The FAQ on German Citizenship are the most popular post on my blog. But some aspects are so complicated, they warrant their own list of FAQ, like those on reclaiming German citizenship or German citizenship by restitution.
I am a German lawyer, specializing in German citizenship law. These FAQ are supposed to give you an overview of the basic principles governing this area of law, so you can decide whether a paid consultation is worth it.
Before asking a new question, please read through the many comments which may already answer your question. And if you find these FAQ useful, or if you ask a new question, it would be very nice of you to support this blog. Thank you!
1. Why would someone lose German citizenship in the first place?
The main ways to lose German citizenship were applying for and receiving citizenship of another country without prior permission from Germany (§ 25 StAG until June 2024), voluntarily serving in the armed forces of another country (§ 28 StAG) and renunciation (§ 26 StAG).
But it becomes endlessly more complex because different laws were in place at different times. Until 1949 or 1953, depending on the specific circumstances, German women who married a foreign man automatically lost German citizenship. Until 1913, German citizenship could be lost by living abroad for more than 10 years and not registering with a German consulate. And then, between 1933 and 1945, the Nazis stripped many people of German citizenship as an act of punishment or out of anti-Semitic ideology.
2. I am a history geek. Tell me more about that Nazi policy.
Ok. After all, I am a history geek, too:
In November 1941, the Third Reich passed a law that deprived all Jewish Germans who were living abroad at the time (or moved abroad later) of their German citizenship.
In addition to that, since July 1933 there had been a law that allowed the individual revocation of German citizenship, which was mostly applied to opposition activists and intellectuals. If your ancestors were among the 39,006 victims of that policy, they were in the good company of people like Albert Einstein, Willy Brandt, Hannah Arendt, Thomas Mann, Heinrich Mann, Bertolt Brecht and others.
3. I am a descendant of someone in one of these two groups of people. Does this mean I can now apply for a German passport?
Generally yes.
Art. 116 II of the German Constitution states that all people who were deprived of their German citizenship on “political, racial or religious grounds” between 1933 and 1945 can reclaim Germany citizenship. What is of more interest to you is that Art. 116 II GG extends this to descendants.
Since 2021, there is a new § 15 StAG, widening the number of people who are eligible to reclaim German citizenship. So even if you were previously told (by me or by someone else) that you are not eligible, it may well be worth to look into your case again.
4. That sounds interesting. What are the changes?
First, the new § 15 no. 1 StAG extends the eligible group of people to all those who lost or gave up their German citizenship – for the reasons outlined in Art. 116 II GG – before 1955. Previously, the loss of German citizenship had to have occurred before 1945. The purpose of the new § 15 StAG in this respect is to cover German citizens who fled from the Nazis, but only lost their German citizenship after the end of the Nazi regime, for example through naturalization in another country after 1945.
Second, § 15 no. 2 StAG now explicitly covers people who were excluded from mass-naturalizations of ethnic Germans based on racial grounds. For example, when the Nazis occupied the city of Gdansk/Danzig, the population automatically became German. Jews were however excluded from this.
Third, § 15 no. 3 StAG now covers people who did apply or could have applied for German citizenship between 1933 and 1945, but did not receive German citizenship due to racial or political discrimination. This concerns Jews, but for example also communists.
Fourth, § 15 no. 4 StAG extends the possibility to obtain German citizenship to people who were deported or forced to emigrate from the German Reich by the Nazis. In this case, the applicants (or their parents, grand-parents, etc.) need not have been German citizens! It covers any of your ancestors, of whatever nationality, who lived in Nazi Germany and were forced to leave.
5. And if I qualify, this also extends to my children?
Yes. Even to grandchildren.
6. What about the non-Nazi related cases, for example when I lost German citizenship because I applied for US/Jamaican/Australian citizenship without prior permission from Germany, but now I want to move back to Germany?
First of all, you don’t need German citizenship in order to move to Germany (§ 38 II AufenthG).
§ 13 StAG allows for the discretionary re-naturalization of former German citizens (and their minor children). You need to present a compelling case, though. In my experience, only very few applicants make the cut, because you need to show that it would be in the national interest of Germany to re-naturalize you. Unless you are some great sportsperson or scientist, that’s not easy.
But luckily, in recent years the European Court of Justice has come to the rescue of many ex-Germans who want their citizenship back.
7. What does the European Union have to do with German citizenship law?
It’s a bit complicated and counterintuitive, because citizenship law is one of the bastions of national law within the European Union. But lawyers can be creative:
With each national citizenship of an EU member country, you automatically have/receive the citizenship of the European Union, pursuant to Art. 20 TFEU. If you have a passport from any EU country on hand, just look at it, and you will see that it is also a passport of the European Union. For a long time, this EU citizenship was pretty much disregarded, because you cannot obtain, keep or lose it independently. It is tied to the national citizenship of a member state.
But then came the European Court of Justice (ECJ, the highest court of the European Union, not to be confused with the European Court of Human Rights, which is not an EU court) in 2019 and ruled that the loss of EU citizenship in the context of losing the national citizenship of an EU member state (for example the loss of German citizenship when you got naturalized in another country before 2024) needs to pass a proportionality test under European law.
In several subsequent decisions, the ECJ required that the proportionality test takes into account the specific situation of the EU citizen at the time. And this gives you an opening if (a) at the time of your loss of German citizenship no proportionality test was carried out at all, or (b) if Germany at the time did not consider the effects on your EU citizenship.
Option (a) is less relevant for people who held German citizenship and lost it upon naturalization in another country, because they could have applied for a Beibehaltungsgenehmigung pursuant to § 25 II StAG a.F. If you didn’t and thus didn’t even give Germany a chance to make a decision about your citizenship, then that’s your fault. However, option (b) can be very relevant, because until a few years ago, Germany never considered the implications on your EU freedom of movement rights, should they withdraw your German citizenship. This is a huge opportunity for people who had been using their German citizenship to live in other EU countries, who have relatives in other EU countries, or other connections to other EU countries.
All of this has meanwhile been incorporated in the German Citizenship Act in § 30 I 4 StAG.
