Millions of people in Germany, among them many citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), have to choose – either to keep the citizenship they already have or German. By all accounts, the next government could provide dual citizenship for all.
“Young people over the age of 18 cannot understand that we still have rules that are a relic of the past when it comes to dual citizenship,” said co-leader of German Alliance 90/the Greens, Annalena Baerbock on Monday, writes DW.
“Young people would acquire the right to vote at the age of 16, cannabis consumption would be partially legalized, and dual citizenship would be possible in principle,” it was written in the news.
Only for EU and Swiss citizens
Dual citizenship is now prohibited in Germany in principle – unless there are citizens of another European Union (EU)member state or Swiss. More precisely, one can have a German and a Croatian passport at the same time, but one cannot have a German and a Serbian one.
For millions of migrants and their children, it means that when they meet the conditions for obtaining German citizenship, they have to decide whether to become citizens of a new homeland or keep their old citizenship.
German passport among the most powerful in the world
Currently in Germany, after five years of continuous residence and work, an application for a permanent residence permit can be applied for, while an application for citizenship is possible after eight years. Then you have to pass the test of knowledge of German legal system, culture, and history.
German citizenship brings its (new) citizens the right to vote at all levels, a practically lifelong residence permit, the opportunity to be employed as civil servants, as well as visa-free travel to 191 countries or territories in the world. This sets the German passport in the third place in the world when it comes to the most powerful passports, after Japan and Singapore.
Among German citizens who have another passport, most are Poles (344.000). There are about 80.000 citizens of BiH. To recall, about 240.000 BiH citizens live in Germany.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba
