Will Germany’s dual citizenship law remain after new elections?

The ‘traffic light’ coalition government passed landmark citizenship and immigration reforms, which have benefitted foreigners in Germany. What might happen to these laws following new elections?

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Germany’s now collapsed traffic light government of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and liberal Free Democrats (FDP) is currently the most unpopular government in post-war German history.
Marred by consistent infighting over budgets and foreign policy questions like whether to support tariffs on Chinese cars or whether to support Ukraine with long-range missiles, the traffic light coalition may indeed be remembered as a government with a lot of stop and go – including during the process of passing citizenship reform – one that suffered delay after delay.
And yet, citizenship and immigration policy affecting foreign residents will be a lasting legacy of this government – assuming such reforms aren’t repealed. So how likely is that now that Germany is facing an early election?
READ ALSO: When are fresh elections likely to be held in Germany?

The centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) are the main beneficiaries of current political discontent. The CDU/CSU has such a convincing lead right now that the governing SPD, Greens, and FDP – put together – are polling at slightly less.
Furthermore, the CDU/CSU made no secret of its opposition to the traffic light government’s citizenship reform law – including allowing dual citizenship.
“Bavaria has repeatedly criticised the loosening of the nationality law,” state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told The Local. “Personally I also believe that the reduction in required pre-residence periods, a general acceptance of multiple nationalities, and the language requirement loosening for certain groups sends the wrong signal on integration policy.”
BUNDESTAGSWAHL | Sonntagsfrage INSA/BILD am SonntagUnion: 32% (+2)AfD: 18% (-1)SPD: 16% (+1)GRÜNE: 10% (-1)BSW: 8% (-1)FDP: 4%LINKE: 4% (+1)Sonstige: 8% (-1)Änderungen zur letzten Umfrage vom 26. Oktober 2024Verlauf: https://t.co/f9MV7iZ8iJ#btw #btw25 pic.twitter.com/MHN12bM8Qx— Deutschland Wählt (@Wahlen_DE) November 3, 2024

Unless one or more of the traffic light parties has an unprecedented turnaround in the next six months or so, Germany’s next government will very likely be led by the CDU/CSU – with leader Friedrich Merz as the most obvious Chancellor candidate.
But that’s not the end of the citizenship and immigration reform. Even with the Union’s commanding poll lead, it would need a coalition partner to agree to repeal the traffic light’s reforms.
READ ALSO: LATEST – What we know so far about the German government collapse

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Is the Union likely to be able to form a government that would repeal dual citizenship?
Most probably not.
That’s because under Germany’s proportional representation voting system, parties typically have to govern in coalition. Only one government has ever held an absolute majority – under CDU Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in the 1960s.
Given the latest polls, the CDU would still need one or more parties to form a coalition with. 
While the prospect of the CDU cooperating with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is often brought up in German political discussions – it is not, as of yet – something experts think is seriously possible.
“Cooperation with the AfD is controversial even by Saxonian standards,” says political scientist Kai Arzheimer, referring to the results of the Saxon state election that saw the AfD perform very well. “It certainly wouldn’t fly federally.”
Furthermore, the CDU’s party constitution expressly forbids cooperation with both the Left and the AfD, and senior party figures have flatly rejected it.

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READ ALSO: German Word of the Day: Brandmauer
That leaves the CDU having to cooperate with at least one of the traffic light parties – the same ones who just passed citizenship and immigration reforms. So far, none of them seem keen to renegotiate dual citizenship or skilled immigration reform – even if they might be open to talks on tightening asylum law.
“It is clear there are major differences between the parties on the question of naturalisation. As the SPD, we stand by the reforms. Multi-nationality and faster naturalisation options make our country fairer and more democratic,” Hakan Demir, the Social Democrat rapporteur on the citizenship reform law, tells The Local. “The new citizenship law applies. The Union cannot reverse the reforms on its own.”
“For us as the FDP parliamentary group, the new citizenship law is an important part of a modern immigration policy,” Stephan Thomae, who served as the FDP’s rapporteur on the recent update to Germany’s nationality law, told The Local.
“Because all people who come to Germany, work here, want to integrate and build something for themselves here are warmly welcome and should be allowed to become German more quickly.
“At the same time, we have significantly increased the criteria to prevent people who do not share our values from being naturalised.”
There’s no way they could do this.— Mike Stuchbery 💀🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) June 27, 2024

“The CDU/CSU is completely isolated with its announcement that it will revoke the citizenship law in the event of a change of government,” Filiz Polat, the Green rapporteur on the new nationality law, told The Local back in June.
“It was the same with its ‘no’ to the Skilled Labour Immigration Act. All other democratic parliamentary groups in the Bundestag have clearly positioned themselves in favour of a modern citizenship law in a modern country of immigration.”
In addition, the CDU would need an absolute majority in the Bundesrat to repeal the traffic light’s reforms – it’s hard to see the Union getting this agreement.
READ ALSO: FACT CHECK: Can Germany’s CDU scrap the dual nationality law?

