As a citizenship lawyer, I am not very fond of clauses in the law that allow naturalization under exceptional circumstances. Far too many people think of themselves as very special, and I have to spend a large part of my time explaining to people that they are not.

Like that one guy from Florida, who asked me if it counted as “special ties to Germany” within the meaning of § 14 StAG that he had always owned a German car.

Thus, I was not happy when the new German Citizenship Law enacted in 2024 came with § 10 III StAG, according to which the residency requirement can be reduced to anything between 3 and 5 years in cases of exceptional integration. Because I knew right away that thousands of people would try to claim “exceptional integration” – and that 99% of them would not qualify.

As I explained in my article about the new German Citizenship Law:

To answer one of the questions I receive most often: If your German is not at the C1 level, there is no chance. That is the minimum requirement, on top of which you need to have done outstanding academic or professional work, run for city council (if you are an EU citizen), volunteered in environmental, social or political groups, organized arts exhibitions, volunteered as a firefighter, and published a book about Germany. As a general rule, if you haven’t been on television or radio, then your achievements probably don’t count as exceptional.

In practice, even if those requirements are met, the main problem is not when you are allowed to apply, but the duration of the process. With naturalization taking up to several years even in straightforward cases, the prospect of applying one or two years early may simply provide false hope. (Although there are some tricks to speed up the process.)

In my professional experience, there are only two groups of people whose citizenship applications are subject to preferential treatment:

For one, if you are really good in a sport where Germany wants you on the national team. If the deadline for the qualification for the Olympic Games or a European or World Championship is coming up, these applications are suddenly processed super fast.

Maybe we should extend the same preference to people who are willing to represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest. Because without foreign talent, we will forever be the “zero points” laughing stock of the world of music.

But even if you can neither sing, nor run or jump or kick balls, there is another option, by which you can prove exceptional integration under § 10 III StAG: Providing information that is vital to the security of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Currently in high demand is any information about the Iranian nuclear program, the Chinese navy, Bolivian lithium fields, and the whereabouts of the Bernsteinzimmer.

Some people may call it snitching or other derogatory terms, but in reality, espionage is a respected activity under international law.

Once, there was a guy who provided material first-hand information about biological weapons in Iraq. That’s the information which was used as justification for the Iraq War in 2003. It turned out that he was a big joker and had all made it up, but he got to keep the German passport.

True story: 

It was even turned into a book and a movie.

So, if you know anything about something and want to use that information to ingratiate yourself with your new country of residence, contact me inconspicuously. After all, it makes sense to have a lawyer who has been accused of espionage once or twice himself.

By the way, in such cases, German law of course also allows you to change your identity in the process of naturalization (Art. 47 EGBGB).

Links:

• More articles about German citizenship.
• And about German law in general.