Naturalization test

A naturalization test is an examination that must be passed in order for a previous non-citizen to receive a certain citizenship . For example, a certain level of knowledge about the history of the state, language skills or qualifications for the job market are tested.

Naturalization tests are available in the USA , Canada , the Netherlands , Austria , Switzerland , Denmark , Australia (since 2007) and in Germany (since 2008).

There has been much discussion about the exact content of these tests. In Germany in particular, it was discussed whether the query of opinions and attitudes should be allowed. This question was answered in the negative within the nationwide standardized form of the naturalization test.

Australia

The Australian citizenship test has been around since 2007. It contains 20 questions in the form of multiple choice , 75% of which must be answered correctly. The command of the English language is not specifically tested, but viewed as a prerequisite for answering the questions.

There are three types of naturalization test: a 45-minute standard test, a 90-minute test with supervision and a 400-hour English course, and finally a test as part of a citizenship course if someone failed the previous tests three times. Failure has no negative consequences.

People under the age of 18 and over 60 typically do not need the test to obtain Australian citizenship. Alternatively there is a citizenship interview . A basic knowledge of the English language as well as an understanding of the rights and obligations that citizenship entails are asked for.

Germany

The naturalization test in Baden-Württemberg 2006–2011

Starting in 2006, the naturalization applicants were asked 30 questions that relate to the nature of democracy , freedom of religion and religious feelings, the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in 2001 and Madrid in 2004, homosexuality and, in particular, the understanding of the roles of men and women. The questions were not presented to the applicants in writing, as is often shown in the public debate, but read out or included in a conversation. According to a certain point key, the answers are then evaluated by the nationality authority and could lead to the rejection of the naturalization application if they were evaluated accordingly.

The interview guidelines were originally intended to be used only for naturalization applicants of the Muslim faith. Shortly before its introduction, its use was made mandatory for all applicants from the 57 states of the Islamic Conference and Muslims from other states, as well as for applicants who have doubts about their loyalty to the constitution.

The applicant is further informed as follows:

"It was expressly pointed out to me that untrue information would be seen as a deception of the naturalization authority and - even after years - could lead to the withdrawal of naturalization, even if I should become stateless as a result."

According to a decision by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior in February 2009, people who have successfully studied law, politics or administrative sciences at a university in Germany no longer have to take the naturalization test.

The test led to criticism from Muslim associations, in particular the Central Council of Muslims , the Greens and parts of the SPD . The Baden-Württemberg Justice Minister Ulrich Goll ( FDP ) also expressed doubts about the sense and rule of law of the opinion test. The main allegations are stigmatization and discrimination against Muslims and doubts about compatibility with the Basic Law. It is also doubtful that a denial of naturalization on the basis of this naturalization test would stand up to legal challenge or whether German citizenship would have to be granted despite a negative naturalization test.

On January 19, 2006, the naturalization test also occupied the Bundestag . The parliamentary group of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen proposed a resolution according to which the federal government should work for a revision of the discussion guidelines. Despite the majority criticism of the immigration test by all parliamentary groups except the CDU / CSU , the application was rejected by a narrow majority.

Nevertheless, the Hessian Interior Minister Volker Bouffier ( CDU ) announced on the same day that the State of Hesse was also planning to introduce an attitude test based on the Baden-Württemberg model. He later specified the plan by announcing that he was not planning a special test for Muslim applicants but for all applicants, that he would forego controversial questions and discuss the plans with representatives of Hessian foreigners organizations.

This naturalization test was abolished in 2011 under the green-red state government. The Germany-wide test now applies there.

Hesse's draft

The draft "Guide to Knowledge and Values ​​in Germany and Europe" published by the Hessian Ministry of the Interior on March 14, 2006 contains 100 questions on German and European politics, history and culture, but does not provide any answers, so it does not offer a "model solution".

The draft contains questions on the subject areas

• "Germany and the Germans",
• "Basic lines of German history",
• "Constitution and Fundamental Rights",
• "Elections, parties and interest groups",
• "Parliament, Government and Armed Forces",
• "Federal state, rule of law and welfare state",
• "Germany in Europe",
• "Culture and Science" as well
• "German national symbols".

It was planned that this draft, in a revised form, should become part of a more stringent naturalization process in Hesse. This became obsolete due to the nationwide regulation.