As you may have noticed, this is very complicated, so you shouldn’t try this yourself. For some of the other options, you don’t necessarily need a lawyer. Here, you need a real hot-shot citizenship lawyer.
8. I am the child of a German mother, but I was born before 1975 and therefore did not receive German citizenship. Isn’t that unfair?
Very unfair indeed. Finally, this has been recognized and there is a new § 5 StAG, which is supposed to bestow German citizenship on all those who previously missed out on it due to gender discrimination in older versions of the Citizenship Act. This concerns the following groups of people:
- Children of at least one German parent, who did not receive German citizenship at birth (§ 5 I no. 1 StAG). The main cases here are children of German mothers born before 1975 and children of German fathers born out of wedlock before 1993.
- Children of a German mother who had lost her German citizenship due to marrying a foreigner (§ 5 I no. 2 StAG). This is only relevant if your mother or grandmother married a non-German before April 1953.
- Children who lost their German citizenship because their German mother married their non-German father (§ 5 I no. 3 StAG).
Like with the other restitution cases, this also applies to descendants of the aforementioned cases.
If you fall under any of these categories, you have the opportunity to obtain German citizenship by a simple declaration. But you need to make this declaration by August 2031, that’s the cut-off date.
9. Will I have to give up my existing citizenship?
No, you do not need to renounce your existing citizenship.
10. I lost German citizenship when I was a child because my family moved to another country and my parents filed for British/Brazilian/US citizenship for me. I was never asked. This is unfair!
We cannot undo everything that your parents did on your behalf when you were a child. Or do you want to return all these bicycles and Commodore computers?
But it is worth looking into the exact circumstances. I’ve had cases where only one of the parents signed the petition for a new citizenship although the parents had joint custody. In this case, German law treats you as if you never lost German citizenship in the first place and you can simply apply for a new passport without having to go through re-naturalization.
The Happy Hermit 
Pingback: 10 FAQ on citizenship law in Germany | The Happy Hermit
I was born in Argentina in 1966. My father was also born in Argentina, but had German citizenship as well and got me my German citizenship in 1989. In 2005 I became a citizen of Mexico, since we’ve been living here for over 20 years. Next year my German passport expires.
Questions:
1.- Will Germany renew my passport? Do they cross-check citizenships automatically?
2.- If not, due to my Mexican citizenship, is there an exception that I can apply for?
3.- If I lose my citizenship, would I be able to reapply if I renounce my Mexican citizenship?
Thanks,
Unfortunately, you lost the German citizenship when you applied for and received Mexican citizenship.
Germany cannot check automatically with all other countries, but they will make you provide a statement from the Mexican authorities or sign an affidavit.
You can reapply, but as I write in no. 6, it’s not that easy. And you would need to give up both your Mexican and Argentinian citizenship.
Hi Andreas,
Thank you for prompt response. Love your sense of humor. Some of your responses are hilarious :-)
I agree on the need to give up my Mexican citizenship, as I’ve acquired it by naturalization, but as far as the Argentinian goes, I cannot renounce that by law and Germany understands that. I was Argentinian by birth when my father requested my German citizenship by descent.
Also, being that Germany recognizes citizenship mainly by “jus sanguinis”, which is my case, and without sounding pretentious or entitled, could Germany deny my “jus sanguinis” right, if I would like to re-apply after I give up my Mexican citizenship?
BTW, I just happily made a donation to the cause :-)
Vielen Dank!
Hello Alejandro,
thank you very, very much for your donation!
And I am glad you discovered some of funny replies. Many people overlook my legal FAQ and look for my short stories for humor, but some of the cases/answers about citizenship or divorce law are indeed funnier than any fiction.
Now to clarify your situation:
– If you re-apply for German citizenship, it’s an application for a new naturalization. You will be treated like any other applicant and if you previously could have maintained dual citizenship unfortunately plays no more role. (You have to consider that you could have kept German citizenship even you applied for Mexican citizenship if you had obtained permission from Germany in advance, § 25 II StAG).
– If it’s legally impossible to renounce Argentinian citizenship, then that’s a completely different matter. In that case, Germany accepts dual citizenship (no. 8.1.2.6.3.1. VV-StAG).
– You are right that Argentina is one of these countries. Others are Afghanistan, Eritrea and Uruguay (GK-StAR § 8 Rn. 223).
– Unfortunately, Germany can deny your application if you do not meet the requirements because you lost German citizenship through a voluntary act of your own volition when you were already an adult. Also, you are not stateless, so you are not considered to be in a disadvantaged situation. Former Germans do therefore not have an entitlement to re-naturalization (GK-StAR § 13 Rn. 33 m.w.N.). Obviously, your connections to Germany will be evaluated, but descent is only one factor. You would need to show that you speak German fluently and that you have other family/professional/business/academic/cultural ties to Germany.
– If you wish to move to Europe, it might be easier to apply for a residence permit in accordance with § 38 II AufenthG, which is a special clause for ex-Germans, and then apply for regular naturalization after living there for several years.
I am sorry that it’s so complicated.
Hi Andreas,
I have no plans to move to Europe for now, but I’ve always been proud of my German heritage, I went 12 years to the Goethe Schule and the Steiner Schule (Waldorf) in Buenos Aires and traveling around the world with the most powerful passport in the world has been very easy.
Do you think that I could ask for permission to keep my German citizenship now by apologizing for my lack of knowledge of the consequences of acquiring the Mexican citizenship? I cannot renounce it for a few years, as my work visa in the United States is based on my Mexican passport through NAFTA. I’ve read somewhere that if I could be seriously affected financially by giving up my acquired Mexican citizenship, Germany would consider that as well.
Again, thanks for what you do :-)
The information about the German schools is positive, that will count for a lot when Germany will make a discretionary decision.
The problem with the Mexican citizenship is this: If you say that you need it to stay in the US, you will be asked what on earth you need German citizenship for if you don’t want to live in Germany. I agree that it’s a very useful passport for traveling, but that’s not a compelling reason for an exception.
The hardship exceptions for keeping another citizenship when getting naturalized as a German are usually cases from countries where you lose property or inheritance rights when you give up citizenship.
