German Citizenship Processing Time in 2026 — and How to Speed It Up

Submitting your naturalization application is not the end of the process — it is the beginning of a wait that, depending on where you live, can range from six months to over three years. The processing time crisis in German citizenship offices is well documented, and it has gotten worse since the 2024 reform triggered a 46% surge in applications.

In 2024 alone, 291,955 people were naturalized — the highest number since Germany began tracking the data. The offices processing those applications were not expanded proportionally. The backlog is real, it is not uniform across cities, and there are legal tools you can use when it becomes unreasonable.

Current Processing Times by City (2026)

Processing times vary significantly by city and even by district office. As of 2026, the approximate ranges are:

Fast cities (6–15 months):

• Hamburg
• Nuremberg (Nürnberg)
• Cottbus

Average cities (12–24 months):

• Munich (München)
• Cologne (Köln)
• Berlin (post-digitalization improvement, but still variable)

Slow cities (24–36+ months):

• Frankfurt am Main
• Düsseldorf
• Stuttgart

These are ranges, not guarantees. An individual application in a "fast" city can stall if documents are incomplete or if it falls into a complex category. Conversely, a well-prepared application in a "slow" city sometimes moves faster than the average.

Why Berlin and Munich Are Particularly Challenging

Berlin (Einbürgerung Berlin Wartezeit): Berlin's immigration authority (LEA — Landesamt für Einbürgerung und Ausländerangelegenheiten) has faced extreme volume since the 2024 reform. The city requires applications to be submitted online through the LEA digital portal, and the fee (€255) is collected at submission. Wait times in Berlin have ranged from 18 months to over 3 years for complex cases. The digitalization of the process has helped somewhat, but LEA is still operating far below the demand it is receiving.

Munich (Einbürgerung München Dauer): Munich processes applications through the Kreisverwaltungsreferat (KVR). Processing times have been 12–24 months for most standard cases. Munich has been somewhat faster than Berlin because of earlier digitalization, but demand has increased significantly since 2024.

The practical advice: submit as early as possible once you meet the eligibility requirements. Every week you delay submission adds to the total time until you receive your certificate.

The Three-Month Rule and the Untätigkeitsklage

Under § 75 of the Administrative Court Code (Verwaltungsgerichtsordnung, VwGO), an authority that has not decided on an application within three months — without providing a "sufficient reason" for the delay — can be sued in administrative court. This is the Untätigkeitsklage (inaction lawsuit).

What "sufficient reason" means — and doesn't mean: German courts have repeatedly ruled in 2026 that general administrative backlog and staff shortages do not constitute a sufficient reason to delay an application indefinitely. The courts' position is clear: the law entitles qualifying applicants to a decision, and the state cannot simply refuse to provide one because it is overwhelmed.

How the Untätigkeitsklage actually works:

1. Your application must have been formally received and pending for more than three months without a substantive decision
2. You (or a lawyer) file a Klage at the competent Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht) in your city
3. The court notifies the authority and typically sets a deadline for the authority to act
4. In the majority of documented cases in 2026, the authority processes the application well before the court date — the filing itself is enough to trigger movement

Filing an Untätigkeitsklage does not require a lawyer in principle, but it is a formal legal filing and mistakes can delay the process further. Many applicants in Berlin and Frankfurt have used lawyers for this specific step at a cost of €300–800, which is still far less than waiting an additional year.

What it cannot do: The Untätigkeitsklage forces the authority to make a decision — it does not guarantee that decision is positive. If there are substantive issues with your application (missing documents, income questions, criminal record concerns), the forced decision might be a rejection rather than approval.

How to Minimize Your Own Processing Time

Submit a complete application the first time. The single biggest cause of individual delays is incomplete applications. When the authority sends you a request for additional documents, your case goes to the back of a queue. A complete, well-organized application — with all documents properly certified and translated — moves through the system faster than a partial one.

Use digital portals where available. Cities like Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich that have moved to online submission have shown measurable improvements in initial processing speed compared to paper submissions. Submit digitally if the option exists.

Take the Einbürgerungstest before submitting. Authorities in some cities prioritize applications where all prerequisite certificates are already in hand at submission. Having your test result included from day one removes a potential follow-up request.

Track your application status actively. Most digital portals provide a reference number you can use to check status. If you see no movement for 90 days after formal acknowledgment of receipt, consult the Untätigkeitsklage option.

Consider the timing of your Rentenversicherungsverlauf. This document (your pension insurance history from Deutsche Rentenversicherung) expires — most offices want it to be recent. Request it no more than three months before submitting your application.

If Your Application Has Already Been Pending for Over a Year

At this point, you have options:

Option 1: Contact the authority directly. Send a written inquiry (email is fine) referencing your application number and asking for a status update and expected decision date. Frame it as a status inquiry, not a complaint.

Option 2: Send a formal reminder (Erinnerungsschreiben). This is a more formal step — a written letter citing § 75 VwGO and noting that you are considering filing an Untätigkeitsklage if a decision is not forthcoming within 30 days. In many cases, this is sufficient to prompt action without formal court proceedings.

Option 3: File the Untätigkeitsklage. If steps 1 and 2 have not produced results, and your application has been pending for more than three months since formal receipt (not since submission to an online portal), filing the lawsuit is a well-established next step.

For a complete walkthrough of the Untätigkeitsklage process — including the letter templates and the filing procedure — see the Germany Citizenship Guide at /de/citizenship/.

The Big Picture

The processing time problem in German citizenship offices is not going away quickly. The surge in applications from the 2024 reform, combined with years of administrative understaffing, has created a structural backlog that will take years to fully clear. What this means for individual applicants is: submit your application at the earliest possible date, submit it complete, and know the legal mechanisms available to you when the system fails to meet its obligations.

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