Ukrainians who arrived in Germany after the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022 will be eligible to apply for German citizenship as early as next year. This scenario became possible after a reform of the naturalization legislation. Visit Ukraine reports this.
In 2024, new rules came into effect in Germany that reduced the minimum legal residence period for obtaining citizenship from eight to five years. The country also officially allowed dual citizenship and simplified some administrative procedures.
Why 2027 will be significant for Ukrainians
Most Ukrainian refugees received temporary protection in Germany in the spring of 2022. Accordingly, by 2027, many of them will reach the five-year residence requirement necessary to apply for naturalization under the general procedure.
An additional factor is the European Union's decision to extend the temporary protection for Ukrainians until March 4, 2027. After the expiration of this mechanism, some citizens will seek long-term grounds for residence, and obtaining a German passport may become one of those options.
According to German media, in 2025, more than 300,000 people obtained German citizenship, which was a record figure in the country's history.
What conditions must be met
To obtain citizenship, it is not enough to have lived in the country for five years. Candidates must confirm their knowledge of the German language, demonstrate integration into society, know the basics of the country's political system, and be financially independent from ongoing social assistance.
Experts note that Ukrainians have certain advantages during integration. They gained the right to work immediately after receiving temporary protection, actively integrated into the labor market, and through the education system.
At the same time, the issue of considering the period of stay under temporary protection status when reviewing citizenship applications is still discussed at the level of individual federal states. Therefore, each case will be considered individually, and mere residence in Germany for five years does not guarantee automatic receipt of a passport.
Earlier, we reported that a Ukrainian woman listed five reasons to stay in Germany.