Attitudes to naturalisation. Analyses in the context of the reform of the law on nationality (July 2023 – June 2024)

The scientific staff of the SVR is using the ongoing reform of Germany’s Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, StAG) as an opportunity to investigate attitudes in the resident German population to naturalisation and the proposed reforms. To that end, quantitative data will be gathered using a combination of two survey methods: The first module will use a representative multi-topic survey to record attitudes to naturalisation requirements; the second module will use an online access panel to conduct a vignette study, amongst other things, that will aim to show whether and how respondents weight the varying individual characteristics of hypothetical candidates for naturalisation before deciding who they would grant German nationality to.

The project aims to provide an up-to-date picture of current attitudes to this important social and integration policy issue – and thus to contribute to the ongoing debate on the reform of the law on nationality – as well as to record which preferences around and reservations against naturalisation exist in the resident German population.

Policy Brief (Summary)

New Pathways, New Hurdles? The Reform of Citizenship Law and Potential Consequences for Authorities and Vulnerable Groups