The legislation allows people to become eligible for citizenship after five years and opens the possibility of dual citizenship.
German lawmakers have approved legislation to ease citizenship rules and end the ban on holding dual citizenship.
On Friday, Parliament approved the draft law, which was presented by the Socialist-Liberal coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who represents the centre-left, by a majority of 382 votes to 234, with 23 deputies abstaining from voting.
The legislation will allow people to become eligible for citizenship after five years in Germany or three in the case of “special integration achievements”, instead of eight or six years at present.
Children born in Germany will automatically become citizens if one parent has been a legal resident for five years, up from eight.
Dual citizenship, normally only allowed to citizens of other EU countries, will be allowed, allowing tens of thousands of German-born Turks to become voters.
In a video welcoming the citizenship law, Schulz said the legislation was intended for those who have lived and worked in Germany for “decades.”
“With the new citizenship law, we say to all those who have lived and worked in Germany for decades, who abide by our laws, and who make their home here: You belong in Germany,” Schulz said.
The main centre-right opposition bloc criticized the project and said it would reduce the cost of German citizenship.
“A passport is the most normal thing in the world in 2024, and it has been a reality for a long time in most countries,” said Social Democratic lawmaker Reem Albali Radovan.
“We, 20 million people with immigrant backgrounds, are staying here. This country belongs to all of us and we will not allow it to be confiscated,” she added, referring to legislation that President Frank-Walter Steinmeier must sign into law.
The citizenship reform was one of a series of social reforms that Schulz's coalition agreed to implement when it took office in 2021.
Germany previously had one of the most restrictive naturalization laws in the world with citizenship only available to people who could show German ancestry.
But progressives have long called for a citizenship law that recognizes that Germany has been ethnically diverse and multicultural since guest workers arrived from Italy and Turkey to ease labor shortages in the 1960s.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party, which was the target of protests after its senior members were caught discussing plans to deport “non-integrated” German citizens, opposed the law and, along with the opposition conservatives, warned against the “devaluation” and importation of the German passport. . to divide.
Conservative lawmaker Alexander Thrum told coalition politicians: “You want to create new votes for yourselves through this law.” “But be careful: most [Turks] Those who live here vote for the AKP [Turkey’s ruling party] And [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. …You bring conflict to us.”
But polls have shown that German Turks, many of whom are from Kurdish or Arab ethnic backgrounds, vote for the full range of Turkish parties, none of which ran in the German elections.