One of the perhaps lesser talked-about aspects of Germany's new citizenship law involves the changes for people aged 67 and over.
Under the system becoming naturalised as a German citizen should be slightly easier for some in this group, compared to standard applicants.
To be clear, most things remain the same for all applicants. The new law, which came into effect in late June, allows multiple citizenship for all applicants. It also reduces the amount of time someone needs to have been resident in Germany before they can apply for citizenship - from the eight years it was previously to five years under the new law.
With the exception of dual citizenship being allowed and a shorter stay required before eligibility, most things remain the same as before.
Most applicants need to pass both a citizenship exam and a test proving they can speak German at a minimum of a B1 level. These requirements change only in a few select cases - one of them being for certain over-67s.
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So what don't over-67s have to do?
Over 67s still have to meet the minimum residence requirement of five years and file a complete application with any relevant supporting documentation proving their residence - such as old payslips, rental contracts, house purchase agreements or the like.
Just like any other applicants, they have to also be free on any serious criminal convictions.
It's also true that some over-67s no longer have to pass the German citizenship test or a language test in order to naturalise. In practice though, most over-67s will still have to submit these.
Exceptions apply to people who came to Germany in the 1950s and 60s as guest workers - at a time when German and integration courses weren't available. They also apply to people who might not realistically be able to take language courses due to age-related problems - like illness or disability. A note from a doctor is typically sufficient evidence for this.
To be clear, people who fall under these exceptions still need to be able to speak German, they just do not have to prove their proficiency by passing a B1 language test. As such, they are saved a bit of time and paperwork in their application process.
But other than not having to submit these two tests, over-67s falling under these exceptions should generally assume that they have to fulfil all the other conditions for citizenship that any other applicant would.
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If they don't have to submit a test, how to these over-67s prove they can speak German?
Generally speaking, citizenship caseworkers will decide in-person whether an over-67 applicant falling under one of the exceptions is able to speak German to a level sufficient enough to qualify for citizenship.
Rather than standardised testing, caseworkers will determine this by seeing if the person applying for citizenship can communicate with them in German. This would almost certainly mean being able to get through any in-person appointments with authorities without the aid of a translator - for example. An over-67 falling under grounds for an exception who can do this will generally not have too much to worry about on the language front.
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Is there an age limit for applying for German citizenship?
No. Age is a prohibited grounds of discrimination in Germany - and there is no upper limit to how old one can be to apply for German citizenship. The oldest naturalising Germans have been over 95 years of age.
Obviously, older applicants may be rejected for other reasons that have nothing to do with their age.
READ ALSO: How can over-60s get German citizenship under the new dual nationality law?
Note: A previous version of this story implied that all over-67s were exempt from language and citizenship test requirements. While this was in an earlier draft of the law, the current rules allow these exceptions only in certain cases.
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