Most foreigners successfully pass the German citizenship test
As reported by Deutsche Welle citing the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, 98.9% of candidates wishing to obtain a German passport successfully passed this exam.
Recall that the new rules for obtaining German citizenship have been in effect in Germany since last September. At Berlin's Humboldt University, a special catalog of 310 questions was developed and approved by the Ministry of the Interior. In the exam tickets, they are grouped in sets of 33, and you must answer 17 correctly by choosing one of four options - similar to taking the driver's license exam.
To become a German citizen, one must know what rights are guaranteed by the German Constitution and what obligations it imposes. One must have an understanding of the difference between active and passive voting rights, not confuse a pension with unemployment benefits, remember in which year Hitler came to power and when the Jewish pogroms began.
It is also necessary to have at least a general knowledge of Germany's geography - where the various occupation zones were, where Berlin is located. The test focuses on constitutional topics such as human dignity, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law, overcoming totalitarianism, democracy and parliamentarianism. Plus a bit of recent history: from Hitler to Honecker.
Less attention in the catalog is given to German culture, traditions and customs. It is enough to correctly choose the author of the text of the national anthem in the ticket: Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Clemens Brentano, Friedrich Schiller or Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben. According to critics, not all native Germans know that the poem was written by the last named.
Hardly everyone will be able to choose the correct option from the four possible in answer to the question of what is prohibited by law in Germany: smoking on the street, women consuming alcohol, women wearing trousers, or spanking one's own child. Against the backdrop of a noisy anti-tobacco campaign in Germany, most would likely choose the first item. In fact, as noted by Deutsche Welle commentator Nikita Zholkver, you can still smoke on the street, but spanking a naughty child, if noticed, is a punishable offense.
The exam for obtaining German citizenship costs €25. It can be retaken any number of times. One can prepare for the test in special paid courses (for €150) or independently. All tickets with questions and correct answers are available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior (www.bmi.bund.de). Foreigners under 16, young people who have completed secondary school in Germany, as well as applicants with disabilities and the seriously ill are exempt from taking the exam.