And if you are planning to apply for US citizenship, then you have the same issue again of losing German citizenship unless you get a permission in accordance with § 25 II StAG. Lastly, this is all complicated by the fact that applications for German citizenship from abroad currently take at least 2 years to process because of the huge number of applications due to my FAQ ;-) – and due to Brexit, to be honest. And if you get US citizenship first, Germany will ask you to give it up upon naturalization in Germany.
Hi Andreas
I was born in Germany in 1981 from a GhanaIan parents and they move to ghana I just received my Germany birth certificate how do I apply for passport pls am worried
I am more worried about people asking questions without sending a donation first.
Hallo andreas.
I am yunita from Indonesia. I have relationhip with the refugee status in germany. We love each other so much. We want to know how we can married.
He didn’t have german pasport. So his lawyes just give him 2 choices. There are married with german girl or change his religion to christiani.
I don’t have any idea now. I’m really confused. I’m pregnant and this is our baby.
Do you have idea for us ?
Thanks Andrean.
This has nothing to do with reclaiming German citizenship, so please post this on the FAQ on getting married in Germany.
Hi Andreas,
Thank you for this great source of information. I am a 55 year old US citizen living most of my life in Japan. Some very sketchy research indicates that my great great grandfather, born in 1879 came to the US from Germany when he was a young man and fathered my grandfather in 1906 in Camden New Jersey who then fathered my father in 1929. None of them signed up for any wars although my father was conscripted to Korea. I don’t know if my great great grandfather naturalized or not. I think he came through Ellis Island. Was naturalization part of the process? Anyway, I am interested in finding out if I have a chance for German citizenship or not. Would appreciate any info or ideas you could provide.
Naturalization was not done at Ellis Island because it required several years of residence in the US.
In your case, we would need to find out when your great great grandfather came to the US and if he was naturalized before 1906. None of the subsequent forefathers would have been naturalized because they received US citizenship due to being born in the USA.
Because you have a fully paternal line of ancestors, you’d be German if everything checks out all right in the first immigrant generation.
Danke schoen Andreas! Sehr hilfreich!
Gern geschehen!
Hello, I’ve read through the various questions and appreciate the insight. I was hoping you might be able to provide some clarity on this situation. I am the last, direct male heir from my German great grandfather.
Great Grandfather: 1866 – 1942
Emigrated to the United States around 1884 per U.S. Census in 1900
No evidence of naturalization
You mentioned a law which could remove citizen if a German citizen lived abroad 10+ years without registering with a consulate. Are these consulate records generally available? Would immigration today give much credence to this old law, or expect me to provide evidence of the consular registration?
Grandfather: 1913 – 1989
Born in the U.S.
**Served in the military in WWII against Germany**
I am not certain if the military service would void his possibility of citizenship, or if there was an exception made after the war given circumstances.
Father: 1953 – Present
Born in the U.S.
Me (male): 1988 – Present
Born in the U.S.
I’ll be happy to help once I receive a donation to my Paypal account or a few books from my wishlist. Thank you very much already!
Of course- thank you.
Dear Ben,
thank you very much for your generous donation! That really helps to keep this blog and its services going.
So let’s look your situation, generation by generation. First of all, it’s good that you have an all-male line because that made a difference until 1975 and makes it much easier.
With your great-grandfather, you already indicated the two issues:
– We can’t prove a negative, but we would need to show indications that he was not naturalized as a US citizen before 1913 (when your grandfather was born). If the US agency that took care of naturalizations at the time can confirm that they don’t have any record of his naturalization, that should suffice.
– The second problem is that the old German Citizenship Act in force from 1871 to 1913 demanded that Germans register with the German Consulate every 10 years (for example to renew their passport or simply to be entered into a list, called “Konsulatsmatrikel”) or that they would otherwise lose German citizenship automatically. Although this law went out of force in 1913, it did remove German citizenship while it was in place and thus the law or rather its consequences are still relevant today. It’s not a question of “applying” old laws, but of accepting that the question of citizenship was decided differently in different times.
Depending on where your great-grandfather lived at the time, we would need to find out the closest German Consulate and inquire with them if they still have the “Konsulatsmatrikel”. Unfortunately, many of them got lost or destroyed, and even more unfortunately, courts in Germany have ruled that this does not shift the burden of proof (because you could prove registration by other documents, for example if you have German passports of your great-grandfather from that time).
In reality, most Germans never registered because they didn’t know about this law or they didn’t care, often because there was no idea of ever returning to Germany. The farther they lived from the city with the German Consulate, the more unlikely it is that they rode or took the train to New York or Chicago to register. If they bothered about citizenship law at all, they knew that their children would be born as US citizens and that was fine with them.
Statistics from places where the consular lists are maintained show that a minuscule percentage of Germans registered (which is the reason why the German courts refuse to change the burden of proof even in cases of destroyed archives).
So this is unfortunately the first big hurdle that we need to overcome. Because your grandfather was born in 1913, we would need to prove that your great-grandfather registered with the German Consulate by 1894 (10 years after immigration) and 1904 (another 10 years).
If we take that hurdle, let me already address the issue of your grandfather’s military service:
At the time of WW2, § 28 RuStAG was worded differently as the current § 28 StAG and did not lead to an automatic loss of German citizenship. At that time, the German authorities could revoke someone’s German citizenship if that German citizen was serving another country and did not stop doing so after Germany asked him to. (Here we have an example where a previous law is more lenient than the current law, and the effects are still relevant for today).
So the next step would be to find out where your great-grandfather lived (trickier if he was moving around a lot) and which German Consulate he would have visited and then contact them.
Dear Andreas,
Your blog is brilliant and all the information here is very useful. Congratulations!
You mentioned according to the citizenship law from 1871 the registration in the consulate had to be renewed every 10 years. Are you sure about that?
There seems to be conflicting information about this requirement. As an example, at the end of paragraph 10 on this case (https://openjur.de/u/455731.html) there’s a claim the matriculation didn’t have to be renewed if the citizen hadn’t changed his Konsularbezirk.
Kind regards,
hello i am us citizen , i born in wuppertal Germany in 1977 i left wuppertal Germany in 1984 with my parents the have that time preeminent resident for 10 years they live in Germany about 12 years since 1967 if any chance can i get my German citizen ship !
