5 Reasons for Brits to take up German Citizenship

There are lots of reasons why a Brit might consider taking up German citizenship. Here are five benefits for Brits living in Germany who decide to become German. There are more and how much you personally value each of these will vary but these are the ones that may be most important:

1. Complete freedom to live and work in Germany as long as you want. 
2. The ability to vote in all local, regional, state and national elections.
3. Freedom to travel throughout the EU without restrictions.
4. Having a convenient, instantly recognised ID card which is also cheaper and easier to extend or replace than a UK passport.
5. A better chance of your country's team winning the World Cup!

If any of these things are important to you then I would suggest you take the plunge and go for it. After all, you still get to keep your British nationality too so you are gaining one rather than losing one!

The Cost of Becoming German

As the old German saying goes: "Was kostet der Spaß?".

The administrative process of becoming German (Einbürgerung) costs €255 per person or about 196 British pounds. If you are a child becoming a citizen together with your parents it only costs €51. Children who are becoming citizens on their own have to pay the full price. Just out of interest - it costs over 1000 British pounds to apply for UK citizenship!

You will also have to prove you speak "adequate" German which you can do with some kind of language certificate "Sprachzertifikat". Most Volkshochschule (VHS) offer these exams for about €125 - they also offer preparation courses. The CEF level B1 is the minimum level required to support your application.

To become German you also need to show that you have successfully passed the citizenship test (Einbürgerungstest) which costs €25 per attempt.

As a German citizen you are required to have an ID card. For adults over 24 this costs €28,80 and is valid for ten years. The normal German Personalausweis is also a passport for travel within the EU. If you think you will be travelling outside the EU a full German passport for adults over 24 costs €59 and is also valid for ten years.

Bear in mind that there are set appointments for both the citizenship test and language tests so take that into account when making your plans.

Adding all that together, as long as you don't need any additional language courses and pass your test first time the whole process of becoming a German national and getting an ID card will cost about €435.

Can I become German?

If you can answer yes to the following questions then you should be able to become a German citizen:

1. Are you over 16? If not, your parents have to support your application.
2. Are you officially entitled to live in German? As an EU citizen the answer is yes.
3. Have you passed the Einbürgerungstest?  Not difficult but more on that later.
4. Have you mainly lived in Germany for the last 8 years? In certain cases this can be reduced to as little as 6 years.
5. Are you able to financially support yourself without receiving income support?
6. Can you speak adequate German? More on what counts as adequate later.
7. Do you support the freedom and democracy of the German constitution?

Finally please answer no to this question:

1. Do you have a criminal record?

If you can satisfy all of these criteria then you are eligible to apply for German citizenship.

Source: http://www.bamf.de/DE/Einbuergerung/InDeutschland/indeutschland-node.html

How to become German - A guide for UK nationals fearing a Brexit

At the moment there is a lot of uncertainty amongst Brits living in German regarding what will happen if/when the UK chooses to leave the EU. The answer is, of course, no-one knows what will happen which is why using a FUD strategy (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) is about the only thing both sides of the campaign can agree on.

For UK nationals living in Germany getting hold of a German passport seems like it might be a good way to stay on the safe side but a lot of people seem unsure of how to go about it. Here is my simple guide to becoming German.

Disclaimer: To the best of my knowledge all of this information is correct at the time of writing (10/3/2016). Please check with your local immigration office to be sure.   

I went through the whole immigration process myself a couple of years ago so I can speak from experience and tell you that in my case it was quick, simple and painless!