Ausländerbehörde Rhein-Erft-Kreis

Processing times reported by applicants. Located in Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Report your wait

Foreign residents in the district72,900, 15.5% of the population (2024)

When will your decision come?

Report your application and see an estimate based on people who applied in Rhein-Erft-Kreis at the same time.

Get an estimate

No reports for this office yet

The first report makes this page useful for everyone. It takes about a minute.

Report your wait

Official figures

Figures from the office itself, from parliamentary questions and from press reports quoting the office. They are not part of the reported waiting times.

Processing time stated by the office · Citizenship
18 months
Processing time at the district's naturalisation office: currently about 18 months, longer in some cases (per the office website, accessed 21 Oct 2026). Bergheim and Kerpen have their own naturalisation offices.
as of 21 Oct 2026
Rhein-Erft-Kreis
Office
Other figure · Residence permits
The district's immigration office reports longer waits for all appointments while it clears a backlog caused by a cyberattack; it gives no number (per the office website, accessed 21 Oct 2026).
as of 21 Oct 2026
Rhein-Erft-Kreis
Office
Applications received · Citizenship
1,806 applications
Naturalisation applications filed in 2025 by residents of the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, official statistics from IT.NRW (counted by place of residence, including Bergheim and Kerpen).
as of 2025
IT.NRW (Statistisches Landesamt NRW), Landesdatenbank NRW
Office
Cases completed · Citizenship
593 cases
Naturalisations of Rhein-Erft-Kreis residents completed in 2025, official statistics from IT.NRW (including Bergheim and Kerpen). Rejections are not included.
as of 2025
IT.NRW (Statistisches Landesamt NRW), Landesdatenbank NRW
Office

Nordrhein-Westfalen compared

Applicant numbers and reported waiting times of the offices in this state.

Estimated foreign residentsNo reports yet

10,00015,00025,00040,000

Foreign residents: estimate from the 2024 share of foreign nationals (Regionalatlas, Federal and State Statistical Offices) and population. Boundaries: © GeoBasis-DE / BKG 2024.

#	Office	Foreign residents	Median waitCitizenship (Einbürgerung)
1	Köln	200,000	–
2	Düsseldorf	146,800	–
3	Dortmund	124,400	–
4	Duisburg	118,700	–
5	Essen	109,000	–
6	Städteregion Aachen	105,600	–
7	Kreis Recklinghausen	88,000	–
8	Wuppertal	81,800	–
9	Kreis Mettmann	73,000	–
10	Rhein-Erft-Kreisthis office	72,900	–
11	Rhein-Sieg-Kreis	72,000	–
12	Rhein-Kreis Neuss	66,400	–
13	Gelsenkirchen	66,300	–
14	Bonn	62,800	–
15	Märkischer Kreis	62,400	–
16	Bielefeld	58,700	–
17	Kreis Kleve	58,200	–
18	Bochum	56,300	–
19	Mönchengladbach	55,300	–
20	Kreis Gütersloh	55,300	–
21	Kreis Steinfurt	53,300	–
22	Kreis Wesel	51,700	–
23	Kreis Unna	49,900	–
24	Krefeld	46,400	–
25	Hagen	43,100	–
26	Kreis Borken	41,900	–
27	Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis	41,300	–
28	Oberhausen	38,800	–
29	Kreis Viersen	37,300	–
30	Münster	36,800	–
31	Kreis Lippe	36,800	–
32	Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein	36,400	–
33	Kreis Heinsberg	35,900	–
34	Kreis Warendorf	35,800	–
35	Kreis Düren	35,700	–
36	Kreis Paderborn	35,500	–
37	Kreis Soest	35,200	–
38	Kreis Minden-Lübbecke	35,100	–
39	Hamm	32,200	–
40	Leverkusen	32,000	–
41	Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis	32,000	–
42	Herne	31,900	–
43	Mülheim an der Ruhr	31,100	–
44	Oberbergischer Kreis	31,100	–
45	Kreis Herford	29,800	–
46	Hochsauerlandkreis	29,800	–
47	Solingen	29,600	–
48	Remscheid	22,300	–
49	Kreis Coesfeld	20,400	–
50	Kreis Euskirchen	19,700	–
51	Kreis Olpe	15,300	–
52	Bottrop	14,800	–
53	Kreis Höxter	12,900	–

All of Germany, for comparison

Citizenship
257 days
1 report

Frequently asked questions

How long does citizenship (Einbürgerung) take at the Ausländerbehörde Rhein-Erft-Kreis?

There are not enough reports for this application type in Rhein-Erft-Kreis yet. The office states 18 months (Rhein-Erft-Kreis, 2026-10-21). Across Germany the median is 257 days.

What can I do if the Ausländerbehörde Rhein-Erft-Kreis has not decided after three months?

Under § 75 VwGO you can file an action for failure to act (Untätigkeitsklage) if an authority does not decide within three months without sufficient reason. Whether this makes sense in your case is a question for an immigration lawyer.

How many foreign residents does the Ausländerbehörde Rhein-Erft-Kreis serve?

About 72,900 people, 15.5% of the population (2024 share of foreign nationals, Federal and State Statistical Offices).

No decision after more than 3 months?

More about the Untätigkeitsklage