Sorry, but there is a special clause to disqualify people with bad grammar.
I was born in Germany in 1977 and my family was in Germany at that time. I lived in Germany legally with ten years, but in 1984 I decided to return to Jordan. Can I ask for German nationality?
I’ll be happy to help once I receive a donation to keep this blog going or a book from my wishlist.
Thank you very much in advance!
Now I am going away to do my breakfast, afterward having my breakfast coming yet again to read more news.
That’s good to know.
Hi, I was a naturalized German citizen thru my parents when we lived in Germany. I was a child back then and was naturalized with my whole family. In 1998, my family migrated to the US and been living there since. I had to go to Vet School in 2006 and they required me to have the US citizenship to do so. So I gained the US Citzenship in 2006. I wasn’t aware the dual citizenship is an option back then. Is there a way to regain my german citizenship now – as a dual citizenship? I currently still live in the US. Thanks
See no. 6-8 of the above FAQ.
Hallo Andreas,
Danke für deine cool Seite. Also, ich finde auch deine Reisen sehr interessant. Obwohl ich Deutsch lesen, verstehen und sprechen kann, ist mein Wortschatz im Gebiet Staatsangehörigkeit (noch) nicht so gut. Darum schreibe ich leider noch auf Englisch..
We have a proven paternal lineage of birth and marriage certificates linking my wife to her great grandfather, who was born in Germany in 1875. We also a certificate from our (South African) authorities stating that the first immigrant (her great grandfather) never
naturalised, the exact one recommended the local German embassy.
The only thing complicating the matter is the the loss of citizenship law (that was repealed in 1914). As would be expected from that long ago, we do not have any travel documents. As far as I understand the 10 year counter towards lapse of citizenship started upon expiry of the last travel document. In other words, we need something to take proof of the ancestor being German
past 1 January 1904?
The ancestor in question boarded a ship to South Africa in October 1901 (we can get a certified copy of the ships register) and would likely have arrived in South Africa in January 1902. His son, my wife’s grandfather, was born in South Africa in 1911.
I mention the dates, due to the date of arrival being so close to 1904. I heard a staff member
at the embassy say clearly that documents used in 1901 would almost certainly have been valid in 1904. I am not clear (and I was unable to clarify) whether this was applied as an assumption, in the absense of documents, or whether it was just a matter of fact observation of travel documents, meaning we still needed to locate one.
Assuming it is not applied as an assumption, can you perhaps suggest something we could do? I’ve heard of a consular correspondence database search, which sounds like an expensive shot in the dark. Are there records of passports issued? I have contacted various Stadtsampten, but so far I was only able to locate a fairly old 1880 residence record, and a testament of the ancestor’s father at the time the ancestor would have been 17 years old. (I have ordered a certified copy, but have not s seen it yet. I expect nothing more than a mention of the son, which we have any way from the birth certificate). We also have proof that the woman (my wife’s grandmother) that the first South African born son (my wife’s grandfather) married, grew up in Germany, from an original church confirmation certificate. The argument (and truth!) was since the place of confirmation was very close to where his ancestor was born, the family must have kept active ties with Germany, for at least 37 years after the first ancestor immigrated.
Is your feeling that it is worth applying if we don’t get anything else? Or is the chance of success so
remote that it is futile and may complicate matters if new evidence comes to light, and better to hold out in the hope that we can find something better? The proof of non-naturalisation (the letter says he never applied either) would suggest to me that if he ceased to be German, he would in fact be stateless, as there is no other candidate country. The ancestor in question had 4 first names, which meant that none of documents that we have referring to him (including the proof of non-naturalisation) raise any questions as to whether it’s the same guy.
Any advice on where to take it from here would be appreciated.
Do you provide a service of producing a cover letter that refer to circumstantial evidence to argue a case that the ancestor was very likely German at the time of the birth of his son?
Thanks in advance. There is a little token of gratitude in your PayPal account.
Hi kwaaikat! Were you able to make any progress? Did your local embassy go with the assumption of the travel document still being valid in 1904? I’m curious since my great grandfather immigrated to the US from Germany in 1901 too :)
I am in the process of regaining citizenship due to my grandparents loosing theirs during holocaust. I understand my future child will have citizenship however is my husband eldigable due to association through marriage?
No. He is not a descendant of your grandparents.
There is a Facebook group for descendants of German Jewish mothers born before 1953 to discuss restoration of German citizenship. If interested in joining, email a description of your background to: GermanCitizenshipRestoration@outlook.com
Thank you for the recommendation!
But that sounds like I would have to answer even more questions, so I’ll rather stay away from it. ;-)
(Also, Facebook groups of lay people discussing legal questions are the most depressing thing for lawyers.)
Hallo Andreas,
i am yassin i live in egypt all my life i was born in 1996 i took my german passport in 2015 with no problems untill we have a problem that when my sister and my brother went to apply for german passport they knew that my father have dual citizenship thats why they said to us they need some kind of a paper that my father is only german and thats not possibe because my father own the egyptian citizenship and the german so what we can do about this if my father lost his german citzenship will i also loose my citzenship and my brother and sister will not get their passport and if i lost it can i get it back again please help me and if u need the email which is sent by them to us i can show it to you
Hallo Andreas,
My situation is that I can trace my lineage back to Germany through my father, grandfather and great-grandfather. But it is quite a complex case and I do not know if citizenship was lost and can be easily regained or not.
1. My great-grandfather was born in Germany and moved to German South West Africa (GSWA) in 1904 as a soldier.
2. My grandfather was born in 1809 in GWSA. I assume as a German citizen.
3. GSWA became a protectorate of South Africa after WWI. Not sure how this affected citizenship?
4. After 1920 my great-grandfather moved with the family back to Germany for a few years (his first wife died). He moved back to SWA around 1922. I can get certified copies of ship logs as well as church registers to prove his second marriage in Germany. There is no history of him naturalizing that I can find.
