In Germany, around 10 million residents, primarily non-citizens, will be barred from voting in the upcoming federal election. This situation demonstrates a significant democratic deficit as many long-term residents, like British activist Phil Butland, feel disenfranchised despite their integration into German society. The recent changes in citizenship laws, effective January 2024, are designed to attract skilled workers and address labor shortages but still present barriers based on employment status and economic conditions, particularly affecting poorer individuals seeking citizenship rights.
After living outside of the United Kingdom for over 15 years, Butland lost his right to vote there but was reluctant to apply for German citizenship because he was unemployed at the time.
Germany eased its rules around the granting of citizenship in January 2024, which the government hopes will make Germany more attractive to skilled workers internationally and help to ease labor shortages.
For a long time my permanent residence has been Germany, my life has been in Germany, everything I do is in Germany and it was a bit of an anomaly not to be able to take part in elections there.
If you don't have a job or you have a low-paying job the rules are still a lot harder than if you've got a well-paying job there.
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