Processing Time/Experience with Naturalisation in Hamburg/Other States

[honigbiene 13]

Hi Toytowners,

 

I have recently applied for my naturalization here in Hamburg. I have applied after 6 years of living here in Germany.

 

I am curious to know how long has it taken for some of you who might have already received their certificate from Hamburg (or other state/city). I have been going through the Internet for the past 48 hours, but did not come across anything useful. So, therefore thought of asking here.

 

So, can you TT-ers share your experience regarding your Naturalisation process? Does not matter which state you are from. I would love to learn about your experiences. It might also help others who are similarly curious about it.

 

My apologies if this question has already been asked here under some other thread. I failed to find it either. A link to that thread would be much appreciated.

 

Many thanks, 

H.Bee

[BethAnnBitt 2,904]

Hi H.Bee,  Here on TT type in Naturalization with a "z" instead of an "s" and you will find a whole bunch of threads on this topic, several even specific to Hamburg.

[TurMech 180]

Hi Honigbiene,

 

Citizenship application after 6 years of residence is something, i am also targeting. Though i have still 2 years and 11 months until then, i started my preparations. I took the B2 language certificate, and will be taking the Einbürgerungstest in a week.

 

This is the thread where citizenship after 6 years is discussed --> German citizenship after 6 years

However, the answer to your question regarding the processing time is under this thread --> Processing time

 

Have you been involved in any kind of voluntary service? I am asking, because that was advised to me to support my future application in my info4alien topic--> Einbürgerung nach § 10 Abs. 3 Satz 2 StAG (6 Jahre)

[honigbiene 13]

8 hours ago, TurMech said:

Hi Honigbiene,

 

Citizenship application after 6 years of residence is something, i am also targeting. Though i have still 2 years and 11 months until then, i started my preparations. I took the B2 language certificate, and will be taking the Einbürgerungstest in a week.

 

This is the thread where citizenship after 6 years is discussed --> German citizenship after 6 years

However, the answer to your question regarding the processing time is under this thread --> Processing time

 

Have you been involved in any kind of voluntary service? I am asking, because that was advised to me to support my future application in my info4alien topic--> Einbürgerung nach § 10 Abs. 3 Satz 2 StAG (6 Jahre)

 

Hi TurMech, 

Happy to see you here again. I hope you are keeping well. 

 

Many thanks for sharing the links. Although, I do not get enough data regarding Hamburg.

 

I applied with B2 Certificate. No voluntary work. Although, I have submitted Integrationskurszertifikat + Einbürgerungstest with it. Here in Hamburg, as far as I got the impression, one need not do voluntary work to be eligible for Naturalisation after 6 year. Only B2 certificate is enough. Although, I met a guy during my B1 test, who was interested for Naturalisation after 6 years. But, he was doing voluntary service somewhere for almost a year. For him, B1 certificate + his voluntary work certificate was enough. 

[TurMech 180]

18 hours ago, honigbiene said:

Hi TurMech, 

Happy to see you here again. I hope you are keeping well. 

 

I'm doing fine, thank you . I hope everything is well on your side too.

 

18 hours ago, honigbiene said:

Here in Hamburg, as far as I got the impression, one need not do voluntary work to be eligible for Naturalisation after 6 year. Only B2 certificate is enough.

 

That is great news. I'd appreciate if you share your experiences here, as you go through the process.

 

18 hours ago, honigbiene said:

Although, I met a guy during my B1 test, who was interested for Naturalisation after 6 years. But, he was doing voluntary service somewhere for almost a year. For him, B1 certificate + his voluntary work certificate was enough. 

 

That is so strange. By law, it is not possible (§ 10 StAG). 

 

Edit: It seems to be possible, based on the input from @pappnase below.

 

(3) Weist ein Ausländer durch die Bescheinigung des Bundesamtes für Migration und Flüchtlinge die erfolgreiche Teilnahme an einem Integrationskurs nach, wird die Frist nach Absatz 1 auf sieben Jahre verkürzt. Bei Vorliegen besonderer Integrationsleistungen, insbesondere beim Nachweis von Sprachkenntnissen, die die Voraussetzungen des Absatzes 1 Satz 1 Nr. 6 übersteigen, kann sie auf sechs Jahre verkürzt werden.