5. My grandfathers German passport were apparently lost during WWII in a South African internment camp.
5. My grandfather did naturalize in 1949 to SA citizenship. Not sure if this was voluntary or forced as the SA citizenship Act changed in 1949. Also not sure if he applied to keep his German citizenship active. Any ideas where I can check for this info? Probably the German embassy in Namibia?
6. My father was born in 1950 in SWA as a SA citizen. He was later conscripted into the SA Defence Force. He has not applied for German citizenship.
7. I was born in 1978 in SA and have also not applied for German citizenship.
Would it be worth pursuing this any further? If you can help I will gladly make a donation to obtain more info, so just let me know.
Regards
Wilko
Once I receive a donation, I will gladly read your question and reply to it. Thank you!
Donation made. Thanks
Hello Wilko,
thank you very much for your donation!
That’s really quite a complex case, but let’s try to sort it out. The problematic point was in 1949 because your father hadn’t been born yet, so whatever your grandfather did with his citizenship had an effect on your subsequently born father.
If your grandfather naturalized in South Africa in 1949, he must have had a different citizenship until then. Let’s assume that he still had German citizenship. Depending on when in 1949 this was, there wasn’t any German embassy at the time because (West) Germany was only founded in May 1949. I would find it highly unlikely that during that time of not knowing what would become of occupied Germany, someone would bother to apply to retain German citizenship. But if he did, he would have gone through the closest German consulate at the time and we would need to find the papers. If you know the exact time of your grandfather’s naturalization, we will see if the Federal Republic of Germany was already established by then, although I doubt they immediately established consulates or an embassy in Namibia. (Let’s keep in mind that West Germany only received full sovereignty in 1955.)
If he didn’t file such an application (and receive permission!), your grandfather would have lost his German citizenship in 1949. Because your father was born in 1950, there were no more legal ties to Germany at that time.
I am sorry that I don’t have any better news!
Hallo Andreas, Thank you for the information. I have a SA government gazette entry [No 4321, 30 January 1950] that indicates the date of naturalisation under the SA Citizenship Act, 1949. The date is 1 September 1949. Note that the Act was only enacted in June 1949.
Just to confirm – if he did not apply to retain citizenhsip, irrespective of German representation in then SWA, he would have lost his citizenship? I will have to contact the embassy in Namibia to determine if they have any such information.
I should specify one more aspect: § 25 StAG (and the previous versions of it) only apply if it was a naturalization based on the application of the German citizen. If someone was naturalized by law (without having to apply), then the German citizenship was not lost.
But in the case of a naturalization after the individual’s application, it is as you say. If he did not apply to Germany for permission to retain the German citizenship and receive that permission, the German citizenship was automatically lost with the naturalization. We also have to keep in mind that the permission pursuant to § 25 II StAG is only granted if the applicant shows good reasons for dual citizenship, which is usually the case if someone is moving back and forth between both countries or for mixed couples who have children with dual citizenship.
Hi Andreas, Donation made :) Question. We live in the US. I have a German passport and a green card. My husband is from Uruguay and just became US Citizenship by naturalization last month (He is not German at all). My son (born in Uruguay as well) just got the US citizenship automatically and instead of renovating the green card for him we just got a US Passport considering US citizenship for my son was automatically after my husband became American. Now here is the question. I want my son to become German as well (that is the reason I didn’t apply to a US citizenship because didn’t want to lose my German citizenship), but my concern is that when showing in the embassy that he is “American” now, the application for German citizenship will be denied for him, even though he didn’t voluntarily apply to any new citizenship. What is your recommendation here? Should I say in the form that he got that US passport by birth? Will they found out about that or there is no difference for the kids? Appreciate your guidance here.
Hello Natalia,
thanks for the donation!
If your husband did not include your son in his application and your son received US citizenship automatically, as you say, or by law, then you are fine.
§ 25 I StAG which mandates the loss of German citizenship in cases of obtaining another citizenship only covers cases in which the individual or his parents actively apply for his naturalization.
Could you look at your husband’s application for naturalization to make sure that your son was not included there?
If he was, we might have to argue that you did not approve of this and that your husband shouldn’t have been able to represent your son alone in such an important decision, and that thus it did not lead to a loss of your son’s German citizenship (which he always had as the son of a German mother, irrespective of holding the passport or not).
Hello, I was born in Germany in 1957. I was brought to USA at the age of 2, and became a naturalized citizen. Is there a way for me to reclaim my German citizenship?
thank you so much for any information,
LW
See no. 6 of the above FAQ.
Hello Andreas,
Was born in Germany Hamburg in Feb 1973. My parents returned back to Turkey in 1984. So i have turn to Turkey when i was a child and did not decide for myself. Can i claim or do i have rights applying for a German Passport? Thanks in advance.
Only if one of your parents had German citizenship at the time of your birth.
Thanks for your fast respond. None of them had. so there is no way i guess…
Hello Andreas.
My case is the following:
Great great grandfather came from Germany to Buenos Aires, Argentina circa 1890 with his wife, a son and an Adoptive Son (his nephew)
Had another son in 1899 (my great grandfather)
Then Grandfather>Father>Me. All-male line and in weddlock. GG grand father never naturalized.
The problem here is that I already asked for the Konsulatsmatrikel in Buenos Aires and they told me they do not have them anymore, that I had to ask the Political Archive. I did ask them and they told me they found no “Boehler” in the registry.
Now here comes the tricky part. I luckily found the Konsulatsmatrikel in my cousine’s house of my great-great-grandfather’s son, the adoptive son which I mentioned before . So if He had his Konsulatsmatrikel how would his father (my GGGF) would not have done it?
Therefore, if I have a Konsulatsmatrikel that they don’t have, probably they have lost most of my family’s Konsulatsmatrikels.
My questions are: What do you think I should do next? Do you think I still have a chance?
Thank you very much for your attention and help.
PS: Have in mind that my GGGF had my Grandfather less than 10 years after leaving Germany. So he was born to a german citizen anyway (with or without the Konsulatsmatrikel). So in my case my great grandfather loss of citizenship would’ve been between 1899 and 1909 in case the Matrikel is not found/ granted as lost.
Hello Augustin,
wow, what a rare situation to still find a Konsulatsmatrikel! Unfortunately, most of them really have gotten lost.