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Germany’s now collapsed traffic light government of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and liberal Free Democrats (FDP) is currently the most unpopular government in post-war German history.
Marred by consistent infighting over budgets and foreign policy questions like whether to support tariffs on Chinese cars or whether to support Ukraine with long-range missiles, the traffic light coalition may indeed be remembered as a government with a lot of stop and go – including during the process of passing citizenship reform – one that suffered delay after delay.
And yet, citizenship and immigration policy affecting foreign residents will be a lasting legacy of this government – assuming such reforms aren’t repealed. So how likely is that now that Germany is facing an early election?
READ ALSO: When are fresh elections likely to be held in Germany?
The centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) are the main beneficiaries of current political discontent. The CDU/CSU has such a convincing lead right now that the governing SPD, Greens, and FDP – put together – are polling at slightly less.
Furthermore, the CDU/CSU made no secret of its opposition to the traffic light government’s citizenship reform law – including allowing dual citizenship.
“Bavaria has repeatedly criticised the loosening of the nationality law,” state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told The Local. “Personally I also believe that the reduction in required pre-residence periods, a general acceptance of multiple nationalities, and the language requirement loosening for certain groups sends the wrong signal on integration policy.”

BUNDESTAGSWAHL | Sonntagsfrage INSA/BILD am SonntagUnion: 32% (+2)AfD: 18% (-1)SPD: 16% (+1)GRÜNE: 10% (-1)BSW: 8% (-1)FDP: 4%LINKE: 4% (+1)Sonstige: 8% (-1)Änderungen zur letzten Umfrage vom 26. Oktober 2024Verlauf: https://t.co/f9MV7iZ8iJ#btw #btw25 pic.twitter.com/MHN12bM8Qx
Unless one or more of the traffic light parties has an unprecedented turnaround in the next six months or so, Germany’s next government will very likely be led by the CDU/CSU – with leader Friedrich Merz as the most obvious Chancellor candidate.
But that’s not the end of the citizenship and immigration reform. Even with the Union’s commanding poll lead, it would need a coalition partner to agree to repeal the traffic light’s reforms.
READ ALSO: LATEST – What we know so far about the German government collapse
Is the Union likely to be able to form a government that would repeal dual citizenship?
Most probably not.
That’s because under Germany’s proportional representation voting system, parties typically have to govern in coalition. Only one government has ever held an absolute majority – under CDU Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in the 1960s.
Given the latest polls, the CDU would still need one or more parties to form a coalition with. 
While the prospect of the CDU cooperating with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is often brought up in German political discussions – it is not, as of yet – something experts think is seriously possible.
“Cooperation with the AfD is controversial even by Saxonian standards,” says political scientist Kai Arzheimer, referring to the results of the Saxon state election that saw the AfD perform very well. “It certainly wouldn’t fly federally.”
Furthermore, the CDU’s party constitution expressly forbids cooperation with both the Left and the AfD, and senior party figures have flatly rejected it.
READ ALSO: German Word of the Day: Brandmauer
That leaves the CDU having to cooperate with at least one of the traffic light parties – the same ones who just passed citizenship and immigration reforms. So far, none of them seem keen to renegotiate dual citizenship or skilled immigration reform – even if they might be open to talks on tightening asylum law.
“It is clear there are major differences between the parties on the question of naturalisation. As the SPD, we stand by the reforms. Multi-nationality and faster naturalisation options make our country fairer and more democratic,” Hakan Demir, the Social Democrat rapporteur on the citizenship reform law, tells The Local. “The new citizenship law applies. The Union cannot reverse the reforms on its own.”
“For us as the FDP parliamentary group, the new citizenship law is an important part of a modern immigration policy,” Stephan Thomae, who served as the FDP’s rapporteur on the recent update to Germany’s nationality law, told The Local.
“Because all people who come to Germany, work here, want to integrate and build something for themselves here are warmly welcome and should be allowed to become German more quickly.
“At the same time, we have significantly increased the criteria to prevent people who do not share our values from being naturalised.”

There’s no way they could do this.
“The CDU/CSU is completely isolated with its announcement that it will revoke the citizenship law in the event of a change of government,” Filiz Polat, the Green rapporteur on the new nationality law, told The Local back in June.
“It was the same with its ‘no’ to the Skilled Labour Immigration Act. All other democratic parliamentary groups in the Bundestag have clearly positioned themselves in favour of a modern citizenship law in a modern country of immigration.”
In addition, the CDU would need an absolute majority in the Bundesrat to repeal the traffic light’s reforms – it’s hard to see the Union getting this agreement.
READ ALSO: FACT CHECK: Can Germany’s CDU scrap the dual nationality law?