Permanent residence or German citizenship? A comparison

A settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) gives you the right to live in Germany permanently – but you stay a foreign national. Naturalisation makes you a German citizen: you can vote in every election, hold a German passport, live and work anywhere in the EU, and you no longer need a residence permit that could lapse. Since 27 June 2024 Germany no longer requires you to give up your current nationality to become German. For many people, that removes the main reason to stick with permanent residence.

What's the difference?

The settlement permit is a residence title under the Residence Act (§ 9 AufenthG). It has no expiry date and allows you to live and work in Germany. It is issued by the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde). The EU long-term residence permit (Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EU) is similar. With either one, you keep your nationality and travel on your own passport.

Naturalisation makes you a German citizen. It is handled by the naturalisation authority (Einbürgerungsbehörde or Staatsangehörigkeitsbehörde). Afterwards you no longer need a residence permit – you need a German ID card or passport instead.

The two are not mutually exclusive. Many people go from settlement permit to citizenship. But you don't have to: an EU Blue Card or another residence permit that can lead to permanent residence is also enough to apply for citizenship. Only certain temporary permits are excluded.

Your rights compared

A German passport also gives you the "Germans' fundamental rights" (Deutschengrundrechte), such as freedom of assembly and freedom to choose your occupation, which the Basic Law explicitly guarantees to Germans. Duties come with it too: Germans must, for example, serve as election helpers (Wahlhelfer) if they are asked to (question 282). How voting works is explained in elections in Germany.

Travel and living abroad

With a settlement permit you travel on your home country's passport, and whether you need a visa depends on your nationality. Short trips to other Schengen countries are possible with a German residence permit, but you can't simply move there to live or work. The EU long-term residence permit can make moving to another EU country easier under certain conditions. A German passport gives you visa-free travel to many countries and the right to settle in any EU country.

The biggest practical difference is time abroad. A settlement permit can lapse if you spend longer periods outside Germany, for example if you leave for reasons that aren't just temporary or stay abroad for more than six months without the immigration office having set a longer period (§ 51 AufenthG). There are exceptions for people who have lived here for a very long time and for spouses of Germans. If you plan a longer stay abroad – to study or to care for relatives, say – talk to the immigration office first.

German citizenship, by contrast, is not lost when you move abroad. And since 27 June 2024, Germans no longer lose it when they take on another nationality. You can only lose it in a few exceptional cases set out in law – for example if the naturalisation was obtained by deception.

Requirements side by side

If you already have a settlement permit, the step to citizenship is often smaller than you think: you have already proven residence, income and German skills once. What's usually new is the B1 certificate (if you don't have one yet), the citizenship test and the declaration of commitment. The full picture is in our German citizenship requirements overview.

Costs

Naturalisation costs €255 per adult and €51 for a child without its own income naturalised with a parent. Add €25 per attempt for the citizenship test, plus the language exam, whose price depends on the provider. Afterwards you need an ID card (€46 from age 24) or a passport (€70 from age 24). The immigration office also charges a fee for a settlement permit. All naturalisation costs in detail: how much German citizenship costs.

Dual citizenship: why there's less reason to hesitate

Until mid-2024, you usually had to give up your old nationality to naturalise, so for many people the settlement permit was the better option. Since 27 June 2024 Germany generally accepts multiple citizenship. Whether you keep your current nationality depends on your home country, though: some countries revoke it when you acquire another, or require permission first. Check with the embassy before you apply. More in dual citizenship in Germany.

Which option suits whom?