Berlin’s citizenship centre to open in 2024

December 31, 2022

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Berlin’s citizenship centre to open in 2024

Mayor Franziska Giffey has declared that Berlin’s citizenship centre to open in 2024. The centre intends to quadruple the number of Berliners it awards citizenship to once it opens its doors.

Berlin’s German citizenship processing centre (Einbürgerungszentrum) will open in 2024.

The much-anticipated citizenship centre in Berlin now has a more exact opening date – 2024. The German city now grants citizenship to 8.000 persons every year. The objective is to increase the population to 20.000 after the red-red-green local coalition administration opens the new centre. The news comes as the German federal government wants to liberalize the country’s labor migration policy and citizenship legislation.

Speaking on the proposal before Berlin’s Abgeordnetenhaus (local council), Mayor Franziska Giffey stated, “It is crucial that we move forward in this area, and that is what the coalition has planned to accomplish. We’ve been planning a naturalization centre for 11 months, which takes planning and time.” According to her, the state naturalization centre should assist speed up and making procedures more clear. Each year, 20,000 naturalizations are scheduled. Naturalizations occur at a rate of 8,000 per year in Berlin. “Our target is 20,000,” Giffey remarked. The SPD senator dismissed allegations that the Senate is devoting too much attention to the topic. “We’ve been working on establishing a state naturalization centre for eleven months,” she explained. However, planning and patience are required, she noted.

In an unexpected turn of events, Giffey’s leadership is poised to be challenged in spring 2023, when citizens will recast their ballots after Berlin’s constitutional court declared the city’s 2021 elections unlawful. Giffey’s coalition partner, Greens member Bettina Jarasch, has declared her intention to run for mayor, however, such events are unlikely to have an influence on the plan to establish Berlin’s citizenship centre.

German citizenship administration

To the dismay of many migrants, Berlin’s residence and citizenship administration are now disorganized, as Giffey admitted in her recent parliamentary address. When applying for resident permits or German passports, many Berliners face delays.

Local districts (Bezirke) handle applications differently around the city. As a result of this disorganization, the process of applying for citizenship in certain districts may take longer than in others. Part of the procedure will most likely be digitalized under Giffey’s new strategy, reducing the obstacle of appointment shortages.

“Things are not as they should be,” Giffey said during a local council meeting, “and we need to alter something.”

This was all about the Berlin citizenship centre, which is set to open in 2024. Any future updates will be notified.