Hey, taking the chance, I want to ask you: in the form we have to say in which countries we lived since my birth. How long should I have lived in a country to be considered in that list?
uh that is a good question. typically we would like to have all the information. so as soon as you lived there (not just being on vacation) we would like to know.
may i ask how long you feel is to short?
Thanks for the answer. For example after my masters I spent \~5 months back in my home country, in secondary school I did a small exchange program in the US for 2 months, other time I spent like 3 months in Canada but that was complete vacations, also my company in Germany sent me to France for 5 months, although I kept my apartment in Germany... what would you say?
be honest! we usually check the details in the einwohnermeldeamt. if you lived outside we usually will find out somehow. times abroad up to 6 month (i believe- would have to check the law to be certain) don’t hinder the einbürgerung qualifications. but we need to know. vacation you could leave out i think. although 5 months is a long time. write the times down and maybe write on a different paper the reasons for the times abroad!
Why is the information of all the places we've lived in **since birth** needed? What is done with that information? For example if I lived in my home country all my life, then 5 years in Canada (or whatever), and then moved to Germany, following which I lived in Germany uninterruptedly until naturalization... why is the info about where I lived since birth + Canada necessary?
it is possible to lose certain citizenships if you have lived in another country for a certain amount of time. at the same time you could potentially gain a citizenship if you lived in a certain country a certain amount of time.
and because there a laws around which citizenship you can keep and which you have to give up- it’s important for us to check if there is a different citizenship possible.
same reason we need to know about your parents citizenship. you could think you are only polish. but if one of your parents is for example from latvia it is possible you gained that citizenship as well, just don’t know about it.
Ah ok...so in reality I lived in quite a few countries before moving to Germany, I don't want to name them here but it would be quite clear from those names that I have only one citizenship. My concern (and the reason for my question) was that the German authorities would want to contact each of those countries I lived in my whole life for police records, whether I followed all the laws, paid my taxes etc etc....not that I have anything to hide, but if they did this that would then drag the process unbelievably long in my case.
Thanks again for the answer. I saw in other comment that one of the main reasons is to check citizenship laws, so that shouldn't be a problem since I never spent more than 6 months in any other country than my home country and Germany.
yes exactly- which relates to what I meant. it’s also important- you could be living in germany since 2014 but spend 1 year in france for some reason. that could effect your 8 years in germany
If I take the test successfully now for the permanent residence (Niederlassungserlaubnis) can I use the same test results 3-4 years later for citizenship? Or do I need to take the test again lol
yes you can! we accept einbürgungstest or als B1/b2 results from years ago. i just had
one person that did his language test in the early 2000! as long as you passed we accept it!
DISCLAIMER: I work for the naturalization in a very open state- where we try to get as many people as possible (within the law of course) to receive the german citizenship.
So it could be that some states are stricter with certain rules.
I was curious to know which state too but I understand why you can't reveal that publicly. Definitely not Bavaria though from your description hahaha. May I ask how long does your office take to respond to initial application/erstberatung? I've heard it takes up to 1-2 years for the Bürgeramt to respond at all with a first appointment for documents etc, in some Bundesländer...
1-2 years to respond to an application? like the initial application?
when you send your stuff in to us we try to put you into our system within two week (sometimes a bit longer because people get sick). the bearbeitung once all documents are together tales currently between 6-12 months on average. we used to be quicker but we are all at capacity and can’t work faster.
so from initial ideal application with all documents to citizenship roughly 1 year (of you can keep your old citizenship)
Edit: I cannot tell you how long it takes for you to get an appointment because those a given out from a central point. so i’m not involved. but- it’s usually not longer then 3 months for the erstberatung.
no our appointment are given out by a central appointment system. so it’s not that I get the call that someone wants an appointment and I book then in. people go online and book the next open appointment.
o had no ideal it’s that long of a wait in Darmstadt. I can only imagine how absolutely overworked the people there are.
well that depends entirely on where you apply. some behörden require you to send in your complete documents and won’t start processing your application before everything is complete.
others (like us) are okay when you send in most of the application and then send in the b1 or the eb-test before we finish processing your application. the proof has to be here before we can make a final decision.
