Federal Administrative Court, 01.09.2011, Case No.: 5 C 27.10
In the decision mentioned above, the Federal Administrative Court had to rule on whether proving the identity of the applicant is a prerequisite for naturalization.
Facts of the Case:
The plaintiff belonged to an ethnic group persecuted in Turkey.
The plaintiff, born in 1988 and living in Germany since 1995, was a member of the Yazidi religious group. Yazidism is a religious minority among the predominantly Muslim Kurds, whose members are persecuted in Turkey for ethnic, political, and religious reasons.
Due to this group persecution, the plaintiff was recognized as an asylum seeker in Germany in May 1999.
Since July 2004, the plaintiff possessed a refugee travel document, in which it was noted: „Identity not proven.“
In the last travel document issued in 2008, it was noted that the registered personal details were based on the plaintiff’s own statements.
The plaintiff had held a permanent residence permit since June 1999 and applied for naturalization.
Despite repeated requests from the naturalization authorities to prove her identity through an extract from the birth register of the Turkish civil registry or other identity documents, the plaintiff stated that she could not provide such evidence.
For this reason, the mayor, as the defendant, rejected the plaintiff’s application by notice.
In her lawsuit, the plaintiff argued, among other things, that as a recognized asylum seeker, it was unreasonable for her to contact the Turkish state for official documents.
Administrative Court and Higher Administrative Court Rejected Naturalization
The Administrative Court of Arnsberg dismissed the lawsuit, but the Higher Administrative Court of Münster granted the plaintiff’s appeal and ordered the defendant to naturalize the plaintiff into the German state.
Decision of the Federal Administrative Court
The Federal Administrative Court, in the ruling mentioned above, overturned the decision of the Higher Administrative Court and remanded the case for a new hearing and decision.
The Federal Administrative Court Also Considered Clarification of Identity Necessary
The Federal Administrative Court held that clarification of the identity of the naturalization applicant is required by law (specifically § 10 para. 1 sentence 1 nos. 4 and 5 of the Nationality Act (StAG) as well as the exclusion grounds under § 11 StAG 2005).
A reliable examination of essential naturalization requirements would otherwise not be possible.
Contrary to the opinion of the Higher Administrative Court, the naturalization authority is not only entitled but also obliged to verify the identity.
In addition, the Federal Administrative Court pointed out that the applicant's travel documents did not contain any conclusive or binding identity findings for other authorities.
Furthermore, the Federal Administrative Court pointed out that the existing travel documents of the plaintiff did not contain any final or binding identity determinations for other authorities.
Source: Source: Federal Administrative CourtSource: Federal Administrative Court
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