difficulty.
“Resilience should not be discouraged.”
Advertisement
Self-employment struggles
Another case where applicants for naturalisation are perceived to get the short end of the stick concerns the self-employed and freelancers.
“[The authorities] expect a time consuming and very expensive audit report” from freelancers, said Tim who comes from Toronto. “Then they take so many months to open your file that it’s out of date, and they’ll ask you to fork over updated documents.”
As The Local has reported, being a freelancer in Germany tends to make the application process for citizenship slower, more expensive and more confusing.
A big part of that is because proving your financial security is much more complicated when you don’t have regular employment. Instead of simply submitting a work contract and pay slips, freelancers need to submit an audit report by a tax professional (Prüfungsbericht), as well as other tax documents.
READ ALSO: ‘System feels unfair’ – The struggle of getting German citizenship as a freelancer
Extenuating circumstances
Steve, who comes from Manchester and lives in Cologne, says he thinks there should be “exceptions for the disabled, carers and extenuating circumstances.”
A freelancer works on her laptop in a co-working space. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/CLARK | CLARK
He also argues that “it makes no sense” to permit people to reside in the country, if they will never be allowed to naturalise – highlighting the fact that foreigners are first required to hold some type of long-term residence permit for the years before they qualify for citizenship, and that these residence permits already come with their own requirements that immigrants will have met.
READ ALSO: What’s the difference between German citizenship and residency?
Advertisement
Of course, as is true with just about any process in Germany, on some level naturalising just comes more easily for some than for others.
“Before I became a German citizen, I had worked full time, been a freelancer and been unemployed,” said Kenneth Adam Aitken, from Scotland and now living in Freiburg.
“Having lived in Germany for 19 years, my ability to support myself was not questioned.”
Ultimately the best you can do is make sure you meet the requirements, get all your documents in order and hope for the best.
Thank you so much to everyone who completed our survey. Although we weren’t able to use all the responses, we read them all and they helped inform our article. If you have a specific question about applying for citizenship that you can’t find an answer to in our previous articles, feel free to drop us a line at news@thelocal.de.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thelocal.de
