Like it or not, proving your own financial stability is required to naturalise as German. But are the rules around meeting the requirement clear? Here’s what our readers told us based on their own experiences.
After a proposal to scrap financial requirements for German citizenship was brought to the Bundestag (by the Left party), we asked our readers if they thought the current requirements were fair.
The majority thought they were, more or less, although some pointed out that they could be unfair to freelancers or people receiving Arbeitslosengeld in particular.
But ‘fair’ and ‘clear’ are two different things. So in that survey we also asked readers if they thought the rules should be clearer, or if they would like to see the process for assessing applicants’ financial security changed.
The response we received to that question was a resounding call for clearer rules, with the vast majority of respondents suggesting the rules were either not clear enough, or should be altered to be more fair to certain groups or easier to understand and evaluate.
Still, a number of readers emphasised that they did agree with the current requirement for applicants to be able to demonstrate financial stability.
“Clearer rules would help both applicants and the authorities,” wrote a reader named Stephen in Berlin.
Similarly, Chad who lives in Munich wrote, “It’s right to have a threshold. Germany just needs to make it black and white what that threshold is.”
“There should be a clear amount for what is considered financially secure enough to gain citizenship,” suggested Kirsten M. in Heidelberg.
Another reader, who did not share their name, contended that the rules are quite clear, but added they happen to be “unknown to the people who need to go through this.”
What are the personal finance rules for citizenship?
For the record, financial stability – that is having the ability to monetarily support yourself and your dependents – is among the primary requirements to naturalise as German.
In some cases meeting this requirement is pretty straight-forward; basically, does your income cover your basic needs and can you prove that with bank statements and/or a work contract and pay slips?
READ ALSO: How much do you need to earn to qualify for citizenship in Germany?
But fulfilling this requirement, and successfully proving it to the authorities, gets much more complicated for people in certain situations – namely for freelancers and people who have recently become unemployed.
While immigration authorities say that they follow certain guidelines based on Germany’s citizenship law, decisions can feel arbitrary or even unfair to applicants who are not given a German passport, especially those who have supported themselves while residing in Germany for years.
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Can’t the process be simplified?
Some readers argued that proving financial stability should be made more simple.
“For a person who is employed it’s ridiculous to show the last three payslips and also a letter from your employer and a contract,” said Steve in Cologne. “One of these docs should suffice.”
Two men receive their German citizenship documents in the Berlin district of Neukölln. Photo: picture-alliance/ dpa/dpaweb | Miguel Villagran
He added that the sheer volume of paperwork involved with an application to naturalise is “probably why it takes so long to process”.
The amount of paperwork involved is much worse for those who freelance or are self-employed.
“I believe that the rules are clear,” said Tamy in Berlin, “But gathering all the information can be daunting and disclosing your financial history can feel like an invasion of privacy.”
READ ALSO: ‘System feels unfair’ – The struggle of getting German citizenship as a freelancer
No wiggle room
Other readers thought the rules could be adjusted to be a bit more accommodating for certain situations.
Adi Sinn, who lives in Munich, noted that he had already naturalised and that he didn’t experience any exceptional circumstances himself, but added that “there should be language in the law to look at a candidate’s contribution to society over their full tenure instead of just a current snapshot when their application is being reviewed.”
READ ALSO: ‘I’ve always had jobs’ – Woman’s German citizenship bid blocked by unemployment
Saquib Siddiaqui, who lived in Magdeburg when he naturalised, thought similarly, suggesting that the financial security requirement should perhaps also be checked in an interview: “It should be an interactive dialogue to clarify the sources of income.”
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For now, however, applicants can’t expect the authorities to consider anything beyond the documents they are able to provide.
“This assessment takes into account the applicant’s previous employment history and current professional and financial situation,” a spokesperson for the Darmstadt Regional Council (naturalisation authority in the state of Hesse) recently told The Local.
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