 

For the definition of application after 6 year residence, please see Page 30, top left paragraph in this document --> Link

[honigbiene 13]

42 minutes ago, TurMech said:

I'm doing fine, thank you . I hope everything is well on your side too.

I am doing good too, thank you. Just a bit anxious about the process of Einbürgerung. 

 

43 minutes ago, TurMech said:

That is great news. I'd appreciate if you share your experiences here, as you go through the process.

Yes, I will surely do so as it proceeds. There are way too many people asking technical questions here on TT, and not too many people sharing their experience once the process ends. I will share mine so that others can benefit.

 

44 minutes ago, TurMech said:

hat is so strange. By law, it is not possible (§ 10 StAG). 

 

(3) Weist ein Ausländer durch die Bescheinigung des Bundesamtes für Migration und Flüchtlinge die erfolgreiche Teilnahme an einem Integrationskurs nach, wird die Frist nach Absatz 1 auf sieben Jahre verkürzt. Bei Vorliegen besonderer Integrationsleistungen, insbesondere beim Nachweis von Sprachkenntnissen, die die Voraussetzungen des Absatzes 1 Satz 1 Nr. 6 übersteigen, kann sie auf sechs Jahre verkürzt werden.

 

For the definition of application after 6 year residence, please see Page 30, top left paragraph in this document --> Link

 That is an important document. However, since the approval of the Einbürgerungsantrag before 8 years mark is at the "discretion" of the case officer, so therefore, I guess his case was different as he has worked for an NGO as a volunteer. So, probably his B2 requirement was waived off. Moreover, he was a British Citizen. I wonder if Brexit played a role in this. But, not entirely sure. 

[pappnase 2,571]

In the official translation of (§ 10 StAG) the wording is:-

Quote

(3) Upon a foreigner confirming successful attendance of an integration course by presenting a certificate issued by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BMAF), the qualifying period stipulated in subsection 1 shall be reduced to seven years. This qualifying period may be reduced to six years if the foreigner has made outstanding efforts at integration, especially if he or she can demonstrate a command of the German language which exceeds the requirements under subsection 1, first sentence, no. 6.

 (My highlight).

If the case officer interpreted "insbesondere" that way then he could justify his decision based on the NGO work and/or he could decide just based on the guys conversations at the relevant meetings that his German was already beyond B1 level.

 

At the end of the day, there are lots of circumstances that allow the case officer to grant citizenship early, but almost none where they MUST give it, so it's important to remember that every case is different and although people on here and elsewhere can explain their own particular experience, any other person on any other day might have a different result.

 

[engelchen 13,040]

 

1 hour ago, TurMech said:

That is so strange. By law, it is not possible (§ 10 StAG). 

 

No, you've just not correctly understood what the law actually says. 

 

Instead of trying to interpret laws in a language you don't properly understand, you might want to research properly before giving advice.

[engelchen 13,040]

7 minutes ago, pappnase said:

In the official translation of (§ 10 StAG) the wording is:-

 

The "official" translation has no legal standing in Germany.

[TurMech 180]

46 minutes ago, engelchen said:

 

 

No, you've just not correctly understood what the law actually says. 

 

Instead of trying to interpret laws in a language you don't properly understand, you might want to research properly before giving advice.

 

Which advice? 

[honigbiene 13]

Just a quick question: I was on ALG-I for 3 months in the last quarter of 2019. Does anyone of you think that it might be a problem? The Govt. websites say that ALG-I will not be seen as a barrier or a hindrance for an application processing. But, in general, they always tend to talk about the applications made after 8 years - the normal ones. But, I failed to find anything on the Internet regarding the applications made under 8 years - the discretionary ones. Anyone has any idea, how it might affect my case?

[pappnase 2,571]

1 hour ago, engelchen said:

 

The "official" translation has no legal standing in Germany.

 

And where did I (or anyone else) ever say it did? 

It is a useful guide and nothing more.

If you stick the same text into a machine translator you get "in particular" instead of 'especially'.

The difference in emphasis between 'especially' and 'in particular' seemed to me to be a helpful clarification for TurMech to help him understand why he had misunderstood what the law says.

Alternatively I could have followed your route and just berated him for misunderstanding, but I think my approach is better. 

 

@engelchenI have a lot of respect for you in your expertise here, I've seen you help a lot of people, but sometimes you are really just a bit of an arse. 

