Hi @Markbery2007
I’m sorry to read of your loss. I presume you either have permanent residency (called a Niederlassungserlaubnis) as your spouse became a German citizen, or a residence permit in accordance with paragraph 31 of the immigration law. With either of these, you can apply for naturalisation. You have to have been in Germany for 5 years.
Unfortunately, in many if not all parts of Germany there are long waiting times to have an application for naturalisation processed or to be even able to apply at all. So if you are still just a few months away from the full five years, you can apply now as it will be some time before they will process it. But have a **** at the information of your local Ausländerbehörde about it. Where I work they regularly update which applications from what month and year they are currently dealing with.
You have B1 and Leben in Deutschland which is great. The main other requirement is to be financially self-sufficient. If your wife’s pension will continue indefinitely and is enough to cover your living costs and rent, then this could be seen as sufficient. They will also want to see how you are covered for health insurance and your own pension contributions. The Umschulung is great for showing that you will have better job prospects when its done. They may, however, wish to first see you finished with it and in a secure job before naturalisation is possible.
Having a lawyer in and of itself does not speed up the process. There is not a quicker route for people who have a lawyer compared to those who don’t. I am not a lawyer myself so cannot comment in detail on the services a lawyer could offer in this regard. One thing a lawyer can do, however, is assist a person to file a lawsuit called an ‘Untätigkeitsklage’ (inactivity lawsuit). If an authority has not acted on a person’s case within three months, the person can file such a lawsuit at the administrative court. But there are circumstances where such a delay by an authority can be seen as acceptable by the court. It is not a guaranteed way to speed up the process and is something you should discuss in detail first with a lawyer before considering this route.
Best,
Éanna