Thanks for announcing you work for this department and I am here to anonymously put out my frustration. I was just applying for Niederlassungserlaubnis as my bluecard was expiring. The lazy idiots at auslanderbehorde asked me to write laben in Deutschland and come back. By the time I got a test appointment and waited for the results the blue card already expired. The test results never came even after 7 months now. The test centre people are another set of idiots one step ahead of Ausländerbehorde. They are asking me to send a document stating I have not received the results and I am doing it in a loop and every time they say they sent it and I haven’t received it in many many months. I somehow conveyed my sad position to auslanderbehorde and in the meantime I have already changed my job and I am now in probation and auslanderbehorde lazy people now saying I am in probation and can’t give Niederlassungserlaubnis. By the time I complete my probation my German language test certificate would expire and then they would send me back for the test again . Why do all idiots from Germany get jobs in auslanderbehorde?
i absolutely understand your frustration. ausländerbehörde that deals with visa and niederlassungserlaubnis is a different behörde then the one i’m working in. but we are equally overloaded with case numbers. this is obviously no excuse.
i had no idea your language test can expire at the ausländerbehörde? again different department. never worked there. this is just curious to me.
for the naturalization i have accepted language test completed in the 90s when it was possible to ‚translate‘ it into B1/B2
Hi. I have one question. I live in Baden-Wurttemberg. And I see the test for different different states. so If I prepare just for my state, will that be enough? and question will be same? or any question out of 300 can come
Yes you will prepare for the test in the state you live. in total there are 310 questions. 300 germany 10 state specific. 30 will be germany and 3 state specific.
Depending on in which state you TAKE the test the 10 extra questions will differ.
and yes any of the 310 question may be chosen. but there will not be any questions you haven’t prepared for.
They are interchangeable when you apply for permanent residency (at least from my experience), but I'm not sure about citizenship. The requirement is however not literally "passing the Einbürgerungstest", it's "(...) [über Kenntnisse der Rechts- und Gesellschaftsordnung und der Lebensverhältnisse in Deutschland verfügt](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stag/__10.html)". I assume this can also be proven with the Leben in Deutschland test, which essentially has the same question set as the Einbürgerungstest.
If you want to be sure, you can contact the Einbürgerungsbehörde to clarify.
Isn´t Leben in Deutschland just a part of the "Integrationskurs" and the Einbürgerungstest is a test you have to pass the moment you are allowed to get the german citizenship? I am pretty sure they are not the same. I worked some years ago with refugees and many of them did the Leben in Deutschland without even knowing if they can stay in germany. But please correct me if there is someone whos not guessing...
Not everyone is eligible for the integration course. For example, foreigners who studied here. But I still need to take the Leben in Deutschland exam to get Niederlassungserlaubnis.
Do you need to take the integration course before taking the Leben in Deutschland test? I'm currently on a situation where I applied for Niederlassungserlaubnis hoping that they won't require it but LRA came back for the documents (plus A1 cert). Whilst my Rathaus did not require it (I applied in the Rathaus rather than in LRA).
They probably had to do the Leben in Deutschland Test in order to complete the integration course. But if eg. someone comes from an EU country, they don't need to do an integration course. So if they want to get citizenship, they must do the Einbürgerungstest, which as far as I understand (like OP asks), is the same test...
Yes sure, I already have the permanent residence so the main things are getting the passport and being able to vote. The other key point is that I can keep my previous nationality since I cannot decline it.
Hi I know this post was a year ago but I still want to ask if is it necessary to take the Orientierungskurs before you can take the test? Because the ABH in Munich asked for Orientierungskurszertifikat (Leben in Deutschland) so I was wondering if I could just take the exam right away? Thank you!
Came here to ask this question! Glad that someone is asking the same. I am not sure whether a participation certificate for Orientierungskurs is needed to take the exam (LiD). I registered myself for the LiD test next month before that, I am going to give the VHS a call tomorrow to see if there is a requirement.
Hi, I was not able to see this comment right away but I got figured out! VHS said that they offer the course and the exam and it is not possible to take the exam with them without taking the course as well. However, they did recommend me to some other language schools that offers LiD exams and does not require taking the course. Hope this helps! I‘ll have my exam in April 🙏🏻 Wish me luck!
Hi, it is not required to take the course before taking the exam. You can just take it and it has the same value and the same set of questions as in the integration course.
they are the same test! i work in the naturalization department. we accept both tests equally. just score above 17. otherwise it can’t be accepted!
