Knowledge of German

When you apply for German citizenship, you must be able to communicate in German. A sufficient knowledge of the language is crucial for successful social integration.

The knowledge of German is required for the successful completion of school and professional education, the successful application for a job, remaining on the job and finally participation in daily life. A sufficient knowledge of the German language can, for example, be acquired through successful attendance at the integration courses of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.

A sufficient knowledge of the language exists when you can meet the requirements of the language testing for the German Certificate (B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) in oral and written form.

You can also substantiate your language proficiency if you have successfully attended a school in the German language for four years or successfully completed a German professional education program.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) sub-divides language tests into six categories of difficulty. The categories A 1/ A 2 stand for elementary, B1/ B2 stand for self-sufficient and C 1/ C 2 for the confident use of language.

Language schools with the appropriate license offer the language assessment tests. The test concludes with the German Certificate.

The written portion consists of questions on texts that are read and listened to, gap texts, and the free formulation of a short text.

 A conversation is conducted in the oral portion. The integration courses also have the achievement of speech level B1 as the goal and conclude with the “German Test for Immigrants.”