Administrative Inaction Lawsuit for German Citizenship 2026: § 75 VwGO, Template, Guide & Tracker Support

§ 75 VwGO ties admissibility to three requirements:

1. Application has been filed. The naturalization application must already be submitted and the applicant registered. The authority must have issued the receipt confirmation.

2. Three months have passed. Calculated from receipt of the application by the authority. Anyone who has received additional requests must have answered them — otherwise the three-month period only begins once the file is complete.

3. No justification for the delay. The authority can cite security checks (constitutional protection office, BAMF), foreign inquiries (home consulate) or recognizable processing pipeline bottlenecks. Whether a reason is "justified" is examined by the court on a case-by-case basis.

The three-month period is the minimum threshold. In practice, applicants often wait longer — some law firms recommend a status inquiry as a preliminary step, others file the lawsuit from month 4 onwards.

In 2025, several higher administrative courts sharpened the line:

OVG NRW, Judgment of 25.09.2025 (Case No. 19 A 2074/24). The Higher Administrative Court for North Rhine-Westphalia determined that processing time over three months without individual justification by the authority need not be tolerated. Standard authority references to "application backlog" or "staff shortage" are insufficient — the delay must be justified case-specifically.

OVG Magdeburg, Judgment of 14.05.2025 (Case No. 1 L 47/24). Similarly: The authority must demonstrate the specific status of security checks, not just generally refer to "foreign inquiries".

VG Berlin, Order of 11.02.2026 (Case No. 4 K 89/25). The Berlin Naturalization Office (LEA) was ordered to issue a decision within four weeks after 18 months of no movement in the file.

This line makes administrative inaction lawsuits in 2026 significantly more promising than just a few years ago.

A lawsuit is not the first step. Preliminary steps are sensible and legally expected in many municipalities:

1. Status Inquiry

A written inquiry to the case officer — polite, with file number, asking about processing status and expected completion date. Often the inquiry alone triggers processing. The civitas. template library contains a status inquiry as a first step.

2. Lawyer's Formal Request

If the status inquiry remains unanswered after 4–6 weeks, a lawyer can send a formal request with deadline (usually 4 weeks) for a decision. This request documents the inactivity and lays the groundwork for a lawsuit.

3. § 75 VwGO Lawsuit

Only when the lawyer's request remains unsuccessful is the lawsuit admissible. The lawyer drafts the statement of claim, the administrative court sets a deadline for the authority to decide — usually between four and twelve weeks.

Step 1: Check Requirements

• Three months since application receipt or since complete response to additional requests
• no movement in the file by the authority
• if applicable, status inquiry and lawyer's request documented

Step 2: Lawyer Mandate or Self-Representation?

A § 75 VwGO lawsuit can in principle be filed yourself — there is no mandatory legal representation at the administrative court. In practice, however, legal support is highly recommended: the statement of claim must be formally correct, the authority's file number must be specified, the requirements of § 75 VwGO must be coherently presented.

The article Self vs. Lawyer describes the different paths of self-representation, civitas., or lawyer.

Step 3: File the Lawsuit

The lawsuit is filed with the administrative court at the seat of the authority. For Berlin LEA, that's VG Berlin; for City of Cologne, VG Cologne. The lawsuit must contain:

• Designation of plaintiff (applicant) and defendant (municipal naturalization authority)
• Request for order to issue decision
• Statement of facts with receipt date, file status, inactivity
• Reference to § 75 VwGO as legal basis
• Attachment of relevant correspondence (application, status inquiry, formal request)

Value in dispute: usually €5,000 (default value, § 52 para. 2 GKG). Court fees for a first instance lawsuit are around €285 (value in dispute €5,000).

Step 4: Court Proceedings

The court serves the lawsuit on the authority, requests the files and gives the authority opportunity to respond (usually 4–8 weeks). Frequently the authority issues a decision during this phase to render the lawsuit moot — which is usually the goal.

If the authority doesn't decide, the court rules. It can (a) order the authority to issue a decision or (b) in case of a mature application itself decide on the application.

