BERLIN: The number of Syrians who became naturalized German citizens was three times higher in 2021 than the year before, as many of those who fled between 2014 and 2016 fulfilled eligibility criteria, data showed on Friday.
The overall number of foreigners who became naturalized Germans grew 20 percent in 2021, reaching roughly 131,600, the Federal Statistical Office said. Of those, 19,100 were Syrians who became German citizens.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants entered Germany after former Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the borders in 2015 to refugees fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond.
While, in general, a person has to live in Germany for at least eight years to qualify for citizenship, the majority of Syrians qualified earlier — on average after 6.5 years — by showing particular willingness to integrate, for example with strong language skills and civic commitment, it said.
The office said 2021 saw the highest number to date of people who naturalized early, with just under 12,400 cases. Of those, 43 percent were Syrian.
The number of Syrians who naturalize is expected to also rise in 2022. At the start of the year, 449,000 Syrian nationals had been in Germany at least six years, more than four times as many as at the start of 2021, the office added.
Number of Syrians becoming German citizens tripled in 2021
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Number of Syrians becoming German citizens tripled in 2021
- Hundreds of thousands of migrants entered Germany after former Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the borders in 2015 to refugees fleeing war and poverty
Hong Kong plans to buy homes devastated in deadly high-rise fire
HONG KONG: Hong Kong proposes to spend about HK$4 billion ($512 million) to buy out the owners of homes in a high-rise housing complex ravaged by a massive fire that killed more than 160 in November, authorities said on Saturday.
The prices offered will be HK$8,000 per sq. ft. without a land premium payment, and HK$10,500 per sq. ft for those receiving such a payment, officials in the Asian financial hub told a media briefing.
“We believe the proposed price is sufficient for the affected residents to relocate and secure long-term housing,” said Wong Wai-lun, Hong Kong’s deputy financial secretary.
The government also offered an apartment exchange program for the 4,600 affected tenants, who lived in nearly 2,000 housing units at the complex, Wang Fuk Court.
The total outlay, estimated at HK$6.8 billion, will drop by HK$2.8 billion from a contribution by a relief fund, and could go lower still after insurance compensation in factored in, the officials said. ($1=7.8148 Hong Kong dollars)