Reports in the media as well as discussions taking place there (e.g. letters to the editor) showed that many questions are either only subjectively interpretable questions of values ​​(e.g. how one should raise one's children) or are not posed clearly enough, e.g. the question of who highest German court: From the point of view of a geographer, the correct answer would be “Amtsgericht Titisee / Neustadt” (highest in the map), but not the expected answer “Federal Constitutional Court”. Critics of the draft therefore also accuse the Hessian authorities of having poorly crafted the questionnaire. In particular, several questions cannot be answered correctly from a scientific point of view: Neither is the Federal Constitutional Court the "highest German court" (a highest court can only exist within a single instance, but the Federal Constitutional Court is not part of an instance), nor is the Federal Council the " Representation of the German states at federal level ”(the Bundesrat is a federal legislative body made up of members of the governments of the states).

Another point of criticism is the question of whether the test also allows legitimate scope for interpretation of what a free society is. This concerns z. B. the desire for a traditional orientation of one's own life while at the same time recognizing the fundamental rights of all.

In addition to the answers, the content of the questions themselves is criticized. The well-known literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki , for example, doubted whether one really had to know a certain picture such as chalk cliffs on Rügen by Caspar David Friedrich in order to be allowed to become a German citizen.

The nationwide regulation

Since September 1st, 2008, foreigners in Germany have to pass a nationwide naturalization test to be naturalized. The details for carrying out the test are regulated in the Naturalization Test Ordinance. It consists of 33 questions from a catalog of 310 questions, 17 of which must be answered correctly. A single choice procedure is used here , i. H. Four answer options are given for each question, of which exactly one is rated as correct. Critics complain that the answer options are sometimes imprecise or even wrong.

The test was developed at the Humboldt University in Berlin in the Institute for Quality Development in Education and presented to the public on July 8, 2008. The test has a fee of 25 euros and can be repeated as often as you like. In addition, the federal states can hold naturalization talks.

Discussion in Germany

The term naturalization test was initially used primarily for the interview guidelines for naturalization authorities introduced in Baden-Württemberg on January 1, 2006 , with which the attitude towards the free democratic basic order of the Federal Republic of Germany , especially of Muslims who have applied for German citizenship , is to be checked. In the meantime, the federal state of Hesse has also followed suit. On March 14, 2006, its interior minister published a “Guide to Knowledge and Values ​​in Germany and Europe, 100 Questions on Cultural, Historical and Political Facts”. The Baden-Württemberg “Conversation Guide” was abolished in July 2011 by Integration Minister Bilkay Öney , after it had been criticized for a long time as a “test of convictions” to place Muslims under suspicion of extremism .

In addition, applicants for German citizenship should complete a language test to ensure that they have sufficient German language skills. The term naturalization test has occasionally been used to refer to these language tests.

Understanding in the conference of interior ministers

The interior ministers of the federal states unanimously agreed in May 2006 that foreigners wishing to be naturalized must be able to communicate in German and also have to complete a naturalization test that is standardized throughout Germany. For this purpose, naturalization courses are to be offered, but attendance is voluntary.

A corresponding amendment to the Nationality Act with regard to language skills requirements came into force on August 28, 2007. According to this, language skills are now required in oral and written form after the German certificate .

With regard to content-related knowledge of “cultural, political and historical” nature, a corresponding amendment to the Nationality Act did not come into force until September 1, 2008. Since then, an additional requirement for the naturalization claim is that the applicant foreigner "has knowledge of the legal and social order and the living conditions in Germany." The law also states:

Extract from Section 10 of the Citizenship Act

(5) The requirements of Paragraph 1 Clause 1 No. 7 are generally proven by a successful naturalization test. In preparation for this, naturalization courses are offered; participation is not compulsory.

(7) The Federal Ministry of the Interior is authorized to determine the examination and verification modalities of the naturalization test as well as the basic structure and the learning content of the naturalization course according to paragraph 5 on the basis of the topics of the orientation course according to § 43 paragraph 3 sentence 1 of the Residence Act by ordinance that does not requires the approval of the Federal Council to regulate.

The corresponding naturalization test ordinance of August 5, 2008 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1649 ) has now been published.

No agreement could be reached between the interior ministers as to whether an oath should be taken on the constitution upon naturalization. As a result, the oath has not become part of the ordinance.

background

On January 1, 2000, the Citizenship Act (StAG) came into force, which is intended, among other things, to ensure that an applicant is committed to the free democratic basic order of the Basic Law and does not develop any terrorist activities. Formally, this is done by the applicant personally signing a nationwide uniform form.