I will be happy to look into your situation more closely, but because it is a bit complicated, I would appreciate a donation to my Paypal account at moser@moser-law.com. Thank you very much in advance, vielen Dank!
Hi. I am a second generation German Jewish immigrant in the uk. I can see that me and my children are eligible to apply for German citizenship. However please can you advise whether my wife is also eligible on the grounds of our marriage.
Many thanks in advance.
Hello Karl,
your wife is not eligible for German citizenship through your ancestry. After all, nobody knows how long you’ll stay married, and once citizenship is granted, it cannot be revoked. (Forgive the tactless remark, but I like to explain the reasoning behind a law.)
But if you ever move to Germany together, your wife could of course obtain a residence permit. This is a relatively easy process in Germany, with no minimum income requirement. You would just need to show that as a family, you can support yourself.
All the best with the application!
Hi Andreas – did you get my e-mail please? I want to find out which book/s to choose for you, and check some other stuff.
Also, I have a completely new legal q for you if you were able/willing to help? My father was a German Jewish refugee from the Nazis. He emigrated from Germany to England in 1936 and was naturalised as a British Citizen in (I think) 1947. Later – much later – he reapplied for German citizenship, which was granted. So then he had dual nationality. I have his German passport which expired in 2004. He died in 2008.
I was legally adopted by him and his wife, my mother, also a German-born Jewish refugee (in 1939) in London, aged 3 days short of 4 months.
Am I eligible for German citizenship by virtue of adoption? I know I was not at the time of my adoption, but could I apply for it under current law, which I believe applied in 2004 when my father WAS (again) a German citizen?
Many thanks for any help you can give on this matter, and as I said, do please check out if you have time my earlier mail so that I can organise some more books for you etc.
Hope you are enjoying the beautiful Alice as much as she is clearly enjoying you!!
Jackie x
Hello Jackie,
I think we spoke about this already.
German citizenship was only granted due to adoption by German parents from 1977 onward. There is no retroactive application of this clause to adoptions that occurred before 1977.
Not that it matters besides that, § 6 StAG only applies to the adoption of minors and you were no longer a minor in 1977.
PS and if so, can I have dual German/British citizenship? And again if so, would that be affected post-Brexit if I don’t get an application in, before that? Thanks again. x
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Dear Andreas, I have been reading with a lot of interest your comments to many of your readers on acquiring the German citizenship. I am Mexican born in 1966. Here goes the history, and hopefully you can advise me on the next steps… my great-great grandfather, German from Hamburg, came to Mexico as business was boooming… my great grandfather was born in Mexico, and then moved in 1866 back to Germany, where he studied until he was 19 , moved to Brussels for some apprenticeship until 1885, when he decided to move back to Mexico to take care of the business his father established (hat makers :) ), married to a German descent Mexican born lady, and had 9 kids (my grandfather was the 3rd in line). My Great grandfather applied in 1915 to get the German nationality by Jus Sanguini, which he obtained in 1916, and he inscribed his sons in his Einburgerungsurkunde. The older ones were already “adults” (my grandfather one of them, born 1896) so they were not handed their urkunde as they needed to do the process themselves. The older brother (born 1893) did the process and had his Urkunde given, as he wanted to move to Germany for medical care, but the other 2 older brothers did not go and get it as Germany was at war and were afraid of being enlisted. My Dad never tried to acquire his German citizenship, even though he studied one year of Medicine in Germany. From my grandfathers brothers, 5 were male and 4 were female… the male brothers, 3 have already successfully acquired the German citizenship (the older one, and the 2 younger ones, born in 1906 and 1912). My cousins from those 3 lines have the German nationality. From the female lines, they all got married to Germans, so their lines have the German passport as well. With all these being said… do I have a good claim for the German nationality? My father had a sister born in 1934… can my cousins apply for the German nationality? I went to a German school in Mexico, my daughters speak perfect German, and my wife is first generation born in Mexico… she Does not have the German nationality as her grandfather naturalized Mexican, even though one year before that he asked to maintain his citizenship in Hamburg… her mother is German, but cannot pass her the nationality as my wife was born in 1967… could she do something with the document that his grandfather meant to maintain his nationality, and was naturalized to keep his job in Mexico? Thanks so much for your answers and perspective
Saludos/Grüße
Franz
Oh, I did donate before asking 😉
I was born in Germany to American parents (father in the military). Can i apply for German citizenship?
No.
According to the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, soldiers and spouses are not regarded as residents of Germany for the purpose of immigration or citizenship law.
Andreas thank you for the fast response.
Thank you, Sir!
I am sorry it wasn’t a positive one. But it might save you time and money, at least.
Just for the record.. You dismissed the invitation to be involved with a facebook group working
to secure citizenship for those of us born before 1953 from German mothers that left their homes in Germany leaving everything behind. That group succeeded in having BBC London show
a good segment discussing our claims.. Pressure from the group is leading to changes in the guidance which will be made public very soon
That’s great! If you have a link, please feel free to add it.
And regardless of subject or intention, I never join groups about legal issues where non-lawyers are admitted. Even less on Facebook.
Eric
I am the Jacqueline (“baby Churchill”!) who, with my mother, was inter alia featured in BBC London’s piece tonight. It was initiated by the Article 116 group which encompasses descendants excluded from eligibility (till now) for a wide range of reasons.
(Andreas, I’ll send you a link to the segment in a private email.)
Andreas was incredibly helpful to me when I embarked on the issue of applying for restoration of German citizenship some years’ ago. I found his advice on the legal position invaluable in working towards getting these injustices remedied, as it sounds that hopefully they now may be.
The Facebook group you mention does not represent everyone affected by these issues; my reason for being excluded, for example, is adoption, and there are several others.
Isn’t the progress the German Government has made here great!
Jackie
Hi. My father and the rest of the family had their citizenship revoked during the Nazi era. My sister and I coordinated application for reclamation of citizenship about six months ago; we were told to expect the process to take about two years. Just wanted to let you know the current timeline, in part due to increases in US requests and UK requests, the latter in front of Brexit. I have no question for you but wanted to let you know about the timeline.
