When Are Your Five Years for German Citizenship Complete?
Enter the first day you lived in Germany lawfully and every stay abroad. The tool counts your years the way § 12b of the citizenship act does, marks any stay over six months that resets the clock, shows the date with and without the credit for earlier years, and tells you when to book the naturalisation test and B1 exam.
Rules: five years of lawful residence under § 10 StAG, three years when married to a German for two years (§ 9); the three-year fast track ended on 30 October 2025. Stays abroad up to six months keep the count; a longer one breaks it unless the immigration office set a return deadline you kept; after a break up to three earlier years can be credited (§ 12b). Fee 255 euro per adult, 51 euro per child under 16. Checked on 19 September 2026.
Every naturalisation in Berlin goes through the Landesamt für Einwanderung, which publishes no waiting times and answers no status enquiries. The part you control is the date and the file. Put in your arrival and your long trips, and plan the test and the B1 certificate backwards from the day your years are complete.
Day one is your first lawful day here
Count from the first day you lived in Germany with a right to be here, usually the date on your first Anmeldung or your first permit. EU and Swiss citizens count from the day they moved.
Why one long trip can cost you years
Up to six months abroad does not interrupt your residence. A longer stay breaks it unless the immigration office gave you a return deadline and you kept it. Afterwards, up to three years of earlier residence can be credited, at the office’s discretion, so the tool shows both dates.
Book the test before the date
The naturalisation test has 33 questions and 17 correct answers pass. Berlin Volkshochschulen fill their dates within hours and some keep no waiting list, so the tool marks a booking window three to six months before your years are complete.
What this tool cannot know
It counts dates. It cannot check your permit type, income, criminal record or language certificate, and the Landesamt für Einwanderung decides every case.