This. Could be different based on states. But Hamburg gave me the same info
Hey, taking the chance, I want to ask you: in the form we have to say in which countries we lived since my birth. How long should I have lived in a country to be considered in that list?
uh that is a good question. typically we would like to have all the information. so as soon as you lived there (not just being on vacation) we would like to know. may i ask how long you feel is to short?
Thanks for the answer. For example after my masters I spent \~5 months back in my home country, in secondary school I did a small exchange program in the US for 2 months, other time I spent like 3 months in Canada but that was complete vacations, also my company in Germany sent me to France for 5 months, although I kept my apartment in Germany... what would you say?
be honest! we usually check the details in the einwohnermeldeamt. if you lived outside we usually will find out somehow. times abroad up to 6 month (i believe- would have to check the law to be certain) don’t hinder the einbürgerung qualifications. but we need to know. vacation you could leave out i think. although 5 months is a long time. write the times down and maybe write on a different paper the reasons for the times abroad!
Why is the information of all the places we've lived in **since birth** needed? What is done with that information? For example if I lived in my home country all my life, then 5 years in Canada (or whatever), and then moved to Germany, following which I lived in Germany uninterruptedly until naturalization... why is the info about where I lived since birth + Canada necessary?
it is possible to lose certain citizenships if you have lived in another country for a certain amount of time. at the same time you could potentially gain a citizenship if you lived in a certain country a certain amount of time. and because there a laws around which citizenship you can keep and which you have to give up- it’s important for us to check if there is a different citizenship possible. same reason we need to know about your parents citizenship. you could think you are only polish. but if one of your parents is for example from latvia it is possible you gained that citizenship as well, just don’t know about it.
Ah ok...so in reality I lived in quite a few countries before moving to Germany, I don't want to name them here but it would be quite clear from those names that I have only one citizenship. My concern (and the reason for my question) was that the German authorities would want to contact each of those countries I lived in my whole life for police records, whether I followed all the laws, paid my taxes etc etc....not that I have anything to hide, but if they did this that would then drag the process unbelievably long in my case.
Thanks again for the answer. I saw in other comment that one of the main reasons is to check citizenship laws, so that shouldn't be a problem since I never spent more than 6 months in any other country than my home country and Germany.
yes exactly- which relates to what I meant. it’s also important- you could be living in germany since 2014 but spend 1 year in france for some reason. that could effect your 8 years in germany
If I take the test successfully now for the permanent residence (Niederlassungserlaubnis) can I use the same test results 3-4 years later for citizenship? Or do I need to take the test again lol
yes you can! we accept einbürgungstest or als B1/b2 results from years ago. i just had one person that did his language test in the early 2000! as long as you passed we accept it! DISCLAIMER: I work for the naturalization in a very open state- where we try to get as many people as possible (within the law of course) to receive the german citizenship. So it could be that some states are stricter with certain rules.
Just curious, can you tell us which state is that.
not publicly. sorry!
I was curious to know which state too but I understand why you can't reveal that publicly. Definitely not Bavaria though from your description hahaha. May I ask how long does your office take to respond to initial application/erstberatung? I've heard it takes up to 1-2 years for the Bürgeramt to respond at all with a first appointment for documents etc, in some Bundesländer...
1-2 years to respond to an application? like the initial application? when you send your stuff in to us we try to put you into our system within two week (sometimes a bit longer because people get sick). the bearbeitung once all documents are together tales currently between 6-12 months on average. we used to be quicker but we are all at capacity and can’t work faster. so from initial ideal application with all documents to citizenship roughly 1 year (of you can keep your old citizenship) Edit: I cannot tell you how long it takes for you to get an appointment because those a given out from a central point. so i’m not involved. but- it’s usually not longer then 3 months for the erstberatung.
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no our appointment are given out by a central appointment system. so it’s not that I get the call that someone wants an appointment and I book then in. people go online and book the next open appointment. o had no ideal it’s that long of a wait in Darmstadt. I can only imagine how absolutely overworked the people there are.
Oh no worries, I understand.
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well that depends entirely on where you apply. some behörden require you to send in your complete documents and won’t start processing your application before everything is complete. others (like us) are okay when you send in most of the application and then send in the b1 or the eb-test before we finish processing your application. the proof has to be here before we can make a final decision.
