German Citizenship Application Stalled? Here's What to Do When the Authority Won't Act

If your German citizenship application has been sitting with the Einbürgerungsbehörde for more than three months without a decision and without a clear reason, you have a legal right to act. You can file an Untätigkeitsklage — an inaction lawsuit — under § 75 VwGO (Administrative Court Rules of Procedure) that forces the authority to either make a decision or explain in court why it has not.

In the majority of cases, filing the lawsuit is enough. The authority prioritizes the file and issues a decision within weeks — without the case ever reaching a hearing. The filing itself is the lever. You do not need a lawyer to file it.

This page covers when to use this option, how it works, and what happens after you file.

Why Applications Stall

Germany naturalized 291,955 people in 2024 — a 46% increase over the prior year. The surge has overwhelmed municipal citizenship offices that were staffed for pre-reform volumes. In Berlin, the LEA (Landesamt für Einwanderung) reported backlogs stretching past two years in 2025 and into 2026. Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, and Stuttgart have similar profiles. Hamburg and Nuremberg process faster, but even they are under pressure.

The authorities' default position is to request more documents, ask clarifying questions, or simply let applications sit in queue. What they cannot do, legally, is indefinitely delay a decision on a complete application.

The key distinction is "complete application." An application is complete when you have submitted all required documents in the required formats and the authority has confirmed receipt. If the authority has been requesting additional documents that you have not yet provided, the three-month clock does not run on those periods.

If your application is complete and you have not received a decision or a legally adequate reason for the delay, the Untätigkeitsklage becomes available after three months from the date the application was complete.

The Legal Basis: § 75 VwGO

Section 75 of the Verwaltungsgerichtsordnung (Administrative Court Rules) provides that if an authority has not decided on an application within three months, the applicant may file a lawsuit at the Administrative Court without having to first exhaust an objection procedure (Widerspruch). The court will then require the authority to make a decision within a specified timeframe — typically 3-6 months in the court order.

German courts have consistently ruled since 2024 that chronic understaffing and high application volumes do not constitute a "sufficient reason" (zureichender Grund) for delay. This is an important development: earlier administrative practice sometimes treated general backlog as an excuse. Courts are now rejecting that position.

The Oberverwaltungsgericht NRW ruled in a 2025 case (19 E 310/25) that multi-year wait times for complete naturalization applications are not legally tolerable, even when caused by systemic overload. This ruling has been cited in subsequent cases across multiple states.

Step 1: Confirm Your Application is Actually Complete

Before filing, verify that the authority has your complete application. Request written confirmation — either a Eingangsbestätigung (receipt confirmation) or, if you submitted through a digital portal like Berlin's LEA system, the portal receipt showing all documents accepted.

If the authority has issued any requests for additional documents in writing, those must be fulfilled before the three-month clock is running cleanly. A partial request history muddies your position in any filing.

If you have not received written confirmation that your application is complete, send a written inquiry by email or the portal's messaging system — or by fax if the office uses that channel — asking for confirmation of receipt and completeness status. Keep the response.

Step 2: Document the Timeline

Compile:

• The date of your application submission
• The date the authority confirmed receipt (or the date you submitted, if no confirmation followed)
• Any subsequent correspondence — requests for additional documents, their fulfillment dates, automated status updates
• The date the application was fully complete (after all document requests were resolved)
• Count forward three months from that date. If that date has passed, you may file.

The authority's three-month window is measured from the date the application was complete, not from the date it was submitted. If documents were requested partway through, the three-month period typically restarts from the date the last requested document was received.

Step 3: Send the Follow-Up Letter (Do This First)

Before filing the lawsuit, send a formal follow-up letter to the Einbürgerungsbehörde citing § 75 VwGO and requesting a decision within 30 days. In the majority of cases, this letter alone triggers action. The authority understands that a § 75 reference signals an applicant who knows their rights and is prepared to escalate.

The letter should include:

• Your full name and date of birth
• Your application reference number
• The date of your application and any subsequent correspondence
• A statement that the application is complete
• A reference to § 75 VwGO and the three-month statutory period
• A specific request for a decision within 30 days
• A statement that you will proceed to file an Untätigkeitsklage if no decision is received within that period

Send by the portal's messaging system if available, or by fax to the office. Keep proof of delivery.

Step 4: File the Untätigkeitsklage if the Follow-Up Letter Does Not Produce Results

If 30 days pass after your follow-up letter with no response or decision, file the Untätigkeitsklage at the relevant Verwaltungsgericht (Administrative Court) for your city.

The filing petition should include:

• Your name and address as plaintiff
• The Einbürgerungsbehörde as defendant (with its official address)
• A statement of facts: when you applied, that the application is complete, that three months have passed, and that the authority has not responded
• The legal basis: § 75 VwGO
• Your request: that the court orders the authority to make a decision within a specific timeframe
• Supporting documents: application receipt, follow-up letter, any authority correspondence

Court fees for an Untätigkeitsklage in a naturalization matter are approximately EUR 483, based on the standard value of the matter (EUR 5,000) multiplied by the applicable fee rate. You pay this fee at the time of filing. If the court rules in your favor and orders the authority to decide, the authority bears the court costs.

Filing by post to the Verwaltungsgericht is sufficient. You do not need to appear in person for the initial filing.

