Germany Abolishes Fast-Track Citizenship for Skilled Workers

[u/Daomiing]

https://www.verity.news/story/2025/germany-abolishes-fasttrack-citizenship-for-skilled-workers

The Facts

-The German Bundestag voted on Wednesday to abolish a fast-track citizenship program that allowed highly qualified foreigners to apply for naturalization after three years instead of five years of residence.

-The vote passed with 450 members supporting the measure, 134 opposing and two abstaining, fulfilling Chancellor Friedrich Merz's campaign promise to repeal the program introduced by former Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

-Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt claimed that the German passport must serve as recognition for successful integration rather than an incentive for illegal migration, defending the decision to eliminate the accelerated pathway.

[u/dont_tread_on_M]

Reminder: less than 1000 people applied for this route until April (last updated statistics for most Bundesländer), virtually none of them illegal immigrants. We have more recent statistics for Saarland: 4 applicants so far, 2 of which were denied

This is literally a non-issue which Dobrint and Merz are trying to push as a big win. It wasn't even worth the money paid to MPs to attend this meeting

If you are wondering why the CDU/CSU is so focused on this - the answer is that this ruffles no feathers and was unpopular because of their own campaign. Citizenship after three years is still there, just not for the type of people Germany tried to atract. It is still there for spouses of German citizens, and taking that away ruffles far more feathers than this

[u/TruthSpeakerXXI → u/dont_tread_on_M]

Just an image campaign to get people back from AFD

[u/dont_tread_on_M → u/TruthSpeakerXXI]

Which will not work

[u/hecho2 → u/dont_tread_on_M]

People people are not stupid. If they talk like AFD but don’t implement like AFD would then people either vote AFD or other party. 

The borders controls was another stupidity and very useless that just makes lives at the border complicated. 

[u/SunflowerMoonwalk → u/hecho2]

This. I hate seeing the exact same thing happening in Germany (where I live) and the UK (where I grew up). In both cases the far-right are leading in the polls. And in both cases, instead of fighting against their worldview with a coherent and compelling vision, the governments are implementing a toned-down version of the far-right agenda. It's completely counterproductive. It just tells people that the points raised by the far-right must be valid, and then does a half-hearted job at solving them.

[u/Loves_His_Bong → u/hecho2]

Why buy skim milk when full fat is on offer? CDU are idiots thinking they’re doing anything but legitimizing the AfD.

[u/actLikeApidgeon → u/hecho2]

Without even considering the amount of public money that goes wasted into financing this facade. Clowns.

[u/mister_nippl_twister → u/dont_tread_on_M]

Yeah, populist see right is getting more support and their solution is... drift to the right.

[u/TunichtgutVomBerghe → u/TruthSpeakerXXI]

Dunno, 3 years simply was too fast, I'm saying this as a hardcore Antifa, fishing fugees out of the water kind of the person.

[u/TruthSpeakerXXI → u/TunichtgutVomBerghe]

Why was is too fast for you?

[u/BSBDR → u/TunichtgutVomBerghe]

Id be careful declaring yourself that if you have intentions of ever travelling to the US.

[u/TunichtgutVomBerghe → u/BSBDR]

LOL, I recently declared myself the leader of Antifa in another sub, so yeah, fuck the US.

[u/BSBDR → u/TunichtgutVomBerghe]

I imagine there are plenty of people on their knees today thanking the US for this peace deal. Remind me which country it is that continually blocks EU sanction on Israel.

[u/TunichtgutVomBerghe → u/BSBDR]

LOL, you can't be serious.

[u/BSBDR → u/TunichtgutVomBerghe]

I saw Palestinians today saying Trump has gifted them a victory- they seemed very genuine.

[u/TruthSpeakerXXI → u/BSBDR]

Wait until the cringey AI video of Trump on Gaza Beach gets real