February 1995 Volume 1 Number 4

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Germany's Justice Minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, has called for a reform of the country's 1913 citizenship law that makes citizenship dependent on blood rather than place of birth. The CDU-CSU-FDP coalition that won the October 1994 election proposed a conditional citizenship for the children of immigrants who have lived in Germany for at least 10 years--at age 18, the child would have to choose German or his parents' nationality.

Kohl's Christian Democrats continue the affirm their ardent opposition to dual nationality or anything that would liberalize current immigration policy. The proposed bill threatens to drive a wedge between the FDP and the Christian Democrats (CDU) weakening the center-right coalition government. The proposal is very close to the position of the FDP, the small party that helps maintain Kohl's slim 10-seat parliamentary majority.

Germany's major opposition party, the Social Democrats (SPD), voted unanimously on January 24 to offer a nationality bill that would make dual nationality possible, cut the naturalization period, and automatically grant citizenship to third-generation immigrants. The Social Democrats argue that the bill will help the 6.9 million foreigners integrate better.

Germany's nationality laws are based on blood or decent rather than place of birth. The proposed law would entitle children of foreign parents to German nationality if one parent was born or lives in Germany. Allowing retention of another nationality would benefit the 1.8 million Turks. Some have been deterred from naturalizing because they feared losing inheritance rights in Turkey. The CDU believes that the new law would send the wrong message and open the flood gates to further migration to Germany.

Of Germany's 80 million population, about 6.5 million are foreign born, and nearly 60 percent of the foreign-born have lived in Germany for more than 10 years. Many gained residence rights through the once liberal asylum process. According to the Interior Ministry, 127,210 foreigners applied for asylum in 1994, compared to 322,599 in 1993 and 438,191 in 1992.

Some 222,600 ethnic German immigrants arrived in Germany in 1994, compared with 218,900 in 1993 and 230,600 in 1992. About two-thirds of the immigrants came from Asian republics such as Kazakhstan, but other ethnic Germans are re-settling in Russia.

On January 11, 1995, Germany announced that it would begin to forcibly repatriate some of the 40,000 Vietnamese illegally in the country, and Vietnam has agreed to accept them back in exchange for a $130 million aid package and $65 million in risk insurance for German companies making investments in Vietnam. This works out to about $5,000 for each Vietnamese to be sent home.

There were about 62,000 Vietnamese in East Germany in 1989, and 12,000 stayed despite a German offer of a ticket home plus $2,000. The 40,000 illegal Vietnamese include 20,000 rejected asylum seekers.


"Bonn government faces Test Over Nationality Issue," Reuters, January 24, 1995. Craig Whitney, "Hanoi to Accept Refugees Now in Germany in Exchange for Aid," New York Times, January 12, 1995, A12; "More ethnic Germans coming to Germany from Russia," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, January 1, 1995. Kevin Liffey, "SPD puts Bonn government in bind with nationality bill" Reuters, Reuters World Service, January 18, 1995. "Minister authorizes further delay in Kurd expulsions," Agence France Presse ,January 12, 1995. Ramesh Jaura, "Migration: Bonn's Asylum Seeker Policy To Remain Hardline," Inter Press Service, January 10, 1995.