Action for failure to act in naturalization: from when is it possible?

From when is an action for failure to act in naturalization possible?

An action for failure to act is, as a rule, possible at the earliest three months after your naturalization application, if the authority has not yet decided without sufficient reason (§ 75 of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure, VwGO). The three months are only a minimum period. Whether the waiting time is too long in your case is decided in the end by the Administrative Court.

An action for failure to act is an action before the Administrative Court by which you defend yourself against an authority that does not decide on your application (§ 75 VwGO). It is permitted even without a decision, that is, without a written decision by the authority. With the action you request that the court order the authority to naturalize you or at least to decide on your application.

In short, an action for failure to act is possible if

• you have filed an application with the competent naturalization authority,
• at least three months have passed since the application was received and
• the authority has not yet decided without a sufficient reason.

An action earlier than after three months is therefore only possible if special circumstances of the case so require. According to the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia (OVG NRW), § 75 VwGO also applies to naturalizations without restriction. Proposals to extend the period for naturalizations to six or twelve months did not become law (as of: 2 October 2026).

How to calculate the time limit

The time limit begins when your application is received by the authority. That day does not count (§ 187 Abs. 1 BGB). The time limit ends three months later on the day with the same number. If that day does not exist in the third month, it ends on the last day of that month (§ 188 Abs. 2 and 3 BGB). You can bring the action at the earliest the day after.

What counts as an application and from when does the time limit run?

The time limit runs from the receipt of your naturalization application by the competent authority. According to the OVG NRW, the application is in principle not bound to any form. However, it must clearly show that you wish to be naturalized without any condition (decision of 25 September 2025, case number 19 E 359/25).

According to the decision, even an oral or an informal written application is sufficient. In the case decided, the written application was received in February 2024. The appointment for a personal attendance only took place in November 2024. The court decided: the time limit ran from the receipt of the written application, not only from the appointment. According to the decision, there is no general statutory duty to appear in person for the signature.

For you, this means:

• File the application in writing or online, if possible using your authority's form. Keep proof of receipt, for example the confirmation of receipt, the case number, a dispatch receipt or the confirmation of your online application.
• Submit documents that the authority requests in full. Otherwise the authority may have a sufficient reason not to decide yet.
• If you have so far only requested an appointment, it depends on whether you have already clearly and unconditionally told the authority that you wish to be naturalized.

Your authority only accepts applications by appointment and you have been waiting a long time? Then it depends on the individual case. Get in touch with us and have your correspondence with the authority ready.

When may the authority take longer than three months?

The authority may take longer if there is a sufficient reason in the individual case, for example because documents are missing that it has requested from you. Permanent overload or staff shortage is, according to the OVG NRW, in principle not enough. The authority must set out the reasons for the delay itself.

Whether a reason is „sufficient“ is, according to the OVG NRW, assessed objectively. The reason must be in accordance with the legal order.

How long is too long?

There is no fixed maximum duration. According to the OVG NRW, it depends on the circumstances of the individual case. In the case decided, the procedure had already lasted more than 18 months without the authority having set out special reasons in the individual case. Its reference that the authenticity of the passport was still being examined did not help either: after months, the police had sent the passport back with the notice that it was no longer responsible. The naturalization authority must have delays by other authorities attributed to it. The court considered a duration of more than one and a half years no longer reasonable.

The lower instance, the Arnsberg Administrative Court, had by contrast still regarded the authority's overload as a sufficient reason and suspended the procedure. Courts can therefore assess such questions differently.

The more complete your application is, the less the authority can rely on missing documents. What belongs to it is shown by our checklist of documents for naturalization. How long naturalization authorities currently actually take you can read in the guide How long does naturalization take?

Bringing an action for failure to act: how do you proceed?

First check the date of receipt and the documents, then ask in writing about the status and set a time limit. If the authority still does not decide, you can bring an action before the competent Administrative Court. A reminder before the action is not required by § 75 VwGO, but it helps to clarify open questions and to document the course of events.

