Naturalization with hurdles: Paralyzing bureaucracy at the Bremen Immigration Office

In Bremen , the federal state comprising the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven, long waiting times at government offices have long been a source of discontent among many people. The Migration Office is no exception. It has long been known for its long processing times and slow naturalization processes and has been a frequent subject of political debate.

Public voices critical of naturalization in Bremen

These primarily revolve around the long processing times. Applicants often have to wait years for a response from the Migration Office , which places a considerable burden on those affected. This is also reflected in various Google reviews, which can be found in the office's listing. There, people report that they were unable to reach the office, either by phone or email, for months . Alongside a few positive reviews, which mainly refer to individual employees rather than the office as a whole, a negative image of the office is painted.

Also on the Reddit platform People describe negative experiences with the naturalization process in Bremen: In some cases, they have waited several years for their applications to be processed. The backlog is so large. They sometimes advise that it is better to submit the application for naturalization in neighboring Lower Saxony districts, for example in Diepholz. However, the long waiting times are not a problem unique to Bremen. In many German cities and districts – including in the surrounding Lower Saxony – it is notoriously slow before the authorities make a decision and process applications, as can be seen from regional reporting . However, compared to other cities, many naturalization applications are submitted in Bremen. According to a survey by the Media Service Integration, there were 11,300 applications in 2024, almost twice as many as in the previous year (5,749). After Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg, Bremen ranks fourth in terms of applications submitted.

Official information on naturalization in Bremen

An official website of the Bremen authority initially states: " Encouragingly, more and more foreign citizens are deciding to apply for naturalization into German citizenship. " This is also the reason for the longer processing time. Currently (as of October 2025), applications from the first quarter of 2023 are being finally processed. The backlog is therefore high. In order to withstand the slow grinding wheels of Bremen's bureaucracy, it is advisable to have patience and a time buffer . The application should be submitted as early as possible and contain all necessary documents as soon as possible so that the process does not have to be paused. If you need advice, you can contact organizations such as the Bremen Council for Integration, which supports people in Bremen with naturalization.

Action for failure to act naturalization Bremen

If, after the expiry of the statutory three-month period ( Section 75 of the Administrative Court Code ), there is no response or indication of the application being processed by the office, an action for failure to act can be considered. Numerous people have already done this in the past, as buten un binnen writes. This is also evident from the Bremen State Audit Office's annual report for 2024 : In 2023 alone, a total of 182 naturalization procedures resulted in actions for failure to act , in which the Migration Office had to bear the majority of the costs – due to a lack of objectively justified processing time.

In its report, the State Audit Office delivers a harsh verdict on Bremen's Migration Office: Despite an average processing time of almost two years and around 6,300 unprocessed applications (as of February 2024; the number is now likely higher), it failed to adequately investigate the causes of the backlog. " In recent years, the Migration Office has not been able to decide on naturalization applications within a reasonable time ," it states. The department and Migration Office have been asked to determine the reasons for the low processing rate and calculate the necessary staffing levels . Backlogs should be reduced and new applications processed within a reasonable timeframe, also to avoid further lawsuits for failure to act . These not only burden the budget, but can also give applicants the impression that naturalization can only be achieved with the assistance of a lawyer , it states.

A logical conclusion. Filing a lawsuit before the administrative court seems logical if the office appears to be ignoring the naturalization application well beyond the deadline. However, legal practice reports that even actions for failure to act are no guarantee for a faster process in Bremen, and sometimes even several months or years of no response are received. On Reddit, those affected recommend waiting at least a year before filing a claim for failure to act with the administrative court, as it's "not worth it" before then.

The numerous lawsuits for failure to act and requests from the Court of Auditors appear to have borne little fruit so far . Neither has public criticism from politicians of various parties, who have been demanding better equipment and more staff at the Migration Office for faster processing for years. The process of change is slow, partly because Bremen is chronically short of funds. Perhaps a change in leadership at Bremen's Interior Ministry, to which the Migration Office reports, may offer hope: At the end of the year, Ulrich Mäurer is expected to be replaced as Interior Senator by Eva Högl. Perhaps she will turn the situation around for the better. This remains to be seen, however, and is cautious speculation.

Despite the difficult bureaucratic situation, many people are naturalized in Bremen. According to the latest integration monitoring, the naturalization rate there was the highest of all federal states in 2023 at three percent . The figures also showed that people with a migration background feel a strong sense of belonging in Bremen (86%). Bremen is on par with the state of Hesse. Only Lower Saxony is one percentage point higher. The monitoring also showed that the employment rate of people with a migration background increased significantly between 2021 and 2023 – thus a positive trend.

Conclusion on naturalizations in Bremen

The situation at Bremen's Migration Office illustrates how much bureaucratic bottlenecks can burden the naturalization process . Despite high demand and a naturalization rate above the national average, the office is struggling with massive backlogs, long waiting times, and inadequate staffing. Lawsuits for inaction and political criticism have so far had little effect, so applicants must continue to exercise considerable patience.

At the same time, it is clear that Bremen remains an attractive location for people with a migration background. The high naturalization rate and the strong sense of belonging among those affected speak for a fundamentally successful integration policy – even if administrative practice currently lags behind this positive trend.