 

 

 

 

[kapil354 94]

On 2/5/2020, 10:43:27, honigbiene said:

Just a quick question: I was on ALG-I for 3 months in the last quarter of 2019. Does anyone of you think that it might be a problem? The Govt. websites say that ALG-I will not be seen as a barrier or a hindrance for an application processing. But, in general, they always tend to talk about the applications made after 8 years - the normal ones. But, I failed to find anything on the Internet regarding the applications made under 8 years - the discretionary ones. Anyone has any idea, how it might affect my case?

If you have a permanent job now then it should be ok.

 

Hamburg is considered "faster" than some other cities. Usually they give positive response in 3 months (this is what I have "heard")

Would be happy to connect and see how it is going... 

[kapil354 94]

On 2/3/2020, 1:08:48, honigbiene said:

Hi Toytowners,

 

I have recently applied for my naturalization here in Hamburg. I have applied after 6 years of living here in Germany.

 

I am curious to know how long has it taken for some of you who might have already received their certificate from Hamburg (or other state/city). I have been going through the Internet for the past 48 hours, but did not come across anything useful. So, therefore thought of asking here.

 

So, can you TT-ers share your experience regarding your Naturalisation process? Does not matter which state you are from. I would love to learn about your experiences. It might also help others who are similarly curious about it.

 

My apologies if this question has already been asked here under some other thread. I failed to find it either. A link to that thread would be much appreciated.

 

Many thanks, 

H.Bee

https://deutsch-werden.de/de/wie-lange-dauert-einbuergerung-hamburg

 

Here is some info for Hamburg

[TurMech 180]

On 2.6.2020, 17:04:47, kapil354 said:

https://deutsch-werden.de/de/wie-lange-dauert-einbuergerung-hamburg

 

Here is some info for Hamburg

 

That's a very helpful link to have an overview on the waiting times in Hamburg. Thanks for sharing it.

[TurMech 180]

I see frightening numbers here. In Berlin, 26.000 applications are pending, among those 10.000 is from the year 2021. In Hamburg, the number of applications currently in process is 18.000.

 

https://www.rnd.de/politik/einbuergerung-mehr-als-100-000-auslaender-warten-auf-einen-deutschen-pass-DKNCCKPJS2IPPTNMUOUDN5QDAM.html

 

Is there anybody, who received his/her citizenship certificate very recently, and can share the processing times?

[TurMech 180]

Unfortunately there is an update on the website of the citizenship office. The last time i checked, the processing time of the citizenship applications was 7 months. Now, it is given as "more then 12 months".

 

https://www.hamburg.de/innenbehoerde/verfahrensablauf/

 

Die durchschnittliche Bearbeitungszeit beträgt gegenwärtig in der Regel mehr als zwölf Monate.

[Ashvath 12]

I submitted my application during first week of June 2022.

- June II week 2022 i recieved a letter to make an advance payment for processing my application

- July I week 2022, i was asked to submit my marriage ceritificate, birth Certificates of parents and kids + 1000 Euro fee to get the documents verified in India through German Embassy, initiated by Citizenship office

- August I week, 2022 i submitted documents for verification 

- Sepetember last week,2022 i got additional document request 

- German Embassy started verification at our native by September 2022

- German Embassy completed the verification and send report by Feb 14,2023, as i was informed by Citizenship office 

- Citizenship office asked to mail last 3 payslips via mail

- waiting for invitation to collect my citizenship certificate 

[TurMech 180]

16 hours ago, Ashvath said:

I submitted my application during first week of June 2022.

- June II week 2022 i recieved a letter to make an advance payment for processing my application

- July I week 2022, i was asked to submit my marriage ceritificate, birth Certificates of parents and kids + 1000 Euro fee to get the documents verified in India through German Embassy, initiated by Citizenship office

- August I week, 2022 i submitted documents for verification 

- Sepetember last week,2022 i got additional document request 

- German Embassy started verification at our native by September 2022

- German Embassy completed the verification and send report by Feb 14,2023, as i was informed by Citizenship office 

- Citizenship office asked to mail last 3 payslips via mail

- waiting for invitation to collect my citizenship certificate 

 

Hi, thank you for sharing your process. I see that, you are in Düsseldorf. Obviously things go faster in Düsseldorf than in Hamburg.