1. Organize the documents. Have the confirmation of receipt, the case number, a copy of your application and all the authority's letters ready.
2. Check the time limit. Whether the three months have passed is shown to you by the deadline calculator on this page.
3. Ask about the status. Send the authority a status inquiry, that is, a written question about how far your application has progressed. State the case number and the application date, ask whether anything is missing, and set a time limit, for example of two weeks.
4. Determine the competent court. As a rule, the competent court is the Administrative Court in whose district your naturalization authority is located. If the authority is responsible for several court districts, it depends on your place of residence (§ 52 Nr. 3 VwGO).
5. File the action. File the action in writing with the Administrative Court, in German and with your signature, for example by post. A simple e-mail is not enough (§ 55a VwGO). You can also declare the action orally at the Administrative Court. The registry then records it (§ 81 Abs. 1 VwGO).
6. Pay the court fee. The court fee becomes due already upon filing the action (§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 5 GKG).

Sample outline: what goes into the action?

The VwGO does not prescribe a form. However, it sets out what an action must or should contain (§ 82 Abs. 1 VwGO). You can use this outline as a template:

• Your name and your address. You are the claimant.
• Whom you are suing (the defendant): as a rule the city, the district or the Land to which the naturalization authority belongs. It is sufficient to name the authority (§ 78 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 VwGO).
• What it is about: your naturalization application with date and case number.
• A request, for example: to order the defendant to naturalize you.
• The grounds: when you filed the application, what has happened since then, why in your view there is no sufficient reason for the delay and that you meet the conditions for naturalization.
• Copies of the application, confirmation of receipt and correspondence as well as copies for the other parties (§ 81 Abs. 2 VwGO).
• Date and your signature.

The outline does not replace the examination of whether the time limit has passed and whether the authority has a sufficient reason.

What happens after the action?

The court sends the action to the authority and asks it to comment in writing (§ 85 VwGO). If the authority has a sufficient reason, the court suspends the procedure, that is, interrupts it, and gives the authority a time limit (§ 75 Satz 3 VwGO). If the authority naturalizes you within this time limit, the legal dispute is declared settled (§ 75 Satz 4 VwGO).

After that, the following courses are above all possible:

• The authority naturalizes you. Then your goal is achieved. As a rule, the parties declare the legal dispute settled, and the court only decides on the costs (§ 161 VwGO).
• The authority rejects your application. Then it is about the rejection itself. Have it examined promptly how you should proceed.
• The court suspends the procedure. The court can extend the time limit (§ 75 Satz 3 VwGO). Against the suspension you can, according to the OVG NRW, lodge a complaint with the Higher Administrative Court, specifically within two weeks of notification (§ 147 Abs. 1 VwGO). For this you need a lawyer or another person authorized to represent you (§ 67 Abs. 4 VwGO).
• The court decides by judgment. If everything is clarified and you have a claim, it orders the authority to naturalize you. If the case is not yet ready for decision, it orders the authority to decide on your application in observance of the court's legal opinion (§ 113 Abs. 5 VwGO). Without a claim, the court can dismiss the action.

What the action cannot achieve

The action changes nothing about the conditions for naturalization, for example about the duration of residence, knowledge of German or a secured livelihood. If a condition is missing, a rejection can also stand at the end. How quickly the authority decides after an action cannot be predicted. That is why, in the free naturalization check, we first examine whether you meet the conditions for naturalization.

What does an action for failure to act cost and who pays?

The court fee for an action for failure to act is, for one person, 849 €, if the court sets the value in dispute of 10.000 € recommended for naturalizations. With a lawyer, depending on the course, 1.032,44 € or 1.963,50 € are added under the statutory fees. If the authority only decides after the action, it bears the costs, provided you were already entitled to expect a decision beforehand (§ 161 Abs. 3 VwGO).

