Citizenship
Naturalisation is the reason most people finally book a B1 exam. The language requirement itself is simple - B1 in all four skills, proven with a certificate the authority accepts - but the rules around it changed twice in eighteen months, and a lot of advice online is now out of date.
PassDeutsch prepares you for the B1 exams named here - Goethe, telc and the DTZ - with full-length model tests in each provider’s own format. See the B1 guide.
Exceptions and special cases
These are the situations that most often change the answer. None of them replaces advice on your own file.
The 2024 reform allowed naturalisation after three years for "besondere Integrationsleistungen", which usually meant C1 German. That route was abolished with effect from 30 October 2025. Five years is now the minimum for everybody, and C1 no longer shortens it.
The easier route under § 9 StAG continues: as a rule three years of lawful residence and two years of marriage, with the same B1 requirement and the same other conditions.
People who came to West Germany as guest workers before 1974, or to the GDR as contract workers, are held to an eased language standard - the ability to communicate orally in everyday life - and are exempt from the Einbürgerungstest.
Where a physical or mental illness or a disability makes reaching B1 impossible, the requirement can be waived on presentation of a medical certificate. This is decided case by case.
Step by step
Count lawful, habitual residence in Germany with a qualifying permit. Time on a student permit and time spent in the asylum procedure count differently depending on the case, so if your history is complicated, get the count confirmed before you pay for anything.
DTZ, Goethe, telc and ÖSD all satisfy the requirement, so take whichever you can book soonest. If you are in an integration course, the DTZ is already scheduled for you - just make sure you land at B1 and not A2 in both parts.
Thirty-three multiple-choice questions on law, history and society, of which you need seventeen correct. It is a separate test from the language exam, it is booked separately, and the full question catalogue is published in advance.
The application goes to your local naturalisation authority with your certificates, proof of income, identity documents and residence history. The fee is €255 for an adult. Processing runs from a few months to well over a year depending on the city.
B1 is about 2,400 words, the passive and Konjunktiv II - a finite target. PassDeutsch gives you full model tests in the Goethe, telc and DTZ formats, with AI feedback on writing and speaking.
Free to download · all 210 model tests included
What goes wrong
The DTZ is scaled, so there is no "fail" - but an A2 result on either the written or the oral part does not meet the B1 requirement. Check both lines on the certificate.
Guides that still describe naturalisation after three years with C1 German are describing a rule that no longer exists. Check the publication date of anything you read, including this page.
They are separate. B1 proves your German; the Einbürgerungstest proves your knowledge of the legal and social order. You need both.
FAQ
A B1 certificate in all four skills. The authorities accept the DTZ with a B1 result, the Zertifikat Integrationskurs, and Goethe-Zertifikat B1, telc Deutsch B1 or ÖSD Zertifikat B1 - as well as any higher level. A German school leaving certificate or degree is generally accepted in place of a language exam.
No. That route was abolished with effect from 30 October 2025. Five years of lawful residence is now the minimum for everyone, apart from the separate rules for spouses of German citizens. C1 German no longer shortens the waiting period.
No. Multiple citizenship has been permitted since the reform came into force in June 2024, and that part of the reform was not reversed. Whether your country of origin allows you to keep its nationality is a separate question for that country.
Yes, and there is no dictionary. That is one reason the B1 exam is worth taking first: at B1 the questions are readable. The full catalogue of questions is published, so the test is very trainable.
Page last checked against these sources in July 2026.
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