Settlement permit and German citizenship – how to stay in Germany for good in 2026
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
A settlement permit ends the cycle of renewals; German citizenship adds a passport and the vote. Since 2024 you can keep your old nationality, and since October 2025 the three-year fast track is gone. Here is who qualifies when, what it costs and how to apply.
Staying in Germany for good has two stages. A settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) gives you an unlimited right to live here; German citizenship makes you a German with full rights. The rules for both have moved in the past two years, so check these dates before you rely on older advice.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 27 June 2024 | Citizenship reform in force: naturalisation after five years instead of eight, dual citizenship generally accepted |
| End of October 2025 | Three-year fast track to citizenship abolished (law of 27 October 2025, published 29 October 2025, in force the day after) |
| 1 July 2026 | Grundsicherungsgeld replaces Bürgergeld – receiving it generally blocks naturalisation by entitlement |
Source: the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Law Gazette and the Federal Employment Agency, read 23 September 2026.
Official pages that still describe the three-year route are outdated: the minimum is now always five years.
What is a settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis)?
Under the Residence Act, the settlement permit is an unlimited residence title – no more renewals. You apply at your Ausländerbehörde (immigration office). The general route requires:
| Requirement | General route |
|---|---|
| Time | Five years holding a residence permit |
| Pension | At least 60 months of statutory or equivalent pension contributions |
| Money | A secure livelihood |
| German | Sufficient German, meaning level B1 |
| Civic knowledge | Basic knowledge of the legal and social order |
| Work and home | Permission to work, and adequate housing |
Source: the Residence Act, read 23 September 2026.
A completed integration course proves the German and the civic knowledge in one go; it costs €2.29 per teaching unit, and part 11 explains it. Time spent lawfully studying or in vocational training in Germany counts half towards the five years. Time on a job-search Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) does not count towards this route.
How soon can you get a settlement permit in Germany?
Many people qualify well before five years. The Residence Act sets these shorter routes:
| Your situation | Earliest | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|
| EU Blue Card | 21 months with B1 German, 27 with A1 | Blue Card work with pension contributions |
| Skilled worker or researcher | Three years | 36 months of pension contributions, B1 German |
| Skilled worker with German training or a German degree | Two years | 24 months of pension contributions, B1 German |
| Self-employed, business successful | Three years | Family livelihood secured; not for freelancers |
| Spouse of a German | Three years with a residence permit | Marriage continues in Germany; B1 German |
| Spouse of a skilled worker with a settlement permit | Three years | Working at least 20 hours a week |
| Recognised refugee | Five years, or three with C1 German | A2 German and livelihood mostly secured (largely, on the three-year route); asylum procedure counts |
| Subsidiary protection | Five years at the earliest | B1 German, secure livelihood, housing, a job subject to social insurance |
Source: the Residence Act and BAMF, read 23 September 2026.
Take Anna, an engineer on an EU Blue Card in Frankfurt. With B1 German she can apply to the Frankfurt Immigration Office (FIO), the city's Ausländerbehörde, after 21 months of Blue Card work instead of 27. It pays to take the language exam early.
Apply before your current permit expires: it then counts as continuing until the decision, and you receive a Fiktionsbescheinigung (provisional certificate) for €13. In Berlin, the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA), the immigration office, takes settlement permit applications online and warns that some departments cannot offer appointments at short notice.
Can you lose a settlement permit in Germany?
Yes, if you stay away too long. The EU long-term residence permit (Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt – EU) is harder to lose and otherwise equivalent. It needs five years with a residence title, fixed and regular income, B1 German, basic civic knowledge and adequate housing, and is not available on the basis of a study permit. Holders of a German Blue Card for at least two years can count earlier time on another EU state's Blue Card towards it.
| Settlement permit | EU long-term residence | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | €113 (€124 self-employed, €147 highly qualified) | €109 |
| Pension condition | 60 months on the general route | Adequate old-age provision, never more than 60 months |
| Lapses | If you leave and do not return within six months, or a longer period set by the Ausländerbehörde | After 12 consecutive months outside the EU (24 for former Blue Card holders), or six years outside Germany |
Source: the Residence Act and the Residence Ordinance, read 23 September 2026.
