Naturalization with an Afghan or Iraqi passport: Is the passport requirement absolute?

The promise of accelerated naturalization sounds tempting to many highly qualified professionals . However, in the reality of bureaucracy, citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq often face a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: the strict requirement to present a valid national passport for identity verification. If their own embassy or consulate refuses appointments, imposes waiting times of over a year, or if documents can only be obtained in their country of origin with enormous financial and organizational effort, the entire process is at risk of stalling. Many immigration offices and regional government agencies become inflexible and threaten to reject the application.

Does the passport requirement apply without exception to naturalization ?

The legal framework mandates that naturalization requires the clarification of identity and nationality in accordance with Section 10 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 of the Nationality Act (StAG) . Case law has recently tightened the requirements for this hurdle considerably. According to the landmark decision of the Federal Administrative Court of December 18, 2025 ( BVerwG 1 C 27.24 ), a strict tiered model for establishing identity applies, with national passports taking the highest priority.

For naturalization applicants, this means that the authorities require, without exception, a valid passport or passport substitute as the primary document . Only if obtaining this document is objectively impossible or subjectively unreasonable may secondary forms of evidence be considered. In our legal practice, we see daily that authorities set the bar for such unreasonableness extremely high. Mere time losses or bureaucratic delays are usually insufficient for officials to deviate from the passport requirement.

How long can the passport application process take at Afghan and Iraqi embassies?

At the Afghan embassy and Iraqi diplomatic missions, processing times of well over a year are not uncommon. Often, the process fails due to the inability to obtain the mandatory preliminary documents – such as an electronic Tazkira for Afghan nationals or a valid national ID for Iraqi citizens.

From an official perspective, purely temporal delays of 12 to 18 months generally do not constitute grounds for deeming passport procurement unreasonable . Authorities and administrative courts maintain that delays lie within the sphere of the country of origin and that the applicant must accept them. We therefore strongly advise initiating the relevant passport and document procurement procedures with the appropriate embassies or consulates or authorities in your home country as early as possible. Those who wait or belatedly demonstrate their efforts risk being accused of causing the delay themselves – a charge often used by regional government offices as grounds for rejecting naturalization applications, subject to fees.

When is the procurement of national passports considered unreasonable?

The question of when obtaining a passport or the necessary documents (such as the electronic Tazkira via trusted individuals in the home country) becomes legally unreasonable cannot be answered categorically. In practice, it is primarily a matter of strategic case representation and the dynamics of the legal proceedings.

Should the authorities reject the application due to a missing passport, the only remaining option is often to file a lawsuit or appeal with the administrative courts. Our experience shows that whether the courts recognize a financial or organizational burden as unreasonable depends significantly on the opposing party's willingness to negotiate and the overall atmosphere of the proceedings. If the law firm provides comprehensive documentation of all previous efforts and demonstrates that the procurement process involves disproportionate risks or extreme costs, authorities can often be persuaded, through settlement negotiations or court guidance, to lower the threshold for unreasonableness and allow the applicant to proceed to the next stages of identity verification.

How do we secure your naturalization process?

Naturalization law has become highly complex due to recent case law. Simply waiting rarely leads to success, and flawed applications submitted independently carry the risk of costly rejection notices.

As a specialized law firm, we are intimately familiar with the unwritten administrative practices of regional government offices and immigration authorities . We strategically manage the process from the outset, assist in ensuring legally compliant adherence to deadlines, and, if necessary, enforce our clients' rights before the administrative courts. If you wish to avoid delays and establish your case on a solid legal foundation, we are at your side with our extensive expertise.

Conclusion

Naturalization for citizens of Afghanistan and Iraq requires proactive planning due to the strict interpretation of the passport requirement under Section 10 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 of the German Nationality Act (StAG) and current case law of the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG ) . Delays at embassies are rarely sufficient on their own to circumvent the passport requirement. However, those who act early, meticulously document all attempts to obtain a passport, and rely on experienced legal representation in case of disputes can successfully pursue German citizenship even in difficult situations .