The defendant demanded a formal release from Kosovar citizenship and considered the plaintiff’s obligation to cooperate as unfulfilled. However, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff and determined that she had already met all the requirements for naturalization. Her Kosovar citizenship was confirmed, as she had automatically acquired it according to Kosovar law due to her residence in Kosovo on January 1, 1998.
The plaintiff had originally filed a lawsuit for failure to act, despite having previously agreed to an extended processing time for his naturalization application. It was only through a later revocation of his consent that a deadline was set in motion, which, however, had not yet expired at the time the lawsuit was filed. Since the plaintiff filed his lawsuit prematurely and the defendant was merely responding to additional documents submitted by the plaintiff, the costs were imposed on the plaintiff.
The entitlement to the issuance of a permanent residence permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) is not fulfilled if, at the relevant time of the oral hearing or judicial decision, the required residence permit is no longer valid. However, the period covered by the effect of fiction (Fiktionswirkung) can be credited towards the required time of holding a residence permit for a permanent residence permit, provided that an actual extension of the residence title follows.
The applicants, Iranian nationals, entered Germany to engage in self-employment and were initially granted residence permits. In 2020, due to the lack of economic viability of their business, the relevant authority rejected the extension of their residence permits and ordered their deportation.
