The number of Vietnamese people in Berlin who have been granted German citizenship is the highest in Asia.

There are currently about 125,000 Vietnamese people in Germany. (Photo: Manh Hung/Vietnam+)

According to unofficial figures, the Vietnamese community in Berlin numbers around 40,000 people, making it the largest East Asian community in the German capital.

As in many other cities, the Vietnamese community is consistently praised by the local authorities for its good integration and contributions to development in Germany.

According to Bild newspaper on March 1st, after the Turkish (1,134 cases) and Polish (407 cases), the Vietnamese community in Berlin has the third highest number of people acquiring German citizenship, with 287 cases.

Of the 6,539 foreigners living in Berlin who were granted German citizenship in 2014, the largest number were from the Mitte district, while the Lichtenberg district, which has the largest Vietnamese population in Germany, only had 333 cases of foreigners receiving citizenship.

To obtain German citizenship, a person must meet several conditions, including having lived legally in Germany for 8 years (3 years if married to a German citizen); passing an exam on knowledge of German law, society, and culture; being self-sufficient; having sufficient knowledge of the German language; and recognizing German law.

The citizenship application fee is 255 euros for adults and 51 euros for children. Typically, the processing time for a German citizenship application is 6 months, but in some cases it can take several years.

Igor (31 years old) is a special case, having received his German citizenship certificate in just 87 days.

This young man from Serbia initially worked as a cleaner at a hotel, then moved to a Burger King restaurant, and a year later started working for the German national railway company Deutsche Bahn.

Igor answered 32 out of 33 multiple-choice questions correctly. The waiting time for Igor to apply for citizenship was also only 3 years because he was married to a German woman.

To date, Igor holds the record for the shortest time to successfully obtain Berlin citizenship.

According to VNA