EU and EEA citizens need neither. After five years of continuous lawful residence you have a permanent right of residence automatically; a certificate of it costs €10 on request.
Who can get German citizenship after the 2024 reform?
Since 27 June 2024 you have been entitled to naturalisation after five years of lawful habitual residence, down from eight, without giving up your previous citizenship. Germans who take another nationality no longer lose German citizenship either. A record 332,500 people were naturalised in 2025, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
| Requirement | What the Nationality Act asks |
|---|---|
| Residence | Five years; your spouse and minor children can be naturalised with you before their own five years |
| Status | A permanent right of residence, an EU Blue Card or certain temporary permits |
| German | B1, spoken and written; age-appropriate language for children under 16 |
| Civic knowledge | Knowledge of the legal and social order, usually shown by the naturalisation test |
| Money | Support yourself and your dependants without benefits such as Grundsicherungsgeld |
| Values | Commitment to the free democratic basic order and to Germany's historical responsibility for Nazi injustice, including the protection of Jewish life |
| Record | No criminal conviction; clarified identity; no polygamous marriage or conduct disregarding equality of men and women |
Source: the Nationality Act and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, read 23 September 2026.
The money test is waived if you work full-time and have done so for at least 20 of the last 24 months, and for your spouse and minor child living with you. If you applied by 23 August 2023, the older, more favourable livelihood rule still applies. Children born in Germany to foreign parents are German from birth, and may keep their parents' citizenship, if one parent has lived here lawfully for five years and has a permanent right of residence.
How do you apply for German citizenship?
From 16 you apply yourself; parents apply for younger children. The naturalisation test (Einbürgerungstest) has 33 questions, three about your Land, in 60 minutes; you pass with 17 correct answers, and a Leben in Deutschland (life in Germany) result of at least 17 also counts. You are exempt with a German school-leaving certificate or certain German degrees, such as law or political science, if you are under 16, or if illness, disability or age prevents you.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Naturalisation, per person | €255 |
| Minor child naturalised with a parent, without own income | €51 |
| Minor naturalised without the parents | €255 |
| Naturalisation test | €25 |
Source: the Nationality Act and BAMF, read 23 September 2026.
Reductions or instalments are possible on a low income. Allow time for results: on 21 September 2026 BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) was evaluating tests taken up to 3 July 2026.
In Berlin, the LEA has been the single naturalisation authority since 1 January 2024. You apply online with a Quick-Check, and a parent can include children under 16. The LEA took over more than 40,000 pending cases, receives up to 1,000 applications a week and naturalised almost 22,000 people in 2024. It does not answer status enquiries, and the fee is not refunded if an application is refused.
The reward: the vote at every level, EU free movement, access to civil-servant posts and a right to live here that can no longer be forfeited.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find your route in the table above and count your pension months | Now |
| 2 | Pass a B1 exam or complete the integration course | As early as you can |
| 3 | Apply for the settlement permit or EU long-term residence | Before your current permit expires |
| 4 | Take the naturalisation test, unless you are exempt | Well before you apply |
| 5 | Apply for citizenship and pay the fee | After five years of lawful residence |
Source: the Residence Act, the Nationality Act and BAMF, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 9 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 18c · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 28 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 26 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsverordnung § 44 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 9a · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 9c · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 9b · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 51 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU § 4a · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium des Innern – Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht · bmi.bund.de
- Bundesgesetzblatt 2025 I Nr. 256 – Gesetz zur Änderung des Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetzes sowie weiterer Vorschriften… · recht.bund.de
- Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz § 10 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium des Innern – Einbürgerung · bmi.bund.de
- Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz § 38 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- BAMF – Einbürgerung · bamf.de
- Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz § 4 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz § 40a · gesetze-im-internet.de
- berlin.de – Landesamt für Einwanderung: Einbürgerung und weitere Staatsangehörigkeitsangelegenheiten · berlin.de
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit – Jobcenter.digital / Grundsicherungsgeld · arbeitsagentur.de
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.