Overview
- Berlin recorded 39,034 naturalizations in 2025 and Hamburg 11,532, both all‑time highs based on newly reported local figures.
- Nationwide naturalizations rose from 200,100 in 2023 to 291,955 in 2024, with another increase for 2025 considered likely though the federal total is not yet published.
- CDU politicians, citing reports of falsified language certificates, called for suspending ongoing cases and conducting comprehensive authenticity checks.
- Berlin authorities say language certificates are verified only on suspicion and that no statistics are kept on forged language or integration documents.
- The governing coalition’s rule remains that proven deception can trigger a ten‑year ban on naturalization, while 2024’s largest newly naturalized group came from Syria (83,150), followed by former nationals of Turkey, Iraq, Russia and Afghanistan.