Dean
I’ve been told the wait is now a three years :(
Also, please be aware there are some exclusions via article 116 , but it now seems hopefully these are being addressed by the German Government.
This report is from BBC LONDON on 13th July 2019:
https://vimeo.com/353614829?ref=em-share
Hello Dean,
Thanks a lot for the update and I nonetheless wish you a smooth application process and hope you will receive German citizenship soon.
As you pointed out, Brexit led to a surge of applications by people who wish to retain EU citizenship via the German citizenship. Of course they all could/should have applied sooner. But I don’t know why the German government hasn’t vastly increased the number of officials working in that field to tackle the caseload. Because these cases are rarely complicated enough to warrant such a long timeframe. If descendants have all the documents, these applications could be evaluated quite swiftly, if only the manpower was there.
Hi Andreas, I have the german citizenship but been living in the USA since 1998. I have the green card. I’m thinking about getting dual citizenship (applying for US Citizenship and still keeping my German). Is that possible?
Hallo Tim,
das ist gut, dass du vorher fragst! Es ist möglich, wenn du vom deutschen Generalkonsulat in deiner Nähe eine sogenannte Beibehaltungsgenehmigung nach § 25 II StAG erhältst. Allerdings nur, wenn das vor Erhalt der US-Staatsbürgerschaft geschieht.
Für den Antrag müsstest du begründen, warum du beide Staatsbürgerschaften gleichermaßen brauchst (zB regelmäßige Aufenthalte in beiden Ländern, berufliche Tätigkeit in beiden Ländern, familiäre Bindungen in beiden Ländern).
Hello Andreas,
Great blog!
My German Great Grandfather, b. Munich 1843, left Germany for France in 1881. He was the last of a long line of Germans. And then lived in France until his death in 1922. I understand that I need to prove he maintained links to Germany between 1904-1914 and did not break the 10 year rule, for example by finding the Konsulatsmatrikel. He did not serve the German military either.
But the German Political Archives do not keep the records from France, and I doubt the Germany Embassy in France still has the records either. I
It is possible he went back to Germany to reclaim his citizenship but I don’t know who would know about this. Is there a government body to ask, ‘was X considered German at this time, for example’?
But if I cannot find anything, then could I still apply for German Citizenship on discretionary grounds and would you be interested in this case.
Thank you very much
There is no central agency, so you would need to look for local archives of towns where your great-grandfather might have returned to.
It’s not a foolproof method, as he might have gone to some town that you don’t know about. So you can really only check the places where he came from or where he went to school or that you know about other ties.
The discretionary application is an option, but I would need to see if you meet the criteria. You need to prove very strong ongoing ties to Germany and fluency in German.
Thanks Andreas, sounds like a lot of digging I will need to do then. But happy to explore the discretionary option with you. If strong ties means lots of living relatives in Germany, then yes I do. German I’m learning. Although I would want to retain my UK passport.
My Great Great Grandfather came from Stuttgart to the UK in 1890.
He married an Irish lady in England the same year and they had some children.
On the last census before he died, he was registered as German.
The family was also kidnapped during WW1 on suspicion of being German spies and spent 2 years in a British POW camp.
My Great Grandmother was born in 1905 in England and lived until 1992.
She gave birth to my Grandmother in 1927
My father was born in 1967.
All births happened during wedlock.
I am wondering if by any stretch I may qualify for a German passport by my family history.
Kind Regards,
Adam.
Hello Adam,
I’ll be happy to look into your situation once you sign up to become a Patreon to support the blog. Thank you very much!
Guten Tag!
There is a group that is trying to convince a change in the german laws to accept the people that cannot get the citizenship because of the consular register that was mandatory between 1871 and 1913.
The link is this one: https://www.artikel116.com/en/
Hope that will help the ones that, like me, cannot apply for a citizenship because of the missing document.
Best Regards,
Joao
Hello Andreas,
I wonder if you could offer some advice in return for a donation to your blog please?
I am looking to pursue a claim for German Citizenship under Article 116. My maternal grandfather fled Germany and arrived as a refugee in August 1939 at Kitchener Camp, Sandwich, Kent, UK. He registered as an “alien” in 1939 an then joined the British Army in the same year. He met and married my Austrian grandmother (also an “alien”) in a London Synagogue in 1940. He was discharged from the army in 1943 and was granted British naturalisation in 1949. My mother was born in the UK in 1954. My grandmother did not receive British naturalisation until after 1964. I was born in 1978.
I have quite a number of supporting documents already but given the current global situation, I have been slowed down in the document gathering process.
In the meantime, I would very much appreciate your opinion on whether you believe it’s worth submitting a claim for German Citizenship? Specifically in relation to the fact that my mother was born to my grandfather after he gained naturalisation to Britain?
Many thanks in anticipation of your response.
Kind regards,
Mark
Hi Andreas, we would like to introduce you to our website regarding the infamous “Konsulatsmatrikel” requirement. Hope you find it interesting, in particular the fact that the nazis actually removed the right of former Germans to naturalize! Let us know what you think. Cheers.
Hi Andreas, What an incredibly helpful blog! (I just contributed as a Patron.) I went to law school, and even I’m having trouble parsing out the intricacies of applying to reclaim German citizenship under Article 116. Here is my particular question: My Jewish maternal grandparents fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and ended up in Chile, where my mother was born. My paternal grandparents were of German Jewish origin, but were from a German-speaking community that was located in Moravia, and they were Czech citizens at the time of the Nazi takeover; they fled to Palestine (Israel) in 1940, where my father was born. My parents, who both grew up speaking fluent German at home, met as adults in New York, where they married and where I was born in 1973. Here is my question: Because my father’s parents were originally Czech citizens, and I believe German citizenship carried through the father’s side for anyone born before 1975, does that mean I can’t reclaim German citizenship under Article 116? Would my sister, who was born in 1976, be able to? Thank you so much, in advance, for any guidance you may have!
Hi,
I hope you are doing well.