The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, however, questioned the seriousness of the commitment to the Basic Law of Muslim immigration applicants. Reference was made in particular to a study by the Zentralinstitut Islam-Archiv-Deutschland , according to which 21 percent of Muslims living in Germany would consider the Basic Law to be incompatible with the Koran . The Ministry of the Interior therefore publicly expressed doubts “whether it can generally be assumed among Muslims that their commitment to naturalization also corresponds to their actual inner attitude”. The Islam Archives found this interpretation wrong and pointed out that the study had shown increasing acceptance of the Basic Law among Muslims. Other scientists, such as Wilhelm Heitmeyer, doubt the validity of the study in general.

effect

In 2008, compared to 2007, the number of naturalizations decreased drastically (in Hamburg by 31 percent). The main reason given for this is the increased requirements regarding the command of the German language for applicants for naturalization.

Legal evaluation

In the current legal situation, the naturalization tests are critically questioned by lawyers as to whether a naturalization test is permissible or - apart from discretionary cases - can rather be refused without consequences.

The main problem complexes are:

• Lack of regulatory competence: A federal law that regulates legal claims under public law may not be changed by a federal state in such a way that new criteria are effectively added. This is because this is equivalent to supplementary or modifying legislation. The states have to implement the federal laws, but a change is not an implementation.
• Violation of the separation of powers : The executive is even more lacking such power to do so - what a state parliament cannot do, a state interior minister can certainly not do.
• Final regulatory character of the matter: A matter like citizenship is assigned exclusively to the federal government, because only the Federal Republic can regulate federal citizenship ( Art. 73 No. 2 GG ).
• No reason for refusal: A test has no legal basis in current law. A naturalization applicant who otherwise fulfills the requirements cannot be refused naturalization because he or she does not take the test or does not pass it satisfactorily. ( § 11 ff. StAG)
• Unsuitability: The questions from the existing naturalization tests can at best be asked under the aspect of "commitment to the free democratic basic order of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany" and the support of terrorist activities. This requires an examination of the applicant's inner subjective attitude and its voluntary aspects. A knowledge test is unsuitable for this: a completely uneducated applicant can be constitutional and lawful, conversely an educated and knowledgeable applicant can be anti-constitutional.
• Violation of the StAG: An examination of voluntary attitudes is only permissible above a certain examination threshold. The StAG assumes that the (statistical) normal case is that the applicant is constitutional and law-abiding and does not engage in any terrorist activities. Only when facts are available that justify the assumption that he has a different attitude, the authority has / can carry out a check of voluntary attitudes (rule-exception relationship). From this systematic evaluation, an applicant can derive the right to be spared a cause-free investigation into constitutional loyalty and terrorism.

Results

One year after the introduction of the naturalization test, it was reported from statistics that 98% of the candidates pass the test on the first attempt. Those who fail have the opportunity to repeat the test.

Changes as of April 1, 2013

Since April 1, 2013, the “Living in Germany” test has been considered a naturalization test. It comprises 33 questions that are compiled from a questionnaire. The same questionnaire (300 Germany-wide questions, 10 country questions per federal state) is used to compile the final test for the orientation course (2nd part of the integration course). At the end of the orientation course you can pass the naturalization test with at least 17 correct answers; 15 correct answers are sufficient for the orientation course alone.

Canada

Around every sixth person in Canada, a country of immigration, was born abroad. 250,000 immigrants are accepted annually. In 1967, a points system was introduced to control the immigration of skilled workers. Applicants are awarded points for education, language skills and job opportunities up to a specified maximum number. Only about 23% of applicants in the business sector are selected using the point system, as family members do not have to submit to it.

Austria

In Austria, immigrants have to answer a multiple choice questionnaire with 18 questions. These consist of questions about democracy, history and the respective federal state. At least half of the questions must be answered correctly, and a learning sheet is available for preparation. The respective federal states are responsible for the content of the tests. The test can be taken a maximum of five times. Furthermore, German skills are checked during the tests.

Switzerland

Some cantons (also) use naturalization tests. An overview can be found at ch.ch. There are numerous examples on the Internet, e. B. from the canton of Bern or Aargau . Naturalization courses are also of the Club Schools of Migros offered. The club school also carries out naturalization tests for the canton of Bern on behalf of municipalities . The unions have with the educational institute Movendo a one-day action guide to naturalization.

