A long-awaited law easing the pathway to a German passport came into force on Thursday, marking a turning point for millions of Turks eager to hold dual citizenship.

The naturalization reform put forward by Germany's three-party center-left coalition government allows people to become German while retaining their original citizenship.

People can now apply for citizenship after living in Germany for five years, instead of the previous requirement of eight years, provided they meet all conditions.

Children born in Germany to parents from abroad will also be granted German citizenship if one parent has been a legal resident in Germany for five years rather than eight.

The law grants the right to retain German citizenship and regain Turkish citizenship for children of many Turks in the country.

Germany is home to the world's biggest Turkish community overseas, with more than 3.5 million people. Most of them are descendants of "guest workers" invited to rebuild postwar Germany.

If applicants demonstrate "special integration achievements" through particularly good performance at school or work or civic engagement, they may be able to be naturalized after only three years.

An important aspect of the new rule is that people who obtain German citizenship will not have to give up their citizenship in their native country, which was previously only possible for residents of other EU countries in Germany.

Likewise, Germans who wish to become citizens of another country will no longer need special authorization from the German authorities. Previously, without authorization, they would have lost their German citizenship if they acquired another one.

The law also removes the option model that previously forced a person to choose between German citizenship and the citizenship of their parent until the age of 23.

"Many people have been waiting for this for decades," said Germany's Commissioner for Integration, Reem Alabali-Radovan, a member of the ruling center-left Social Democrats (SPD). With the reform, Germany finally has "a citizenship law that is in line with the times," she added.

Germany's liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), a junior partner in the coalition government, said that while the waiting time for naturalization will be reduced, the overall requirements for obtaining German citizenship will not be lowered with the new regulations.

"Obtaining a German passport will be faster in the future, but it will be more challenging due to significantly stricter naturalization requirements," said FDP lawmaker Stephan Thomae.

Thomae said that a higher number of applications may not lead to a significant increase in naturalizations in the long term.

This is due to new requirements stipulating that applicants must be financially independent as well as stricter tests to prevent the naturalization of individuals with anti-Semitic views or conflicting values, Thomae said.

Israel’s ‘right to exist’

Naturalization will be denied to those who reject gender equality and have partaken in anti-Semitic, racist, xenophobic or other acts against humanity.

The German Interior Ministry said applicants who do not share the values of a liberal society or even act against them are not allowed to become citizens.

It confirmed the new law now requires applicants to declare the state of Israel’s "right to exist and Jewish life in Germany" as a response to a recent surge in anti-Semitism in the country.

Parts of the citizenship test include questions on Germany's historic responsibility toward Jewish people as a result of the crimes of Nazi Germany and when the state of Israel was founded.

Interior Minister Nancy Faesar said: "Anyone who shares our values and makes an effort can now get a German passport more quickly and no longer has to give up part of their identity by giving up their old nationality.

"But we have also made it just as clear: Anyone who does not share our values ​​cannot get a German passport. We have drawn a crystal-clear red line here and made the law much stricter than before."

Under new legislation launched Wednesday, Germany also eased the deportation of foreigners who publicly approve of terrorist acts, notably after social media posts that Faeser said "celebrated Hamas' acts during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel in a repugnant way."

"So it's very clear to me that Islamist agitators who mentally live in the Stone Age have no place in our country," she said.

Germany has for decades been a staunch supporter of Israel and a top weapons supplier, selling equipment and weapons totaling 326 million euros last year.

High demand

Currently, over 12 million people in Germany – around 14% of the total population – do not possess German citizenship, including nearly 5.3 million living there for at least 10 years, according to official figures.

Around 2 million Turks want to acquire German citizenship; many see Germany as their "second nation."

The new law contains carve-outs to encourage the "guest worker" generation who came to Germany after the war to help rebuild the country. Written tests and other conditions for citizenship, namely a formal language or citizenship test, will not be valid for them.

Chair of the Turkish Community in Germany, Gökay Sofuoğlu, expects a sharp rise in naturalization applications from the Turkish population.

"People have now fully taken in that there will be dual citizenship," he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), German news portal The Local’s wrote. "Any many are now applying as quickly as possible."

Sofuoğlu said he expects as many as "50,000 applications per year" from Turks in the coming years.

Many applicants believe they can take part in the Bundestag elections next year after naturalization, Sofuoğlu said.

"Therefore, I appeal to parties to realize the applicants are potential voters and pursue appropriate policies, including more opportunities for political participation and seriously combatting racism."

Berlin State Office for Immigration accepts digital applications and offers a Quick-Check test for applicants that expedites the process, director Engelhard Mazanke said, anticipating high demand.

"Last year, 9,000 people became German citizens in Berlin. This year, we want to naturalize 20,000 people," he said.