According to preliminary data, Germany set a new record for the number of citizenships granted in 2025: at least 309,852 people in 14 federal states received German passports, reports RND, citing an investigation by Welt am Sonntag.
Official federal statistics for 2025 have not yet been published, so these are preliminary figures. The tally does not yet include complete data from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt, and for several states, information from cities and districts was used. Even in this incomplete form, the figure already exceeds the previous record set in 2024, when approximately 291,955 foreigners received German citizenship.
The main reasons for the increase were the reform of the citizenship law and the migration waves of the previous decade. Since June 2024, Germany has allowed naturalization after five years of residence instead of the previous eight, and in cases of exceptional integration achievements—in some instances after three years. In addition, the new legislation generally allowed individuals to retain their previous citizenship, which sharply increased the appeal of a German passport for citizens of countries where renouncing their first citizenship had been a deterrent.
According to official Destatis data for 2024, Syrians constituted the largest group of new German citizens—83,150 people, or 28% of all naturalizations. They were followed by citizens of Turkey—22,525, Iraq—13,545, Russia—12,980, and Afghanistan—10,085. The number of naturalizations of Russians rose particularly sharply: from approximately 1,995 in 2023 to 12,980 in 2024, a trend Destatis attributes primarily to the option to retain previous citizenship.
In 2025, according to German media reports, Syrians, Turks, and Russians were again among the largest groups of new citizens. In North Rhine-Westphalia, 3,841 Russian citizens received German passports, a 67.4% increase from the previous year. This state has become one of the largest centers for naturalization in the country: in 2025, 76,156 citizenships were issued there.
Ukrainians are not yet the main driver of the record wave of naturalizations, but their share could rise sharply starting in 2027.
According to the Bundestag, 8,920 Ukrainian citizens received German citizenship in 2024, placing Ukrainians among the top 10 groups of new German citizens. There are currently no separate official federal figures for Ukrainians for 2025 in publicly available statistics.
German municipalities are already anticipating a new surge in applications from Ukrainians. The first major wave of refugees from Ukraine arrived in Germany after February 24, 2022, so by spring 2027, some Ukrainians will have reached the five-year residency requirement necessary to apply for citizenship.
At the same time, RND notes that temporary protection status does not in itself confer an automatic legal entitlement to naturalization, but the possibility of dual citizenship makes applying more attractive.
The Ukrainian community in Germany has become one of the country’s largest foreign groups. According to Destatis, as of November 30, 2025, 1.158 million Ukrainian citizens were living in Germany—more than seven times the number before the start of the full-scale war. By the end of 2024, Ukrainians were the second-largest group of foreigners in Germany after Turkish citizens.
