Germany Scraps Fast-Track Citizenship for Skilled Foreigners Amid Anti-Immigration Backlash

Germany has officially scrapped a programme that allowed highly skilled foreigners to apply for citizenship after just three years of residence, ending one of the few policies aimed at speeding up integration for top professionals.

The Bundestag voted down the fast-track measure on Wednesday, fulfilling a campaign promise from Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose Christian Democratic Union (CDU) ran on tightening immigration and citizenship rules.

The policy had only been around since 2024 and was used by just a few hundred people. Still, it struck a nerve in a country where population decline and immigration anxieties now dominate political debate.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the repeal, arguing it restored the “value” of the German passport:

“The German passport must be available as recognition for successful integration and not as an incentive for illegal migration.”

The decision wasn’t just backed by the CDU. It also won support from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), now the largest opposition force in parliament, which has long demanded what it calls the “mass deportation” of migrants.

Critics say the repeal shows how mainstream politics is bending toward the far right’s rhetoric. Ferat Kocak, a lawmaker from The Left party, accused the government of normalising xenophobia:

“The German government is making AfD’s hatred socially acceptable.”

The numbers behind the fast-track scheme tell a modest story. According to an ARD survey, just 573 people in Berlin had applied for the three-year citizenship route since it began, representing barely 1 percent of all applications. In Bavaria, the figure was 78, and in Baden-Württemberg, only 16.

The fast-track path was part of a broader citizenship reform package under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who aimed to modernise Germany’s immigration system. To qualify, applicants had to show high-level German language skills and “proof of being well-integrated into German society.”

While that specific clause is gone, other Scholz-era reforms remain, including a reduction in the standard residency requirement for citizenship from eight years to five, and a relaxation of rules on dual nationality. Applicants must still prove they can financially support themselves and their families, and demonstrate at least mid-level German proficiency.

In short, Germany’s citizenship door is still open, just not as wide, and not for long.