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Germany's plan to ease citizenship rules

Germany's plan to ease citizenship rules

The German government on Monday defended plans to make it easier to obtain citizenship, countering complaints from both the ruling coalition and the opposition that doing so could encourage illegal immigration.

The government has said it wants to boost immigration and training to tackle the skills shortages weighing on Europe's biggest economy at a time of slowing economic growth and an aging population adding to pressure on the system. public pensions.

“Anyone who lives and works here on a permanent basis should also be able to vote and be elected. They should be part of our country with all the rights and duties that come with it," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a televised immigration forum.

"And this should be completely independent of origin, skin color, or religious affiliation," he added.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, from Mr Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), set out plans to cut the number of years a person must wait before becoming a citizen from eight to five and lift restrictions on dual citizenship. .