School pupils, vocational trainees and university students

We assess your naturalisation route during school, vocational training or university and consider residence rights, finances and educational evidence together. A completed vocational qualification and a permanent employment contract are not general requirements. What matters instead is the specific residence status, qualifying periods of residence, the funding of living costs and the other statutory requirements. For young people in particular, it is worth examining these questions separately: a period spent studying may count towards the residence period even though the corresponding residence permit is not yet sufficient for naturalisation itself.

Someone studying at university does not necessarily hold a residence permit for study purposes. A student might, for example, hold a settlement permit or a residence permit on family grounds. A vocational trainee might live in Germany as a recognised refugee. Conversely, admission to university says nothing about whether the person's residence status is already suitable for naturalisation.

For an entitlement under § 10 StAG, residence permits under §§ 16a and 16b AufenthG are among those excluded. This concerns the vocational training and university study covered by those provisions. Other expressly listed education and job-search purposes are also excluded. A person who holds only such a permit needs a different, qualifying status for naturalisation by entitlement. Permission to work alongside their studies does not in itself change the purpose of their residence.

The residence permit under § 16g AufenthG for certain foreign nationals who are required to leave Germany and are undertaking vocational training must be distinguished from these permits. It is not included in the list of exclusions in § 10 paragraph 1 sentence 1 number 2 StAG and may therefore satisfy this particular requirement. By contrast, tolerated stay for vocational training under § 60c AufenthG is not a residence permit. The fact that three people are undertaking the same training therefore tells us nothing conclusive about their starting position for naturalisation: § 16a, § 16g and tolerated stay for vocational training have different consequences. A permit subsequently granted under § 16g also does not retrospectively make earlier periods of merely tolerated stay lawful. The overview of qualifying residence permits explains these differences.

On the other hand, not every university student first needs to obtain a settlement permit. Certain temporary residence permits are also sufficient. We therefore first check the legal basis on the residence permit and supplementary sheet. The overview of the required residence status explains this distinction in detail.

Changing to a different residence permit requires the relevant immigration-law conditions to be met. The wish to become naturalised does not, by itself, create an entitlement to another permit. After graduation, employment as a skilled worker may, for example, offer a suitable route. The mere prospect of a later change is not yet sufficient for a naturalisation decision. If graduation is near, we coordinate the timing of residence and naturalisation proceedings.

Under the current law, the ordinary entitlement to naturalisation generally requires five years of lawful habitual residence. “Habitual” means that Germany is the person's actual centre of life. It is not enough simply to have spent a total of five years in the country at some point. Lawfulness, the centre of the person's life and possible interruptions must be considered together.

This does not establish a blanket rule that all years spent studying count only at half their length for naturalisation. Such ideas often arise from confusion with other calculations under immigration law. An exchange semester involving a stay that was limited from the outset may, in turn, need to be assessed differently from a full degree followed by a lasting employment prospect. The article on university study, vocational training and permission to remain during asylum proceedings explains this in more detail.

For our assessment, we arrange previous residence permits, extension applications, registration records and education documents chronologically. We record a semester abroad with its exact dates. In addition to whether the period counts under nationality law, it is necessary to check whether the right of residence continued during the absence. Keeping a registered address in Germany does not answer this question on its own.

School pupils and university students often earn little or nothing. This does not necessarily mean that their livelihood is unsecured. Possible sources include maintenance from parents with sufficient means, training pay, a scholarship, permitted part-time work or educational funding. What matters is the money available, the actual needs and a credible prospect of continued funding.

Since 1 July 2026, the benefit under § 19 SGB II has been called “Grundsicherungsgeld”. Authorities may continue to use “Bürgergeld” until the end of 2026. The change of name, including its commencement and transitional rule, is documented in the Federal Employment Agency's official collection of SGB II provisions. For naturalisation, what matters is the legal basis on which the benefit is received, not the word used on the decision notice.

For educational funding, the award period and continued eligibility are important. A payment without an award notice does not explain whether funding ends next month. For a scholarship, the award confirmation and its duration may be sufficient to assess its significance. We substantiate parental maintenance through the obligation, actual payments and financial capacity. A general promise to help somehow is less informative than genuinely sustainable funding.

Some young people cannot fully cover their needs even with training pay and funding. For school pupils, maintenance from parents may also be unavailable because the parents themselves receive basic income support. The family's receipt of benefits must therefore be considered individually for each person; it must neither be concealed nor used, without examination, to justify a blanket conclusion about every family member.

The current wording of § 10 StAG contains no general exception simply because someone attends school, studies at university or has a low income through no fault of their own. Instead, discretionary naturalisation with a hardship assessment under § 8 paragraph 2 StAG may become relevant. School pupils, vocational trainees and university students may be among the groups potentially eligible on hardship grounds. A specific assessment of their circumstances and of reasonable opportunities to secure their livelihood remains necessary.