What Happens After Filing

The court registers the lawsuit and notifies the Einbürgerungsbehörde. In most cases, the authority responds by issuing a decision on the underlying citizenship application within weeks of receiving the court notification — not because the court has formally ordered them to, but because the lawsuit creates sufficient internal pressure to prioritize the file.

If the authority issues a positive decision (your citizenship application is approved), you can withdraw the lawsuit and the court costs are typically split or borne by the authority depending on how the judge allocates them.

If the authority issues a negative decision (your application is rejected), the Untätigkeitsklage converts into a standard review proceeding where you challenge the rejection. This is a different proceeding from the inaction lawsuit — you would then be challenging the merits of the decision, not just the delay.

If the authority does not respond to the lawsuit at all, the court will schedule a hearing and ultimately issue an order requiring a decision by a specific deadline, typically 3-6 months from the order.

City-Specific Contexts

Berlin (LEA): The LEA processes applications exclusively through its digital portal. Follow-up must go through the portal's messaging system — the LEA does not respond to phone calls or emails sent outside the portal. The portal does allow you to attach documents and send messages. When citing § 75 VwGO in your follow-up message, include your application reference number from the portal. The LEA's backlog is the most severe in Germany — current reports indicate 2-year processing times are common. The Untätigkeitsklage is disproportionately common in Berlin for this reason.

Munich (KVR): Munich conducts in-person interviews as part of its process. If your application has been received but you have not yet been invited for an interview, inquire specifically about the interview scheduling timeline. The interview is part of the process, not the decision — an unreasonable delay in scheduling the interview can also be raised in a follow-up letter.

Frankfurt: Frankfurt Standesamt releases appointment slots at specific times on specific days. If you have not yet received an appointment, the delay may be at the appointment-booking stage rather than the processing stage. Confirm which stage your application is at before counting the three-month clock.

Hamburg: Hamburg processes faster than most cities (6-10 months). An Untätigkeitsklage from Hamburg is unusual at the 3-month mark — use the follow-up letter first and give the process 6 months before escalating.

What the Untätigkeitsklage Does Not Fix

The Untätigkeitsklage forces the authority to make a decision. It does not guarantee a positive decision. If there are substantive problems with your application — missing documents, a livelihood calculation that does not meet the threshold, a pending security check — the authority's decision after the lawsuit may be a rejection rather than an approval.

Before filing, verify that your application is genuinely complete and that you meet the substantive eligibility requirements. The inaction lawsuit is a procedural tool, not a way to get a favorable decision on a deficient application.

Who This Is For

• Applicants in Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, or Düsseldorf whose complete application has been sitting for six months or more without any substantive movement
• Those who have sent follow-up inquiries with no meaningful response
• Applicants who submitted during the 2024-2025 surge and are now past the one-year mark with no indication of when a decision will come
• Anyone who has received informal "sorry, we're busy" responses but no formal timeline or decision

Who This Is NOT For

• Applicants who submitted less than three months ago — the statutory period has not yet elapsed
• Those who have outstanding document requests from the authority — complete those first
• Applicants who are being told their file is in active review and a decision is weeks away — give the process time before escalating

FAQ

Do I need a lawyer to file the Untätigkeitsklage? No. You can file the lawsuit yourself. The filing is a written petition submitted to the administrative court by post. A lawyer can draft a more polished petition, but the substantive content is straightforward and the legal basis (§ 75 VwGO) is settled law. Most applicants who file this petition without a lawyer get the same outcome as those who hire counsel — a decision from the authority before the case reaches a hearing.

What if the authority says they need more documents after I file? If the authority requests additional documents after you file the lawsuit, provide them promptly. If the request seems designed to reset the clock or is for documents you have already provided, note this in your correspondence with the court and in any future submissions. The court will assess whether the request is legitimate or delay tactics.

Can I file for other immigration decisions using this same process? Yes. § 75 VwGO applies to any administrative decision that has been unreasonably delayed — not just citizenship applications. It can be used for Niederlassungserlaubnis applications, Aufenthaltserlaubnis renewals, and other immigration decisions. The three-month period and the process are the same.

What's the success rate of the Untätigkeitsklage? There is no published national success rate. What is documented is that German courts have repeatedly upheld the right to use this mechanism and rejected "general backlog" as a sufficient reason for delay. The practical effect — authority prioritization of the file before a court hearing — is widely reported in the r/GermanCitizenship community and in legal commentary. Filing the lawsuit is the most effective lever currently available to applicants in a stalled process.

If I win the inaction lawsuit and get a decision, what happens to my application queue position? The inaction lawsuit does not change your position in the authority's processing queue — it creates a court obligation for the authority to issue a decision by a specific date, regardless of queue position. This is the mechanism that causes your file to be expedited.

The Germany Citizenship (Einbürgerung) Guide includes the complete Follow-Up and Untätigkeitsklage template package: a ready-to-use § 75 VwGO follow-up letter with fillable fields for your application details, a filing guide for the Verwaltungsgericht petition, city-specific notes for Berlin's LEA portal, Munich's KVR, and Hamburg, and the timeline framework for deciding when to escalate from letter to lawsuit. If your application has been sitting without movement, the templates give you the exact language to use at each stage of escalation.

See more Germany guides →