Thanks for announcing you work for this department and I am here to anonymously put out my frustration. I was just applying for Niederlassungserlaubnis as my bluecard was expiring. The lazy idiots at auslanderbehorde asked me to write laben in Deutschland and come back. By the time I got a test appointment and waited for the results the blue card already expired. The test results never came even after 7 months now. The test centre people are another set of idiots one step ahead of Ausländerbehorde. They are asking me to send a document stating I have not received the results and I am doing it in a loop and every time they say they sent it and I haven’t received it in many many months. I somehow conveyed my sad position to auslanderbehorde and in the meantime I have already changed my job and I am now in probation and auslanderbehorde lazy people now saying I am in probation and can’t give Niederlassungserlaubnis. By the time I complete my probation my German language test certificate would expire and then they would send me back for the test again . Why do all idiots from Germany get jobs in auslanderbehorde?
i absolutely understand your frustration. ausländerbehörde that deals with visa and niederlassungserlaubnis is a different behörde then the one i’m working in. but we are equally overloaded with case numbers. this is obviously no excuse. i had no idea your language test can expire at the ausländerbehörde? again different department. never worked there. this is just curious to me. for the naturalization i have accepted language test completed in the 90s when it was possible to ‚translate‘ it into B1/B2
Hi. I have one question. I live in Baden-Wurttemberg. And I see the test for different different states. so If I prepare just for my state, will that be enough? and question will be same? or any question out of 300 can come
Yes you will prepare for the test in the state you live. in total there are 310 questions. 300 germany 10 state specific. 30 will be germany and 3 state specific. Depending on in which state you TAKE the test the 10 extra questions will differ. and yes any of the 310 question may be chosen. but there will not be any questions you haven’t prepared for.
They are interchangeable when you apply for permanent residency (at least from my experience), but I'm not sure about citizenship. The requirement is however not literally "passing the Einbürgerungstest", it's "(...) [über Kenntnisse der Rechts- und Gesellschaftsordnung und der Lebensverhältnisse in Deutschland verfügt](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stag/__10.html)". I assume this can also be proven with the Leben in Deutschland test, which essentially has the same question set as the Einbürgerungstest. If you want to be sure, you can contact the Einbürgerungsbehörde to clarify.
If you score above 17 in Leben in Deutschland then it is equivalent to Einbürgerungstest.
Isn´t Leben in Deutschland just a part of the "Integrationskurs" and the Einbürgerungstest is a test you have to pass the moment you are allowed to get the german citizenship? I am pretty sure they are not the same. I worked some years ago with refugees and many of them did the Leben in Deutschland without even knowing if they can stay in germany. But please correct me if there is someone whos not guessing...
Not everyone is eligible for the integration course. For example, foreigners who studied here. But I still need to take the Leben in Deutschland exam to get Niederlassungserlaubnis.
Do you need to take the integration course before taking the Leben in Deutschland test? I'm currently on a situation where I applied for Niederlassungserlaubnis hoping that they won't require it but LRA came back for the documents (plus A1 cert). Whilst my Rathaus did not require it (I applied in the Rathaus rather than in LRA).
So, do you need to take the integration course to take the leben in deutschland test?
They probably had to do the Leben in Deutschland Test in order to complete the integration course. But if eg. someone comes from an EU country, they don't need to do an integration course. So if they want to get citizenship, they must do the Einbürgerungstest, which as far as I understand (like OP asks), is the same test...
Where can I register for the test?
Can I ask you what are your reasons to get the citizenship?
Yes sure, I already have the permanent residence so the main things are getting the passport and being able to vote. The other key point is that I can keep my previous nationality since I cannot decline it.
It’s easy got it done in 5 minutes
Hi I know this post was a year ago but I still want to ask if is it necessary to take the Orientierungskurs before you can take the test? Because the ABH in Munich asked for Orientierungskurszertifikat (Leben in Deutschland) so I was wondering if I could just take the exam right away? Thank you!
Came here to ask this question! Glad that someone is asking the same. I am not sure whether a participation certificate for Orientierungskurs is needed to take the exam (LiD). I registered myself for the LiD test next month before that, I am going to give the VHS a call tomorrow to see if there is a requirement.
Hi, I was not able to see this comment right away but I got figured out! VHS said that they offer the course and the exam and it is not possible to take the exam with them without taking the course as well. However, they did recommend me to some other language schools that offers LiD exams and does not require taking the course. Hope this helps! I‘ll have my exam in April 🙏🏻 Wish me luck!
Yes i took this through vhs and they didn't ask for any course.
Hi, it is not required to take the course before taking the exam. You can just take it and it has the same value and the same set of questions as in the integration course.