Due to suspected fraud involving language certificates, CDU politicians are demanding that all pending naturalisation procedures be suspended until the authenticity of the certificates can be fully verified.
“Every case where the authenticity of a language certificate is unclear must be examined” said Alexander Thorm, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group’s spokesperson on internal affairs, in an interview with “Bild”‘s Thursday edition. “Ongoing applications should be suspended for the duration of the investigation”.
Thorm described deliberate deception in naturalisation as “deception against all honest people in Germany”. He also referred to changes already agreed upon. At the end of last year, the black‑red coalition approved a ten‑year ban on naturalisation for those who attempt to fraudulently gain citizenship. “Our actions should, in general, be guided by that standard” the CDU politician said.
Daniel Peters, the CDU state chairman for Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern, also supports halting naturalisation. “Anyone who defrauds the social system should not be rewarded with a German passport” Peters told “Bild”. He characterised the certificate fraud as “not a petty offence, but an attack on solidarity and fairness-therefore it must carry naturalisation‑law consequences”.