The hardship assessment here concerns the financial requirement. It does not automatically resolve an additional problem with the residence permit. For these education cases, the Federal Ministry of the Interior's application guidance of 1 May 2025 requires a status that qualifies under § 10 paragraph 1 sentence 1 number 2 and expressly excludes university students with a residence permit under § 16b from this hardship category. Under these administrative standards, well-documented, serious studies and limited financial resources alone therefore do not offer a way around the exclusion of a study permit.

For a hardship assessment, we clearly present your genuine course of education, its progress and how it is financed. School reports, a training contract or academic results demonstrate that a real qualification is being pursued. We specifically explain interruptions due to illness or care responsibilities. This does not mean that every free evening must be spent working or that worthwhile training must be abandoned. The aim is a proper assessment of what is objectively possible and personally reasonable for this particular person.

A hardship assessment does not automatically lead to an entitlement to naturalisation. Nor does it replace the clarification of identity or all the other requirements. Similarly, full-time training is not equivalent to the statutory exception for people in full-time employment merely because of the number of hours it involves each week. The article on particular hardship in discretionary naturalisation explores this separate route in greater depth.

For naturalisation applications submitted on or before 23 August 2023, § 40a StAG contains a special transitional rule on securing a livelihood. The previous rule continues to apply where it is more favourable. Under that rule, one relevant question could be whether the person was responsible for their receipt of benefits under SGB II or SGB XII.

This is particularly relevant to young people whose proceedings have been ongoing for some time. We evidence the original receipt through confirmation, official correspondence or other documents. A non-binding request for an appointment is not necessarily equivalent to a naturalisation application. Nor does the transitional rule preserve all previous requirements and time limits across the board. It concerns the expressly specified livelihood requirement.

Someone who attends a German school or has completed a German-language course of education can often prove their German language skills through educational records. An additional B1 test is then not necessarily required. What matters is the type of evidence and what it establishes. Mere enrolment says little about the language of instruction or the knowledge actually acquired; a degree taught entirely in English does not in itself prove sufficient German language skills.

Examples of language evidence listed in the BMI application guidance include four years of successful attendance at a German-language school, a Hauptschulabschluss or equivalent German school-leaving qualification, and progression to the tenth year of a German-language secondary school. Suitable completed vocational training or a degree taught in German may also suffice. The point is demonstrated educational achievement, rather than merely the number of semesters enrolled or a certificate of attendance.

Language skills and knowledge of the legal system, society and living conditions are two different requirements. A suitable German school-leaving qualification may also suffice for the second area. For university degrees, the content of the degree programme matters. A qualification in a technical subject does not replace the naturalisation test simply because the university is in Germany. For vocational schools, the civic education provided may be relevant.

For this, we compile complete graduation certificates, subject records and, where needed, confirmation of the teaching language. We check that the documents evidence the level achieved rather than attendance alone. The article on school, vocational training and university study as evidence of language skills explains which educational records can help.

Special rules apply to children under 16: age-appropriate development is sufficient for the language requirement. This is not a reason to register a primary-school child for an adult examination as a precaution. We match the evidence to the child's age. Where there are learning or developmental impairments, it must also be assessed whether particular statutory concessions apply.

Minors may have their own entitlement to naturalisation or may become naturalised together with a parent. For naturalisation together with a parent, the residence period may be shorter than the usual five years. This does not, however, mean that there is automatically a single decision for the whole family. Residence status, identity and other personal requirements are considered for each child.

Under § 34 StAG, a person generally has capacity to act independently in proceedings from the age of 16, subject to the restrictions specified there. Younger children are legally represented. Parental responsibility and any questions of representation must therefore be clarified. A 16-year-old school pupil is not prevented from conducting their own naturalisation proceedings merely because they are still a minor.

If the eighteenth birthday is approaching, it is also important to remember that the special option of naturalisation for minor children together with a parent is time-limited. We assess an independent route early too. The article Children: naturalisation together with a parent or a separate application explains the differences and the significance of age limits.

Training and studies often change while proceedings are ongoing. Leaving school, starting university, interrupting training or moving into a first job may affect both income and residence rights at the same time. The authority therefore needs current information, not only the position on the date of the application. We explain changes through graduation certificates, new contracts, funding decisions or other suitable evidence.

We record the timeline in four concise areas:

• Residence: Previous residence permits and their periods of validity;

• Education: School attendance, vocational training and periods of university study;

• Funding: The respective sources of funding;

• Transitions: Expected qualifications and changes.

This shows whether there is an actual gap or whether different documents simply need to be brought together. A qualification that is still outstanding must not be presented as already achieved; a firm offer of employment after training is different from a non-binding hope of finding a job.

We begin preparation with the issues that determine your available naturalisation route. Residence rights and the qualifying duration of residence are clarified first. Funding, possible exceptions and educational evidence follow. This makes it possible to distinguish whether a sound application can already be made, whether a hardship assessment is needed or whether the legal position surrounding a particular transition first needs to be secured.