I'm a simple emigrant and I'm waiting for the opportunity to obtain a second passport

In Germany, the process of adopting changes to the citizenship law is finally coming to an end. The first time I wrote about this was back in 2021, and since then various dubious sources have from time to time published news like “the law has been adopted,” I kept checking and found that nothing had actually been adopted yet. The feeling was like in this GIF. But now there remains only the last signature from the president, and it is more ceremonial, so we are waiting for the law to come into force in the first half of 2024. And in the meantime I’ll tell you how you can actually obtain citizenship here. For an adult Russian citizen there are three ways to obtain German citizenship: by ancestry, by marriage, and by years of residence. The first method can be claimed by late settlers, i.e., descendants or spouses of exiles and refugees who, because of World War II, ended up in Russia. Currently this is the only group of people who can apply for a German passport and are not required to renounce Russian citizenship. The second method is for those who marry a German citizen. They need to be married for at least two years and continuously live in Germany. The partner's German passport must already be in place for the entire period, and the applicant must confirm knowledge of the German language (B1) and German culture (the Einbürgerungstest). Sometimes both of these requirements can be replaced by the fact of having education in German, but this is at the discretion of the officials, and they, more often than not, do not want to deal with non-standard document packages. The third method, I call it ‘by years of service’—my case. Under the new rules for this you need to live in the country five years (instead of eight before), without ceasing to be its tax resident, to have a long-stay visa, to support yourself, not to be on benefits or social assistance, to confirm knowledge of the language and local culture. And for special merits, such as volunteering and German C1, you can apply after three years (instead of at least six before). Keeping your passport under the old rules was almost impossible, even if you were refused by the Russian Federation when renouncing citizenship, you would have to wait another couple of years, then try renouncing again and only then, perhaps, would you be allowed to request a German passport “second.” Despite varying attitudes toward Russia within the local immigrant community, losing the passport is a serious decision that deters many, especially now. People don’t want to lose the ability to see relatives or urgently come home if needed. And the new changes will solve this problem, because you will be able to keep the Russian passport. What do you think, is the process here simple? Tell us in the comments about naturalization in other countries! #useful