Germany ensures through the Citizenship Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) that stateless and other persons are able to acquire German citizenship if eligible. In general, all naturalization candidates need to fulfil the same requirements, for example having legal residence in Germany for 8 years.698 In special cases, stateless persons (and refugees) can be naturalized after seven years instead of eight years of legal residence in Germany.699 7. Additional Relevant Jurisprudence700 Case 11 LC 312/10 The High Administrative Court of Luneburg ruled in January 2011 that Palestinians who are registered in Lebanon but obligated to leave Germany are able to receive a Laissez-Passer from the Lebanese Embassy to return to Lebanon. Therefore, the person concerned needs to apply for such a pass; without having done so, s/he will not receive a residence permit under the Residence Act. Case 35 K 202.11 In an 25 August 2011 decision, the Administrative Court of Berlin takes the view that Lebanon had been preventing Palestinians from returning to Lebanon and had not issued Laissez-Passer documents. The Court observes that since 2010, there had not been any cases in which a stateless Palestinian succeeded in efforts to return voluntarily to Lebanon. Therefore, the Foreigners Authority is not allowed to ask for a certificate showing that the person concerned applied at the Embassy of Lebanon to receive a Laissez-Passer, because such an application has no prospect of success. If the Foreigners Authority believes that there is a chance to receive the Laissez-Passer, they need to submit the application form and monitor the procedure. Otherwise, they need to grant the Palestinian involved a residence permit. Case 11 LA 68/13 The High Administrative Court of Luneburg ruled on 15 March 2013 that there was no possibility of returning to Israel for Palestinians from the Gaza Strip without any other citizenship. The Court supports its view with several reports by the German Federal Office of Foreign Affairs, the Country Policy Bulletin by the British Home Office, the Swiss Refugee Council and several internet reports by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 698 State of Germany, “Nationality Act (Staatsangehoerigkeitsgesetz) of 22 July 1913 (last Amended in 2012),” July 22, 2013, http://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/Gesetzestexte/EN/ Staatsangehoerigkeitsgesetz_englisch.pdf?__blob=publicationFile, Section 10(1). 699 Ibid., Section 10(3). 700 Information provided by Laura Hilb. Survey of Protection at the National Level 143