German lawmakers have approved legislation to ease the rules on gaining citizenship and end a ban on holding dual citizenship.

The bill, put forward by centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal coalition, passed parliament on Friday by a 382-234 vote with 23 lawmakers abstaining.

The legislation will allow people to become eligible for citizenship after five years in Germany or three in case of “special integration accomplishments”, rather than the eight or six years at present.

German-born children will automatically become citizens if one parent has been a legal resident for five years, down from eight.

Dual nationality, customarily allowed only for citizens of other European Union countries, will be permitted, letting tens of thousands of German-born Turks become voters.

In a video welcoming the citizenship law, Scholz said the legislation was for those who had lived and worked in Germany for “decades”.

“With the new citizenship law, we are saying to all those who have often lived and worked in Germany for decades, who abide by our laws, who are at home here: You belong to Germany,” Scholz said.

The main centre-right opposition bloc criticised the project and argued it would cheapen German citizenship.

People who have moved to Germany wait to be naturalised as German citizens during a ceremony at a townhall in Berlin [File: Thomas Peter/Reuters]

“Two passports is the most normal thing in the world in 2024 and has long been reality in most countries,” said Social Democratic legislator Reem Alabali-Radovan.

“We, the 20 million people of migrant backgrounds, we are staying here. This country belongs to us all, and we won’t let it be taken away,” she added of the legislation, which President Frank-Walter Steinmeier must sign for it to become law.