Berlin - (AFP) - The German government is preparing a legal reform to simplify the procedures for obtaining German citizenship, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry announced Friday.

The spokesman said that it should be possible to obtain citizenship after living in Germany for five years, compared to eight years now. And if the foreigner is well integrated, according to his performance at school or at work, then the period can be reduced to three years.

The spokesman added that it would be easier for parents of the generation of migrant workers who arrived in Germany in the 1970s to be naturalized, because "their integration has not been encouraged for many years".

On the other hand, the possibilities of obtaining German citizenship in addition to another nationality will be expanded to include more countries. Currently, many foreigners do not apply for German citizenship because they are forced to give up their original citizenship.

The Interior Ministry will soon present its draft to other ministries, the spokesman noted. Once all the details are settled, the project will be approved by the Council of Ministers.

Since its formation at the end of November 2021, the government of Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, who runs the country with the Green and Liberal parties, has announced its intention to update German citizenship law.

In the coalition contract, the Scholz government proposed granting German citizenship to a child born in Germany of two foreign parents, if one of them had a residence permit for at least five years. This comes while the matter currently applies to those who have had a residence permit for eight years.

Germany wants to attract the skilled foreign workers necessary for its economy in the face of labor shortages, by reducing bureaucratic obstacles.

The first economy in Europe seeks to deal with a population structure dominated by aging in a large part of it, while it lacks workers in the field of health in particular, and also those who are able to lead digital transformations and in the field of energy.

In a document submitted last September, the German government estimated the shortage of skilled workers at 240,000 by 2026.