Lottery millionaire Chico will probably have to wait another 15 years. Only then does the native Turk have a good chance of obtaining a German passport. He will be 57 by then when the official document that identifies him as Kursat Yildirim finally features the German federal eagle.
As “Bild” reports, his current application was blocked by the authorities in the initial phase. The reason: Chico’s criminal record. Because he has already accumulated several of them, including fraud and robbery. According to his own statements, gambling addiction and drugs had driven him to the deeds.
Most recently, the former crane driver was sentenced to two years and three months by judges at the Dortmund district court, as the newspaper reports. He says: “I regretted my actions and changed. I was hoping that I would be given a second chance.”
However, the German authorities are not so lax, but take violations of this magnitude as a reason for cancellations. There are clear guidelines for naturalization, which can be viewed on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior:
The last point puts a spanner in the works for Chico. As “Bild” reports, he could be naturalized in 2038 at the earliest. Only then would his offenses be erased from the federal central register excerpt.
Chico cannot understand this bureaucracy. In an interview with the newspaper, he was stunned: “I’m a Turk and I love my homeland, I would never deny that. But I’ve spent almost my whole life in Germany, I went to my father at the age of twelve moved to Dortmund.”
And further: “I went to school here, learned my trade and made many friends and relationships. That’s why I couldn’t imagine living in any other country than Germany.”
He also donates and invests a large part of his wealth in Germany, he thinks. But he won’t be able to cope with the bureaucracy. Chico will submit to the rules and will have to wait out the 15 years. You can’t buy everything with money.
Source: “Image”, Federal Ministry of the Interior
