OTHER IMPORTANT CHANGES
Changes in the right to acquire citizenship
In accordance with Article 5 of the Immigration Act, the Citizenship Act is amended. The rights to acquire citizenship previously provided for in the Act on the Status of Foreign Citizens have been incorporated into the text of the Citizenship Act, so that the legal basis for acquiring citizenship, starting from 1 January 2005, is also contained in the Citizenship Act. The rules for granting citizenship have largely remained unchanged. This applies in particular to the acquisition of citizenship on the basis of acquired rights.
In this regard, the conditions for acquiring citizenship have been coordinated with the new residence permits, and the residence status of EU citizens has been taken into account. Citizens of the European Union and of the EEA member states who enjoy the right of free movement and residence anywhere in the country, as well as holders of a permanent residence permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) and a residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) for specific purposes, still have the right to acquire citizenship. The possibility of acquiring citizenship is excluded, for example, for holders of residence permits issued for study purposes or for certain humanitarian reasons.
Does successful completion of an integration course affect the acquisition of German citizenship?
Previously, the acquisition of citizenship on the basis of acquired rights required, as a mandatory condition, lawful and permanent residence in the country for eight years. Starting from 1 January 2005, lawful and permanent eight-year residence in the country continues to be a condition for acquiring citizenship rights. However, if the integration course is successfully completed, lawful and permanent residence in the country for seven years is sufficient to acquire the right to citizenship.
Changes concerning late resettlers and their family members
Late resettlers are persons of German nationality from areas of forced resettlement who, provided that the requirements regarding place of residence and date of birth are met, left their areas of residence within the admission procedure and arrived in Germany within six months to take up permanent residence.
The legal basis for the admission and integration of late resettlers is the Federal Law on Expellees (FLE). The existence of collective persecution due to war (discrimination on grounds of nationality) for persons applying for admission to Germany from the aforementioned areas remains in force also for future procedures for granting residence rights.
The condition for belonging to the German nationality is descent as a natural child from a German citizen or a person of German nationality, proof of commitment to the German national spirit, as well as confirmation of this commitment, which is evidenced by the mastery of the German language in the family. For this purpose, the applicant must be able to conduct at least a simple conversation in German. This condition was clarified in the course of the FLE by the adoption of the Law on Late Resettlers in 2001.
The reason for this change was the legislator's view that commitment to the German national spirit and legitimate belonging to the German nationality is possible only if the German language was used in the family and taught to the children. The ability to conduct a simple conversation in German must already exist at the time of leaving the country of residence.
The language test for late resettlers is an administrative hearing procedure that cannot be repeated within the framework of the examination of the admission application. In the future, the verification interview within the certification procedure will no longer be conducted.
What changes regarding the distribution of competences in the admission and certification procedure?
The abolition of the possibility to repeat the verification interview is linked to the new distribution of competences: from 1 January 2005, the Federal Administrative Office (Bundesverwaltungsamt) is solely responsible for the admission and certification procedure. Previously, the admission procedure was handled by the Federal Administrative Office, and the certification procedure by the federal states' offices for expellee affairs.
The certificate confirms a person's status as a late resettler and can be presented as proof of this status. In the future, the certificate will be issued through administrative procedures.
For late resettlers registered and distributed among the federal states before 1 January 2005, responsibility for the certification procedure remains with the respective state.
Under what conditions can family members be included in the admission decision?
In contrast to the previous provision, the spouse and descendants in the direct line of a late resettler who are not Germans can be included in the admission decision (Aufnahmebescheid) only if the recipient of the decision has submitted a specific request to this effect, if these persons have a basic knowledge of German, and if there are no grounds for refusing their admission.
Grounds for refusal exist if:
a) the person, in the areas of previous residence, significantly contributed to National Socialist or other tyranny, or through their conduct violated the foundations of humanity and the rule of law, or significantly abused their position for personal gain or to the detriment of others;
b) the person left the areas of previous residence due to the threat of criminal prosecution for a criminal offense committed, or in the areas of previous residence performed a function that was considered important for the preservation of the communist regime or was such in light of specific circumstances, or for at least three years lived in a family community with a person who performed such a function.
If the conditions for inclusion in the admission decision are not met, then the entry of the spouse of the late resettler and his relatives in the descending line in the future is possible only on the basis of the law “On the Residence of Foreign Citizens”.
Minor relatives in the descending line can be included in the admission decision only if the parents or one parent with sole custody are included simultaneously. This prevents the possibility of grandparents including grandchildren in their admission decision in order to thereby secure the right of residence for their parents, who themselves could not be included in the admission decision due to a lack of German language skills.
Inclusion of family members in the admission decision loses its validity if joint resettlement with the recipient of the decision (i.e., with the late resettler) is no longer possible. This is the case, for example, if the marriage is dissolved while still in the area of residence of the late resettler or if he dies before the family members are admitted to Germany.
To be continued.
_