How long do foreigners have to wait for German citizenship in Munich?

How can I apply for citizenship in Munich?

In Munich and Bavaria as a whole, applicants for German citizenship have the advantage of an entirely digital system. That means that the process of applying starts with the online 'Quick-Check' tool, which is a simple online form to determine if you meet the criteria for citizenship.

In the form, for example, you'll be asked how long you've been in Germany, whether you speak B1 German or higher, and whether you're able to support yourself without relying on benefits. If you pass, you'll be invited to submit your application online.

Once you've sent everything off to the authorities, it's time to play the waiting game. If the citizenship office requires more documents or information, they will contact you in due course - though this may take several months.

Otherwise, you'll first hear back once your application has been accepted - or (in very rare cases) rejected. 

What can foreigners expect?

More than half a year after the introduction of Germany's dual nationality law, authorities in Munich say they've been flooded with applications.

In June, when the new law was introduced, authorities saw a doubling of applications compared to the previous year. By early August, the number of naturalisation requests had already overtaken the figure for the entirety of 2023.

In response to a request by The Local, the citizenship office revealed that they had received around 19,000 new applications for citizenship last year, while around 27,120 were still being processed.

Meanwhile, 6,643 naturalisations took place in the Bavarian capital in the first 11 months of year.

With new applications massively outpacing naturalisations, foreigners can expect to wait a long time for German citizenship in Munich. At present, the waiting time is around 18 months from the date of submitting the application. That put Munich in second place in The Local's recent survey of waiting times at citizenship offices around Germany, with only Frankfurt residents waiting longer for naturalisation.

READ ALSO: Which German cities have the longest waiting times for citizenship?

How often do applications get rejected - and why? 

Given the high numbers of applications in Munich, the number of annual rejections is surprisingly low - and actually in the single digits.

According to a spokesperson for Munich's city government, just nine applicants were turned down in the whole of 2024. 

Mostly, this happened in cases where the identity of the applicant couldn't be verified, or when important documents were missing from the application and not submitted on request.

It's worth noting that the number of rejections doesn't necessarily reflect the number of unsuccessful applications in Munich. Often, if candidates don't fulfil the criteria for citizenship, they are asked to withdraw their applications voluntarily and apply again another time.

READ ALSO: The reasons your German citizenship application might be rejected

That said, many issues can also be solved by explaining the situation and submitting further evidence, and authorities will generally give applicants a chance to do this before making any final decisions. 

Could waiting times improve in the future?

Potentially - but it may take some time. One of the main issues in Munich is a lack of staff, which the city council has attempted to solve by boosting the staff budget.

As of mid-August last year, however, just five of the 20 new positions at Munich's naturalisation office had been filled.

The Local has reached out to officials to request more information about how the hiring process is going, but had not received a response at the time of writing.

In addition, the authorities are switching to larger, more communal naturalisation ceremonies so that multiple applicants can receive their citizenship at the same time.

"This will speed up the overall process," a spokesperson explained. 

READ ALSO: What are citizenship offices around Germany doing to prepare for the new law?