A ruling by the Minden Administrative Court confirms current naturalization law: Not every government benefit automatically precludes Naturalization. What does this mean in practice?
The Case: Syrian Family Files for Naturalization
The case in question involved a Syrian family with four children. The father arrived in Germany in September 2015 with his wife and one child. Three more children were born in Germany later on. In 2022, the father filed an application for Naturalization on behalf of himself and his three minor children.
In recent years, the family has at times relied on benefits under SGB II (citizen’s income). At the same time, the father has been working on and off. Since June 2023, he has been working full-time as a sales clerk and also holds a part-time job. The mother has also been working part-time since early 2024.
In addition, the family received various government benefits, including:
- Child benefit
- Child supplement
- Housing benefit
- Care allowance
- Support for Deaf People
Two of the children have a congenital hearing impairment and require special support. This includes therapy, educational support, and regular hospital and rehabilitation stays.
The Foreigners' office rejected the application for naturalization. The reason: although the family's livelihood was currently secure, it was not considered stable enough in the long term. The father's employment history, in particular, was viewed critically. The authorities feared that the family might once again have to rely on welfare benefits in the future.
The family filed a lawsuit against the decision—and won.
What the court Naturalization regarding Naturalization
The Minden Administrative Court ordered the authorities to grant citizenship to the father and his children. In the court’s view, all requirements had been met. The authorities’ refusal was unlawful.
At the heart of the decision was a key question: Which social benefits are Naturalization to Naturalization —and which are not?
The court made it clear: The law draws a clear line here. Only benefits under the following Naturalization detrimental to Naturalization :
- Book II of the Social Code (SGB II – Citizens' Income)
- Book XII of the Social Code (SGB XII – Social Assistance)
These benefits indicate that the individual is unable to support themselves. Anyone receiving a basic income or welfare benefits is ineligible for naturalization.
Which social benefits do not affect Naturalization?
Other government benefits, on the other hand, do not affect Naturalization.
In this specific case, the family received several such benefits (housing allowance, child benefit, child supplement, long-term care allowance, and support for the deaf). The court did not view this as an obstacle to Naturalization. On the contrary, some of these benefits may even be counted as income.
The reason: They differ significantly from the basic income and welfare benefits. While the basic income and welfare benefits are intended to cover basic living expenses, housing assistance, child supplements, and similar benefits are supplemental. They support people who are already working but whose income is not quite enough.
Why housing assistance and the child supplement are assessed differently
The court reiterated why housing benefits, child allowances, and similar benefits are treated differently under the law than the citizen's income—and Naturalization not adversely Naturalization .
First, this follows directly from the law (Section 10(1)(3) of the German Nationality Act). That provision explicitly Naturalization only benefits under SGB II (Citizen’s Income) and SGB XII (Social Assistance) as grounds for denying Naturalization .
Housing allowances, child benefits, and similar benefits are not mentioned there. This means they must not be Naturalization a negative factor in the Naturalization .
On the other hand, eligibility for these benefits often depends on one’s family situation. Families with several children, in particular, are often eligible for housing assistance, child supplements, or similar benefits—even if they are working.
The court therefore made it clear that it would be unfair Naturalization deny Naturalization such families solely on the basis of these benefits. Otherwise, families with many children in particular would be disadvantaged. This would be contrary to the protection of marriage and family.
Overview: Which services are harmful—and which are not?
Detrimental to Naturalization:
- Benefits under SGB II (Citizen's Income)
- Benefits under SGB XII (Social Assistance)
Does not affect Naturalization:
- Child Benefit and Child Supplement
- Housing benefit
- Unemployment Insurance I and Short-Time Work Benefits
- Sickness benefit
- Care allowance
- Parental Leave Benefits and Maternity Benefits
- BAföG
- Vocational Training Grant (BAB)
- Services for People with Disabilities
Important: Even in the case of harmless benefits, it always depends on the individual circumstances. Problems can arise if there are concrete indications that harmless benefits are being deliberately used to avoid receiving basic income or welfare.
However, such a prediction must be well-founded. According to the court, simply receiving housing assistance or child support is expressly insufficient for this purpose.
New exception regarding secure livelihood starting in 2024
The court also reviewed the case in light of the new provisions of the Nationality Act. Since June 27, 2024, there has been a significant simplification of the Naturalization.
According to Section 10(1), first sentence, item 3(b) of the Residence Act (StAG), the following applies: Anyone who works full-time and has done so for at least 20 months in the past 24 months is no longer required to provide strict proof of sufficient means of support.
The plaintiff met this requirement. He had been employed full-time continuously for more than two years.
The court made it clear that in such cases, no additional assessment may be required as to whether the individual’s livelihood will continue to be secured in the future.
Instead, two factors are key: Is the person currently working full-time? Is there concrete evidence that this employment will end soon? Only if such evidence exists could this be a problem.
In this case, there was no evidence to support this. Therefore, the Naturalization application could Naturalization be denied on this basis.
Conclusion: What the ruling Naturalization for Naturalization
This ruling is important for many applicants for naturalization . It reinforces existing law: not every government benefit poses a problem for Naturalization. Those who receive child benefit, child supplement, housing allowance, or similar benefits generally do not need to worry about any disadvantages.
What matters most is which benefits are received and what the overall living situation looks like. While basic income and welfare remain problematic for Naturalization, other benefits are permitted—and in some cases can even be counted as income.
