All documents, in the right order, explained clearly. In German for the office, guided in Turkish, Arabic or English. 39 euros, one time.
Every document for your German citizenship application in Berlin or Hamburg: checklist, step by step guide and form help. In German, Turkish, Arabic or English. 39 euros, one time.
These are the most common reasons:
This page gives you orientation, not legal advice. All figures come from the responsible offices, from the law or from official statistics. Always check your authority’s own page before you apply, because rules change.
Last checked: 18 August 2026
In 2025, 332,500 people were naturalised in Germany. That is 14 percent more than in 2024 (292,000). In the same year 467,400 applications were filed and 371,100 procedures were completed. People naturalised in 2025 had lived in Germany for 12.4 years on average.
Source: Statistisches Bundesamt, Pressemitteilung Nr. 186 vom 03.06.2026
Since 1 January 2024, the State Office for Immigration (Landesamt für Einwanderung, LEA) handles every naturalisation in Berlin; before that it was the districts. The LEA took over more than 40,000 open cases and has been receiving up to 1,000 applications per week since then. In Hamburg the naturalisation department sits inside the Office for Migration, which belongs to the Ministry of the Interior and Sport.
Sources: Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin, Stand 01.08.2025 · Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026
Berlin asks for applications under sections 8, 9 and 10 of the Nationality Act to be filed “online only”. Applications sent by post are, in the words of the LEA, “only processed with lower priority”. Hamburg writes: “We ask you to file your naturalisation application online”, and points out that another route can extend the processing time. Both cities put a Quick-Check before the application so you can check your requirements.
Go straight to the Quick-Check: Berlin · Hamburg
Sources: Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin, Stand 01.08.2025 · Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026
255.00 euros per adult. For children naturalised together with their parents it is 51.00 euros per child. Hamburg calls them “minor children”, Berlin “children under 16 who apply together with a parent holding custody”. In Hamburg the fee is due when you file, payable in the online service by PayPal or credit card. On top of that comes the naturalisation test at 25.00 euros.
Sources: Service Berlin, 2026 · Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026 · BAMF, 2026
Hamburg says it openly: “The average processing time is currently more than fourteen months as a rule.” Berlin gives no figure. The LEA says it “cannot give a concrete forecast as to when the remaining old applications will be completed”. How fast Berlin works shows in the case numbers: around 9,000 naturalisations in 2023, almost 22,000 in 2024, and 37,877 from 1 January to mid December 2025 according to the LEA.
Sources: Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026 · Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin, Stand 01.08.2025 · Tagesspiegel, 02.01.2026
For naturalisation under section 10 of the Nationality Act you normally need five years of lawful residence in Germany. The shortening to three years for special integration achievements, introduced in 2024, has been removed. The Bundestag decided this on 8 October 2025 with 450 votes in favour, 134 against and 2 abstentions; it has been in force since 30 October 2025. In the legal text, section 10 paragraph 3 now reads “repealed”. A different three year rule still applies: spouses and registered partners of German citizens can be naturalised under section 9 after three years of residence if the marriage or partnership has existed for two years.
Sources: § 10 StAG, gesetze-im-internet.de · § 9 StAG, gesetze-im-internet.de · Deutscher Bundestag, 08.10.2025 · asyl.net, 10.11.2025
Since 27 June 2024 the rule is: “Since 27.06.2024 all nationals are naturalised while accepting multiple nationality.” So Germany no longer requires you to give up your previous citizenship. Whether your country of origin allows it too is decided by that country alone.
Sources: Auswärtiges Amt, Stand 20.10.2025 · § 10 StAG, gesetze-im-internet.de
You need German at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference. The naturalisation test has 33 questions, you get 60 minutes and have to answer at least 17 questions correctly. On top of that both cities ask for a passport, proof of residence, registration confirmation, civil status records such as your birth certificate, and proof of income, rent and insurance. Hamburg opens its list of documents with an item many people overlook: a tabular CV. Both offices request further documents during the procedure; Berlin even lists that point explicitly as “further documents”.
Sources: BAMF, 2026 · Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026 · Service Berlin, 2026
The folder for Berlin and Hamburg bundles exactly these requirements into a guided order, including the tabular CV that Hamburg lists first among its documents. 39 euros, one time.
Hamburg has volunteer naturalisation guides (Einbürgerungslotsen). They advise free of charge, among other languages in Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, English, Serbo-Croatian and Persian.
Source: Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026
For anyone applying for German citizenship in Berlin or Hamburg who wants their documents in order. You get the guide in German, Turkish, Arabic or English. The documents themselves are submitted to the office in German.
Berlin and Hamburg. Each city has its own checklist, because the offices ask for different documents.
Within 7 days of your purchase, as a PDF by email.
Money back within 14 days. A short email is enough, you do not have to give a reason.
The fee charged by the office is 255.00 euros per adult. For children naturalised together with their parents it is 51.00 euros per child. The amounts are the same in Berlin and Hamburg (sources: Service Berlin, 2026 · Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026). On top of that comes the naturalisation test at 25.00 euros (source: BAMF, 2026). Costs for a language course, a certificate or documents from your country of origin come on top, depending on your case.
Hamburg gives a figure: “The average processing time is currently more than fourteen months as a rule” (source: Behörde für Inneres und Sport Hamburg, 2026). Berlin gives no duration. The State Office for Immigration writes that it “cannot give a concrete forecast” and points to more than 40,000 old cases it took over from the districts in early 2024 (source: Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin, Stand 01.08.2025). So plan for several months up to more than a year. What you can influence yourself: file online instead of by post and upload complete documents from the start.
No. Since 27 June 2024, according to the Federal Foreign Office, “all nationals are naturalised while accepting multiple nationality” (source: Auswärtiges Amt, Stand 20.10.2025). Germany therefore no longer requires you to give it up. Important: some countries of origin withdraw their citizenship automatically anyway. Ask your embassy or consulate about that.
As a rule, no. Since 30 October 2025 a minimum of five years applies again for naturalisation under section 10 of the Nationality Act. The shortening to three years for special integration achievements was removed by the Bundestag on 8 October 2025 (sources: Deutscher Bundestag, 08.10.2025 · asyl.net, 10.11.2025). One exception remains: spouses and registered partners of German citizens can be naturalised under section 9 after three years of residence if the marriage or partnership has existed for two years (source: § 9 StAG, gesetze-im-internet.de).
Please note: the folder is an orientation aid and a checklist. It is not legal advice and does not replace information from the responsible authority. Your application is decided by the naturalisation office alone.
Legal notice · Terms · Privacy · Right of withdrawal
Delivered as a PDF by email within 7 days. Money back within 14 days, a short email to info@lebenslaufheld.de is enough.