Berlin: The German parliament on Wednesday abolished the "fast-track citizenship" option for immigrants, approving controversial legislation pushed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative alliance.

According to Anadolu Agency, the new legislation establishes a standard five-year residency requirement for all citizenship applicants, eliminating the previous three-year pathway for immigrants demonstrating exceptional integration. Lawmakers from Chancellor Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU), their coalition partner Social Democrats, and the main opposition far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) voted in favor of the new legislation, which establishes more stringent naturalization requirements.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt emphasized during the final debate in the Bundestag that "naturalization must come at the end of the integration process, not at the beginning." He stated that the German passport should serve as recognition for successful integration rather than an incentive for illegal migration.

The Social Democrats (SPD), who had introduced the fast-track citizenship option during their previous administration, accepted the recent changes as part of the compromise needed to form a coalition government with Chancellor Merz's conservative CDU/CSU alliance earlier this year. SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Sonja Eichwede defended the compromise, highlighting the relatively low number of fast-track citizenship cases. She stressed that during the coalition negotiations in April, they succeeded in convincing the Christian Democrats to maintain the 'dual citizenship' option for immigrants, which she considered more important than preserving the accelerated pathway.

Opposition lawmakers from The Left and the Greens strongly criticized Chancellor Merz's coalition government, arguing that the populist changes in integration policy damage integration efforts and surrender to the far-right AfD's anti-immigrant propaganda.