Who needs to take the German citizenship test?
Vishwen Labs
If you apply for German citizenship, you must show knowledge of Germany's legal and social order and of living conditions in Germany, and the Einbürgerungstest is how most applicants do it. BAMF names the exceptions: a German school-leaving certificate proves the knowledge without a test, a completed degree at a German university counts too, children under 16 do not take it, and the requirement is waived for people who cannot meet it because of a physical, mental or psychological illness, a disability or their age. A pass in the test Leben in Deutschland with 17 correct answers is also accepted.
The requirement in the law
§ 10 of the Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz lists what an applicant for naturalisation must show, and number 7 is knowledge of the legal and social order and of living conditions in Germany. Paragraph 5 of the same section says that this knowledge is as a rule shown by passing the Einbürgerungstest, and that the test is not required of someone with a German school-leaving certificate. BAMF's page puts it plainly: when you apply for German citizenship, you must prove this knowledge with the help of the test. It is one of seven requirements; the requirements guide sets out the others.
Who is exempt
From BAMF, the Bundesverwaltungsamt and § 10 StAG:
- Anyone with a German school-leaving certificate, from the Hauptschulabschluss to the Abitur, and, per the Bundesverwaltungsamt, anyone who has completed a degree at a German university.
- Children under 16, who are naturalised with their parents without a test; from 16 the requirement applies.
- People who cannot meet the requirement because of a physical, mental or psychological illness, a disability or their age. BAMF's wording is that the test is waived (entfällt) in these cases; the naturalisation office decides on the evidence.
- Since the 2024 reform, members of the so-called Gastarbeiter generation who came to West Germany by 30 June 1974 and contract workers who came to the GDR by 13 June 1990: no test, and oral German is enough for the language requirement.
Leben in Deutschland counts
Most people who complete an Integrationskurs sit the test Leben in Deutschland at its end, and it is the Einbürgerungstest under another name: the same 33 questions from the same catalogue, 60 minutes, four options. BAMF's page on the final test says that 15 correct answers pass the orientation course and that 17 or more also count as proof of knowledge under § 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 7 StAG. If your certificate shows 17 or more, you do not sit the Einbürgerungstest; if it shows 15 or 16, you do.
Under 16, and family applications
A child naturalised together with a parent does not take the test, and a child applying alone under 16 does not either; the Bundesverwaltungsamt states it without qualification. From the sixteenth birthday the requirement applies like any adult's, which matters for families whose applications take a year or more to decide: a fifteen-year-old at application can be sixteen at decision. Ask the naturalisation office how it handles that case rather than assuming.
If you are not sure which group you are in
Two checks. Whether you hold a German school-leaving certificate or a German degree, which settles it. And whether you already have a Leben in Deutschland certificate with 17 or more correct. If neither, you take the test, unless illness, disability or age applies, for which the naturalisation office, not BAMF, is the authority. The naturalisation office (Einbürgerungsbehörde) of your Land decides your application; BAMF runs the test and the courses, and its pages are the reference for the test itself.
Einbürgerungstest bestehen is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) or any other German authority. The test questions are BAMF's published Gesamtfragenkatalog, which anyone may practise free at BAMF's Online-Testcenter; the app's lessons, explanations and translations are its own.
Questions people also ask
Does a German university degree exempt me from the Einbürgerungstest?
Yes. The Bundesverwaltungsamt lists a completed degree at a German university alongside a German school-leaving certificate as proof of the required knowledge. A degree from abroad does not count, whatever its language.
Do I need the Einbürgerungstest if I passed Leben in Deutschland?
Not if you answered 17 or more of the 33 questions correctly. BAMF states that 17 correct in the test Leben in Deutschland also counts as proof of knowledge under § 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 7 StAG. With 15 or 16 you passed the orientation course but not the citizenship threshold.