Netherlands

In order to be naturalized in the Netherlands, the applicant must take a naturalization test at the Dutch embassy in their home country. This contains questions about the history and culture of the Netherlands. In preparation, the applicant receives a DVD containing the history, images and culture, such as B. shows sexual permissiveness.

literature

• Lothar Müller-Güldemeister: From zero to German in a hundred questions - Citizenship Quiz. Answers to the Hessian naturalization test to obtain German citizenship. with drawings by Wojtek Fraczyk. Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-9808662-8-9 . (Naturalization test)
• Reinhard Pohl: Naturalization test . Kiel 2013. and (naturalization test)
  • Volume 1: Life in Democracy . ISBN 978-3-936419-19-1
  • Volume 2: History and Responsibility . ISBN 978-3-936419-20-7
  • Volume 3: People and Society . ISBN 978-3-936419-21-4 .
• Robert Feil, Wolfgang Hesse: Democracy in Germany. The primer for the naturalization test. Published by the State Center for Civic Education Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart 2009, DNB 99305918X . (Naturalization test)

Web links

Wiktionary: Naturalization test  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wikibooks: Citizenship Germany  - Wikibook for the nationwide naturalization test (in development)

Wikibooks: Bürgerwissen Deutschland  - Wikibook for the nationwide naturalization test (much more detailed, but unfortunately incomplete)

• Ordinance on the naturalization test and naturalization course (overview page, below :)
  • Naturalization Test Ordinance (PDF; 1.8 MB) complete with ordinance, questionnaire and course curriculum
  • Questionnaire for the naturalization test Juris (overview of all 300 questions and the 10 country-related questions)
• BAMF sample test ( BAMF sample questionnaire with 33 randomly selected questions)
• Naturalization test Canada ( English / French )
• Germany: The naturalization test is almost always passed - article in the newsletter "Migration and Population"

Footnotes

1. ↑ Knowledge decides - the new, nationwide naturalization test in an international comparison ( Memento from February 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
2. ^ Anna Björk: The Politics of Citizenship Tests. Time, Integration and the Contingent Polity Dissertation at the University of Jyväskylä , Introduction (PDF)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ^ Department of Immigration and Citizenship : About the citizenship test
4. ^ Department of Immigration and Citizenship: Application process for Australian citizenship. Step 8. Take the citizenship test or have a citizenship interview
5. ↑ ^{a b} "Attitude test" for foreigners before leaving. In: sueddeutsche.de . July 25, 2011, accessed October 13, 2018 . 
6. ↑ What is the naturalization test? federal agency for Migration
7. ↑ SPD stands against protest for naturalization test. on: Mittelbayerische.de , July 8, 2008.
8. ^ Household, Biblis, "Muslim Test" ( Memento of September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) . In: Wiesbaden Courier . January 23, 2006.
9. ↑ stuttgarter-zeitung.de
10. ↑ integrationsministerium-bw.de ( Memento of the original from September 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ Hessian Ministry of the Interior and for Sport: Guide - Knowledge & Values ​​in Germany and Europe. ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ^ Artz, Geyer: From the "highest German court" and other danger on the way to the (good) German Hessian model . In: NJW 2006, p. 1107ff.
13. ↑ This means that, statistically speaking, eight questions are correct if answered randomly
14. ↑ Ferda Ataman : Wrong correct answer in Schäuble's questionnaire. on: Spiegel online. July 8, 2008.
15. ↑ Embarrassing mistake in the naturalization test - Mieterbund writes to Minister Schäuble. Deutscher Mieterbund , July 23, 2008, accessed on July 24, 2008 . 
16. ↑ stuttgarter-zeitung.de
17. ↑ Fewer foreigners are becoming Germans . ( Memento from August 2, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) In: Financial Times Deutschland . April 29, 2009.
18. ↑ The naturalization test turns one year old. In: The world. September 1, 2009.
19. ↑ Reinhard Pohl: New naturalization test "Living in Germany". (PDF; 16 kB) April 2013.
20. ^ Immigration to Canada. In: Faz. 17th October 2010.
21. ↑ migration-info.de ( Memento of the original from November 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Migration info, country profile Canada 
22. ↑ migration-info.de ( Memento of the original from November 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Migration Info Austria 
23. ↑ zeitwort.at
24. ↑ Naturalization on ch.ch
25. ↑ Naturalization test in the Canton of Bern
26. ^ Citizenship test of the Canton of Aargau
27. ↑ Migros Club School offers naturalization courses In: Aargauer Zeitung of December 31, 2017, accessed on January 1, 2018
28. ↑ rp-online.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
29. ↑ cms.minbuza.nl  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
30. ↑ stern.de ( Memento of the original from June 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.