The value in dispute is the monetary value of the matter. The fees are based on it. The catalogue of values in dispute for the administrative courts 2025 recommends, for naturalizations, twice the fallback value per person (Nr. 42.1). The fallback value is the statutory standard value of 5.000 € (§ 52 Abs. 2 GKG), the value in dispute therefore 10.000 €. That is only a recommendation. The value is set by the court.

The amounts are based on the fee tables that have applied since 1 June 2025 (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 109). Older calculation examples with lower amounts are outdated. If several family members sue together, the values in dispute are in principle added together (catalogue of values in dispute Nr. 1.1.3), and the costs increase. If you only request a decision on your application (a ruling) and not the naturalization itself, the value in dispute can be lower, but at least half (Nr. 1.4). Depending on the course, further statutory fees or expenses can be added.

Who bears the costs in the end?

• The authority decides after your action, and the procedure ends without a judgment: If you were already entitled to expect a decision before the action, the authority bears the costs (§ 161 Abs. 3 VwGO).
• The court decides by judgment: Whoever loses in principle bears the costs (§ 154 Abs. 1 VwGO). If you win, the other side must also reimburse you the statutory fees of your lawyer (§ 162 Abs. 2 VwGO).

You pay the court fee yourself at first. If you win, you can reclaim the amount from the other side (notes of the Düsseldorf Administrative Court). If you cannot raise the costs, you can apply for legal aid, that is, state assistance with the litigation costs (§ 166 VwGO). One condition is, among other things, that the action has sufficient prospect of success and does not appear frivolous (§ 114 ZPO). All further costs, from the authority's fee to the naturalization test, you will find in the guide Costs of naturalization.

Can you bring an action for failure to act without a lawyer?

Yes. Before the Administrative Court you may conduct the legal dispute yourself (§ 67 Abs. 1 VwGO) and file the action in writing or have it recorded at the court. You only need a lawyer or another person authorized to represent you before the Higher Administrative Court, specifically already for the application or the complaint by which you bring the matter there (§ 67 Abs. 4 VwGO).

At the Düsseldorf Administrative Court the competent office is called the Rechtsantragstelle (legal applications office). According to the court, the staff there help with the wording and watch over form and time limits, but do not give legal advice. The language of the court is German (§ 55 VwGO, § 184 GVG), and the Rechtsantragstelle has no interpreters. Anyone who does not speak German should bring a trusted person to translate.

A lawyer is therefore not mandatory. One can be useful if it is unclear whether the authority has a sufficient reason, if it requests further documents, or if you are uncertain about a condition, for example about the livelihood or a previous conviction.

When we accompany your naturalization procedure, we keep an eye on the processing deadlines, remind the authority and, in the case of inaction, examine the route via an action for failure to act. Would you like to discuss your case? This is how to reach us.

Naturalization rejected: what can you do?

Against the rejection of your naturalization application you can take action, as a rule within one month after the decision has been notified to you. Whether you first lodge an objection with the authority or sue directly depends above all on the Land. This is stated in the instructions on legal remedies at the end of the decision (§§ 68 and 70 VwGO, § 74 VwGO).

The instructions on legal remedies are the section in the decision that explains how and by when you can defend yourself. If they are missing or incorrect, a time limit of one year applies as a rule (§ 58 Abs. 2 VwGO). But do not rely on that.

Note down when you received the decision, and keep the envelope. Have the decision examined early, so that there is enough time for the grounds. With the decision you can get in touch with us directly.

Frequently asked questions

Rechtsanwalt Nihat Kaygalak, LL.M.

Responsible for the content of Mein Deutscher Pass. Admitted as a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) since 2007, member of the Düsseldorf Bar Association (Rechtsanwaltskammer Düsseldorf), firm in Neuss. You can verify the admission in the nationwide official register of lawyers.

Mein Deutscher Pass is an offering of the Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Kaygalak and not an authority. Get in touch · Legal notice