Anuscheh Farahat and Kay Hailbronner under section 8 of the nationality law is somewhat unclear since there is no explicit provision to that extent in the law. For that reason, it is sometimes assumed that in spite of the legislative amendment in Section 10 a discretionary decision for persons who do not fulfil the language requirements was still possible. There are, however, good reasons for the contrary argument that it would be against the purpose of the legislative amendment to naturalise persons who do not fulfil the minimum language requirements under section 10 (Sturm 2008: 134). In addition, the legislative amendment was clearly intended to put an end to the diverse practices of the Länder with regard to the necessary level of knowledge of the German language. Therefore, the interior ministers in their decision of 4/5 May 2006 and 16/17 November 2006 agreed upon uniform standards with regard to language requirements, the introduction of integration tests and higher standards of law obedience. The legislative changes were intended to implement these decisions. Integration tests and integration courses have been introduced in Section 10, para. 1 as requirements for naturalisation under Section 10. As a rule, an applicant for naturalisation may prove knowledge of basic facts of the political and social system and the living conditions in Germany26 by passing successfully a test, normally following an integration course. There are other possibilities to prove the necessary knowledge, for instance by acquiring a German primary school certificate (Hauptschulabschluss). The courses are not obligatory. By law, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has been authorised to adopt a uniform integration test within the framework of the legislative provision on integration courses. Since the implementation of this provision required some time, the provision only entered into force on 1 September 2008. The integration test was adopted on 5 August 2008.27 An intensive and controversial debate about integration tests proposed by some Länder preceded this amendment (for a critical discussion see Hanschmann 2008) The new integration test provides for questionnaires with 33 questions, a passing grade being 17 or more questions correct. First experiences indicate that approximately 99 per cent of all applicants have passed the test. It is, however, possible that a considerable number of potential applicants are deterred by the integration test (Göbel-Zimmermann/Eichhhorn 2010a: 300). The Federal Government indicated that it would evaluate the practical effects of the new rules on sufficient knowledge of the German language and of the integration courses and tests five years after entry into force of the law dated of 28 August 2007.28 In order to provide incentives for particular integration efforts the law also provides that the standard time in order to naturalise may be abbreviated from 8 to 6 years, particularly if the applicant proves a high level of knowledge of the German language. The interior ministers in their meetings in 2006 criticised the existing barriers for naturalisation as too low with respect to criminal offences. The previous threshold of 180 daily fines29 has been reduced to 90 daily fines (Tagessätze) and with respect to imprisonment from six to three months on probation. In addition, a multitude of small criminal sentences which are not beyond the threshold may now be cumulated by the naturalisation authorities. The law provides for a discretionary possibility to grant naturalisation in case of a court sentence only slightly beyond the threshold put down in the law. Other criminal court sanctions such as withdrawal of a driver’s licence or a professional licence may—according to 26 In German: ‘Kenntnisse der Rechts- und Gesellschaftsordnung und der Lebensverhältnisse in Deutschland.’ Verordnung zu Einbürgerungstest und Einbürgerungskurs (Einbürgerungstestverordnung) of 5 August 2008, BGBl. I, p. 1649. 28 See BR-Drs. 224/07 at p. 435. 29 Regular punishments are either the imposition of a fine or imprisonment. The amount of the fine due is determined by daily payments. Their amount is determined by regular income of an offender 27 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/5 - © 2020 Author(s) 11