The federal state of Brandenburg naturalised more new German citizens in 2024 than during any year in the past two decades, rbb has reported.

Brandenburg sees naturalisation uptick in 2024

3.764 residents in Brandenburg became German citizens in 2024, twice as many as were naturalised in 2022 (1.195 people), according to figures from the Interior Ministry in Potsdam.

Last year, the federal state issued citizenship to more people than during any given year since 2002. According to the ministry, since the early 2000s Brandenburg had only been granting around 1.000 people citizenship annually. Syrian, Ukrainian and Polish nationals were the largest groups granted dual German citizenship in Brandenburg in 2024.

Brandenburg is part of a wider trend across Germany at the moment, many long-term residents are finally opting for citizenship. In 2023, the country naturalised the highest number of people in 23 years and a new centralised Berlin office is reported to be naturalising 100 new citizens per day.

The traffic light coalition’s legislation to allow dual citizenship from June 2024 onwards means that even more people are expected to apply in 2025. However, Germany’s incoming coalition may throw a spanner in the works if they manage to keep their promise to scrap the new law.

Citizenship applicants waiting 20 months in Brandenburg

Despite the uptick in naturalisations, residents across the country are waiting upwards of six months to hear whether their citizenship application has been accepted.

According to rbb’s report, Brandenburgers can currently expect a 20-month waiting time. Current waiting times in Frankfurt are thought to be the longest in the country, between 26 and 30 months. Leipzigers are blessed with some of the shortest waiting times, but still wait six to nine months.

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