Becoming German – a Kenyan at the Einbürgerungsfeier

The Landrat Roland Bernhard and Clarice Mager with her Daughter Casey at the Landratsamt.

Last week 73 foreigners in Böbling took up German citizenship at the Landratsamt during a small ceremony held in their honour. Among them was Clarice Mager, who’s originally from Kenya but now lives in Nufringen.

There are many ways and reasons why foreigners from all over the world move to Germany. But on this day these 73 people had one thing in common, they were all now Germans.

When Germans think of adventure, the first thing that comes to mind is usually Africa. Well for Clarice, who moved to Germany 8 years ago. “I was looking for adventure”, she says. When she arrived, the now 29year old Clarice didn’t know much about Germany or the the area she was moving to. “The punctuality and order I found here was very shocking for me”, she says. “Also the food”, she adds holding back a laugh. Today she cooks lentils with Spätzle or  Maultaschen just as well as she cooks food from home.

So what comes to mind when she thinks of Germany? “My darling husband”, she says as she looks dreamily to her husband Rolf Mager. She met her husband in the Stuttgart Summer Festival and they now have a 2 year old daughter, Casey who dressed in the traditional Tracht isn’t very impressed by the Landrat, but more by the chocolate presented at the table.

To become a German one needs to have been in Germany for atleast 8years, be fluent in German and have a steady income as well as €255 for the process. The Landrat was says they have the ceremony to welcome the foreigners to being German but insists that the foreigners shouldn’t forget their roots but instead continue to uphold their traditions and their culture despite being Germans.

According to Clarice, to integrate one only needs to be open and willing to interact with others. ” Wer offen ist, ist quasi schon integriert”.

Original story by Jochen Stumpf

 

EDIT: After many of you pointed out the “error” in the article, let me correct it as an edit. Considering the article was only translated, it wouldn’t have been “politically correct” to edit the content. But just in case someone stumbles on this post and doesn’t know this little fact, let me add the correct info:

To get German citizenship it ranges between 2yrs (for those married to Germans) to 8yrs (for the rest). The duration differs depending on the State you live in as well as other factors e.g. your income, status etc; it can take longer or shorter to get it.