Living in Germany and working in the Netherlands - Is there any issue for getting the German citizenship?

Question

Hi all,
A friend of mine is a refugee in Germany holding a settlement visa. He got a job in NL and planning to be a cross border commuter (going back and forth to NL every day for work while living in DE). He is worried whether this can have a negative impact on his German citizenship which is due in 2021.
Thanks in advance,
Munshi

Comments

Dear @MahmudulMunshi, 

Welcome to the Wefugees community and thank you for sharing your question. 

I am not an expert on the naturalization procedure, but as long as the work is legal, I don’t see any issue at the moment. 

The info website of the Berlin authorities would also not mention a requirement to have a job in Germany explicitly, as far as I can see. It is important though, that you and your family don’t receive social benefits from the German government.

I will link some of our wonderful experts here, as @mbeon-Christine, @manrhei-mbeon and @mbeon-Ruth. 

Is there any rule for the naturalization, that requires to have payed tax etc. in Germany, instead of have worked in another EU-country? 

All the best, 

Meike

Answer 1

Hi @MahmudulMunshi,

thank you for contacting the wefugee community. Like @Meike already mentioned, there is no rule stating you have to work in germany. You find the rules of naturalization also here

https://***.gesetze-im-internet.de/stag/BJNR005830913.html      (sorry I could not find an english version).

If you want to be 110% sure you can turn to the local authority that is responsible for naturalization in your community and ask the staff there. Usually this is the registration office / community office.

Regards,

Ruth

Please feel free to contact me again. My name is Ruth and I am a professional refugee advisor.  In case you need a confidential consultation you can write me via the app ‘mbeon’, which provides advice for adult immigrants in Germany. Download the app at Google Play or  App Store and get in touch with me or 160 other migration advisors. It's free of charge, anonymous, data secure and you can get advice in 15 different languages. Find more information here: ***.mbeon.de.