Step 5: Enforcement

If the court has ordered the authority to issue a decision and the authority exceeds the deadline, enforcement proceedings under § 167 VwGO in conjunction with § 888 ZPO can be initiated — with penalty payment to the authority. In practice this rarely occurs because the authority usually decides very quickly after a court ruling.

Court Costs

• First instance: ~€285 (with value in dispute €5,000)
• Appeal (rarely necessary): ~€570

Lawyer Costs

• Flat fee agreement €1,000–2,500 net depending on law firm
• According to RVG: with value in dispute €5,000 around €1,150 net incl. expenses (first instance)

Cost Reimbursement if Successful

If the lawsuit is successful (authority issues positive decision or court compels decision), the authority bears costs under § 154 VwGO — court fees and necessary lawyer costs are reimbursed.

Success Rate

Reliable statistics are rare — but publications from 2025 by specialist lawyer associations suggest: with documented processing time over six months and preliminary status inquiry, the success rate (lawsuit leads to decision within three months of filing) is around 80–90%. Authorities themselves tend to issue decisions within the deadline once the lawsuit is served.

Anyone considering an administrative inaction lawsuit should consider the following risks:

Decision may be negative. An administrative inaction lawsuit compels a decision — not naturalization. If the authority sees requirements as unfulfilled, a rejection decision is issued. Then the objection procedure under § 70 VwGO begins. The article Rejection and Objection describes which strategies make sense here.

Relationship damage with authority. Some applicants fear that a lawsuit "burns" the relationship with case processing. In 2026 administrative practice, this is rarely a problem — case officers are professional and usually respond objectively to the lawsuit. In small municipalities there may be personal tension.

Costs if lawsuit dismissed. If the court dismisses the lawsuit (e.g. because a "justification" for the delay is recognized), the plaintiff bears the costs — court fees and own lawyer costs.

When does an administrative inaction lawsuit make sense?

At the earliest after three months of inactivity. In practice, many lawyers recommend filing after six months without movement, with preliminary status inquiry — this strengthens the lawsuit position.

Do I need a lawyer for the lawsuit?

There is no mandatory legal representation at the administrative court, the proceedings can be conducted yourself. Legal support is nevertheless recommended because the statement of claim must meet formal requirements and the file request is orchestrated through the court.

What are the total costs of the lawsuit?

With successful lawsuit: €0, because the authority reimburses costs. With dismissed lawsuit: around €1,500–3,000 (court fees + own lawyer costs).

How long do the proceedings take?

Usually 3–6 months from filing to decision (either by the authority or by the court). At large administrative courts (VG Berlin, VG Cologne) it can take longer.

Does the lawsuit affect other pending applications of the family?

A lawsuit by the main applicant regularly also affects family members to be naturalized in the same file — the authority processes the file as a whole. With separate family applications, each must sue individually.

Can I withdraw the lawsuit if the authority suddenly decides?

Yes. Once the authority decides, the lawsuit becomes moot and is discontinued by the court. The authority bears the costs because the resolution occurred after filing the lawsuit.

The civitas. application tracker accompanies the entire phase:

• Waiting time display for your authority — often more accurate than official information
• 3-month reminder from application receipt — reference to § 75 VwGO option
• Status inquiry template in the template library
• § 75 VwGO notice template for the pre-lawsuit phase
• Authority letter translator for ongoing correspondence

Calculate waiting time for your authority →

Those who have submitted the application and are now in the waiting phase can use the tracker as a monthly companion tool — the waiting time per authority is displayed city-specifically, the 3-month deadline under § 75 VwGO is set as an automatic reminder. Track application →

Related Articles:

• Naturalization Processing Time
• Rejection and Objection
• Self vs. Lawyer
• Nationality Act (StAG)

Legal Notice: This article explains Administrative Court Code § 75 and higher court jurisprudence 2025. It does not replace individual legal consultation. civitas. is not an authority and not a law firm. Administrative inaction lawsuits should be prepared with a specialist lawyer for migration or administrative law, as the statement of claim must meet formal requirements and success chances are case-dependent.