(MENAFN) Germany’s parliament has scrapped the expedited citizenship pathway for immigrants, passing a divisive new law on Wednesday that resets the country’s naturalization framework and tightens requirements for acquiring a German passport.

The legislation—championed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc—abolishes the three-year “fast-track” citizenship process previously available to well-integrated immigrants. Instead, all applicants must now meet a uniform five-year residency requirement, regardless of integration achievements.

Members of Chancellor Merz’s Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), along with coalition partner Social Democrats (SPD) and the far-right opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD), backed the measure in the Bundestag, finalizing the most significant overhaul of naturalization rules in over a decade.

“Naturalization must come at the end of the integration process, not at the beginning,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt during the final parliamentary debate. “The German passport must be available as recognition for successful integration and not as an incentive for illegal migration,” he added.

The SPD originally introduced the now-defunct fast-track mechanism during its previous tenure in government. However, the party agreed to its repeal earlier this year during coalition negotiations with Merz's CDU/CSU, in a deal that also preserved the right to dual citizenship.

SPD deputy parliamentary leader Sonja Eichwede defended the decision, highlighting that the fast-track policy had seen limited use and pointing to broader gains in the compromise.

“We knew we had to prioritize,” Eichwede said. “And during the coalition negotiations in April, we managed to convince [the] Christian Democrats to maintain the ‘dual citizenship’ option for immigrants. That was more important than preserving the accelerated pathway.”

Criticism came swiftly from opposition parties on the left. Lawmakers from The Left and The Greens condemned the move, accusing the government of aligning too closely with the AfD's anti-immigrant rhetoric.

They argue the policy reversal signals a retreat from inclusive integration strategies and could embolden far-right narratives at a time when immigration continues to shape the national discourse.

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