Work track · Naturalisation · §10 StAG

Citizenship 2026: the 5-year reset (dual citizenship kept)

In 2024 Germany cut the wait for citizenship to five years and opened a three-year fast-track for strong integration. As of 30 October 2025 that fast-track is gone. The floor is back to five years for everyone - not the old eight - and dual citizenship stays. For an Indian national, though, the headline that survived ("keep your old passport") is the one that changes nothing.

Last reviewed June 2026 · Structure and gate logic only · Not legal advice

What changed, and what did not

The 2024 reform (Gesetz zur Modernisierung des Staatsangehörigkeitsrechts) did three things at once. It cut the standard residence requirement from eight years to five. It added a three-year fast-track (Turboeinbürgerung) for applicants with C1 German, a secured livelihood, and special integration. And it made dual citizenship (Mehrstaatigkeit) the normal case rather than a rare exception.

On 8 October 2025 the Bundestag deleted the fast-track (§10 Abs. 3 StAG); it ended on 30 October 2025. Everything else from 2024 stays in place. So the reset is from three years back to five - not back to eight.

5 years

The standard lawful-residence requirement (§10 StAG). Unchanged since 2024; the fast-track no longer shortens it.

30 Oct 2025

When the 3-year Turboeinbürgerung ended. No transition rule: pending applications are judged under the 5-year law.

Dual: DE yes

Germany still lets you keep your prior nationality. The 2024 Mehrstaatigkeit rule was not touched by the reversal.

The "8 years" that did not come back

It is easy to read "fast-track reversed" as "back to the old rules." It is not. Eight years was the pre-2024 floor, and it was not restored. In March 2026 a Bundestag motion to push the standard period back to eight years was voted down, with CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens and the Left against it. Individual politicians keep calling for eight years and for ending dual citizenship, but that is a demand, not the law. As of mid-2026, five years with dual citizenship kept is the standing rule, which is exactly why a page like this carries a date.

Three eras, one current rule: 5 years

§10 StAG. Pre-2024 floor: 8 years. 2024 reform: 5-year standard plus an optional 3-year fast-track. From 30 Oct 2025: 5-year standard, fast-track removed; the 8-year floor was not restored (Bundestag, March 2026). As of June 2026.

For an Indian national, "dual citizenship kept" is the wrong gate

Germany permitting dual citizenship only helps if your other country permits it too. India does not. Indian law does not allow dual citizenship: acquiring another citizenship generally ends your Indian citizenship, and the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card is a long-term status, not a passport. So for an Indian national, naturalising as German still means giving up Indian citizenship, whatever the German reform says. The gate that decides this sits on the Indian side of the border, not the German one.

Germany allows it

StAG · since 2024, kept in 2025

Dual citizenship is the normal case. You may keep your prior nationality when you naturalise. Untouched by the fast-track reversal.

India does not

Indian Citizenship Act · verify with the Indian mission

No dual citizenship. Taking German citizenship generally ends Indian citizenship. OCI is the substitute: a status, not a passport.

Where this sits on a Work-track timeline

For Blue Card and skilled-worker holders, the five years is reachable on the path you are already on. Time spent on a non-temporary title - a Blue Card (§18g), a skilled-worker permit (§18b), a settlement permit - counts toward the residence requirement (§10 Abs. 1 StAG). Most people reach the Niederlassungserlaubnis first; citizenship is the step beyond it. The standard conditions still apply alongside the five years: B1 German (C1 no longer buys time), a secured livelihood without SGB II or XII benefits, the naturalisation test, and a commitment to the free democratic order. The adult fee is 255 EUR.

As of June 2026 - verify before you rely on it Citizenship law is moving quickly right now. The 5-year floor, the 30 October 2025 end of the fast-track, and the kept dual-citizenship rule are all confirmed current, but each is under active political pressure and could change. India's ban on dual citizenship is the reader's own foreign-law gate. Confirm the German rules with your Einbürgerungsbehörde and the Indian rules with the Indian mission or the Ministry of External Affairs before acting.

Structural reading

Two resets are easy to confuse. The legal reset is small: the shortcut from three years closed, and the floor returned to the five years that have applied since 2024 - not the eight from before. The reset that actually bites an Indian applicant is not German at all: Germany keeping dual citizenship does nothing while India still forbids it. Read the German timeline and the Indian passport rule as two separate gates, because only one of them lives in this reform.

See where citizenship sits in the Work track

bay.in maps the route from work permit to settlement to citizenship, gate by gate, so the five-year endpoint is clear from the start.

See Work track access

bay.in provides structural and procedural information only. It is not legal advice and does not assess individual cases (no Rechtsberatung under the RDG). German citizenship figures are stated as of June 2026 and must be verified against the current law and your Einbürgerungsbehörde. Foreign-law points, such as India's rules on dual citizenship and OCI, are general and must be confirmed with the competent authorities of that country before you act.