Illegal naturalization due to a romantic relationship at the State Office for Immigration (LEA) in Berlin?
- VG3
- Jul 18
- 2 min read
A spectacular case is currently rocking the Berlin administration: An employee of the State Office for Naturalization is suspected of illegally issuing naturalization certificates for a North Macedonian family – apparently for personal reasons and in violation of existing laws. The case not only highlights potential security gaps in the system but also causes uncertainty among many applicants who have been waiting for a decision for months or years.
What happened?
According to the Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Berlin Police, the 38-year-old employee is said to have committed several serious disciplinary offenses:
Issuance of naturalization certificates despite withdrawn applications
Use of a third-party official seal
Forgery of signatures
Access the system via a colleague's account
And finally: the deletion of the immigration files of the affected family
The family – a 39-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman – are suspected of having bribed the official. What's more, there was allegedly a romantic relationship between the state office employee and the woman.
What does this mean for legitimate applicants?
This case demonstrates how seriously individual misconduct can damage trust in the naturalization process. Especially at a time when Berlin aims to be a pioneer in naturalization with digital procedures, such an incident seems like a step backward.
For applicants, this means three things in particular:
Do not draw conclusions about other procedures: The current case is an isolated incident and does not say anything about the integrity of other procedures or employees.
More transparency is needed: Such scandals illustrate how important transparent processes and well-documented decisions are in naturalization procedures.
Faster digitization and control: The administration must secure digital systems so that manipulations like this are not possible – or at least are immediately noticeable.
Our conclusion at VISAGUARD
Anyone who has a legitimate claim to naturalization should not be discouraged. Even if isolated cases like this make headlines, German naturalization law remains strictly regulated – and manipulation is the exception, not the rule.
Do you have questions about naturalization? Contact us – we're here to help.
