> People seem to think a German passport is handed out easily now. It isn't. You have to prove you paid into the social system for at least five years. You have to pass the citizenship test. You need German at B1 level. You need a sustainable livelihood while your application is running. And most importantly, you have to accept the democratic values of this country.

That is still relatively easy. 5 years is not a long time – various other European countries are longer.

The citizenship test is multiple-choice and has a pass rate of 52%. B1 should be easily achievable after 5 years in Germany. And B1 is lower-middle (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2), and is not fluency.

I'm not sure why paying taxes and having a job is highlighted as making it "not easy" - that should be the bare minimum.

And then he goes onto describe how painless the application process was. All digital. No bureaucratic games trying to trip him up. Seemed very easy

edit: Oh and ~700-800 EUR in total for all the fees? [0] Bargain!

[0] https://reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/comments/1q5ij2w/what...

Note that you need a B1 certificate, so it’s really better to take actual courses to be sure you know the actual grammar and vocabulary (including all the irregular verbs, uhrg…) you will face during the exam. The exam isn’t too hard but you need to be prepared, it covers reading, speaking, writing, and grammar exercises

This is a lower requirement than permanent residence in Switzerland for comparison.

pass score of 52%*