Are you sure about point 4? I am pretty certain they got rid of this restriction. On the Merkblatt related to Art. 116 of November 2019, they mentioned the following:
“In der Zeit vor 1975 konnte die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit grundsätzlich nur vom Vater abgeleitet werden, nicht aber von der deutschen Mutter, es sei denn, dass Kind wäre sonst staatenlos geworden. Aus Wiedergutmachungsgründen wendet das Bundesverwaltungsamt Art. 116 Abs. 2 GG jedoch generell auf die im Zeitraum vom 01.04.1953 bis zum 31.12.1974 geborenen Kinder einer ehemals deutschen Mutter an. Vor dem 01.04.1953 geborene Kin- der deutscher Mütter können hingegen aufgrund Art. 117 Abs. 1 GG nicht berücksichtigt werden.”
Furthermore, in the newest Merkblatt related to Art. 116 as of today (June 2020), it says “Anyone who after being deprived of their German citizenship acquired a foreign citizenship by application is entitled to have his/her German citizenship restored. This also applies to de- scendants.”
It is my understanding that, under Art. 116, pretty much anyone that was persecuted can apply. Obviously, there may be some particular exceptions.
Thanks for your time and attention!
Rodrigo
Hello Rodrigo,
indeed, the rules have been relaxed considerably since 2019.
I haven’t gotten around to updating this article from 2017 yet.
I wrote a separate article about the decision by the Supreme Court in June 2020, which was a milestone: https://andreasmoser.blog/2020/06/17/bverfg-116-ii/ , but I have yet to incorporate this in the older blog posts.
Thanks Andreas for your quick response.
I didn’t find that article before you replied, so thanks for sharing it with me! I’ve read some of the comments from such article and I think many of your readers are still confused about children born between 01.04.1953 and 31.12.1974 to former German mothers (victims of Nazi persecution) and foreign fathers.
Based on the quote from the (now old) information sheet of Nov. 2019 of Art. 116 I sent on my original comment, I am quite certain those children that were born between the aforementioned dates (to a former German mother and foreign father) were already eligible before the new changes introduced on 20.05.2020. Maybe that can help you for future cases of people that ask you such questions.
I would’ve made a donation but now I am not in a position to do so. Keep up the good work!
Best wishes,
Rodrigo
Hello Andreas,
I was born in German. My parents and I got the German citizenship (by naturalization) when I was 4 years old. My parents and I left Germany when 12 years ago (I was 5 years old). Is it possible to lose the citizenship in the future? I don’t have any other citizenship; I hold a Palestinian passport (but this is not a nationality).
Thanks a lot in advance.
Kind regard,
Kais
Hello Kais,
there is no time limit on the German citizenship and you don’t lose it, even if you never live in Germany.
There are a few ways to lose it, though. The most relevant one is if you apply for and receive another citizenship. If you are ever thinking of applying for another citizenship, you should consider this before and potentially apply for an exception under § 25 II StAG.
Your Palestinian citizenship is no problem, because you already had that from birth. (I once got a German court to recognize Palestinian citizenship, by the way: AG Amberg, case no. 6 Ds 110 Js 10396/05)
Hello, Andreas!
I came upon your blog while doing some research and am hopeful you can provide me with a bit of guidance. (I did make a small donation to the blog and am happy to continue doing so – it sounds like quite a life you’re living!)
Is there any possibility of obtaining German citizenship as the descendent of German Saxons who lived in Transylvania? I am a US citizen. Here is the timeline of family/historical events, just to put the family history in context:
1894 – Great-grandfather (Ethnic German) born in (what was then) Austria-Hungary; Sibiu commune of Transylvania
1921 – Great-grandfather immigrated to the US in the aftermath of WW1
1924 – He married my Great-grandmother in the US
1927 – My grandmother was born in the US
1940s (I am awaiting paperwork with the exact dates) – Great-grandfather became a naturalized US citizen
1945 – My father was born
It sounds like Romania only granted citizenship to Transylvanians who stayed in Transylvania after 1924 – which he did not. His travel documents identify him as Romanian, but I don’t think he actually had Romanian citizenship; he is identified on almost everything else as either German or Ethnic German, and he only spoke German. I honestly have no idea if he had citizenship anywhere during this period of time; perhaps you – with your study of history and knowledge of the area – might have a thought on that. I am hoping to have documents with his parents’ names on them shortly so that I can pinpoint their places of birth.
I’m just curious if there is a recognition of Ethnic Germans in Romania as “German”, especially if they did not have Romanian citizenship and, if so, if that extends to descendants.
Thank you very much for your donation, Dawn!
I have replied to you by e-mail, as it became a rather lengthy reply.
Dear Andreas
This is a great blog!
I understand that ex-Germans can move back in accordance with § 38 II AufenthG.
Do you know if adult grandchildren of ex-Germans can move to German with a residency visa and study and work? In the UK we have something called the Ancestry visa which gives the person access to the labour market. Is there something similar in Germany ?
My mother renounced her citizenship in the 60s to become Canadian. She is unlikely to move back but has strong ties to Germany. My children go to a German school and are fluent in German. I wondered if they could later study or work in Germany under some kind of Ancestry visa as explained above.
Many thanks.
Kind regards
Anjali
Hello Anjali,
there is nothing similar in Germany, although anyone can apply to a German university and study for free if accepted.
But unless your children have a claim to German citizenship (which depends on whether you were born before or after your mother renounced her German citizenship), they would need to apply for a student or work visa.
Hi Andreas! Thanks for such an informative post.
My mother was born in Germany in 1947, as a child of Jewish refugees (both her parents were in Concentration Camps). She has a birth certificate that states she was born in Munich. However, she was not given German citizenship then, as her parents were refugees and not German (Polish). She remained in Germany throughout most of her childhood and teenage years, going to school etc there.
Is there a path for us to obtain German citizenship through her? Thanks!
Hello Hannah,
the only way would be if your mother (or her parents on her behalf) ever applied for German citizenship during her time of living in Germany.
If not, however, you might have a path to Polish citizenship, which for the purpose of living in the EU has the same value.
Hi Andreas,
This blog is so informative. I was wondering if you were aware if the 2011 law regarding the entering of NATO armed forces is at all retroactive. My father’s father was a German citizen. My father, born in America, served in the US armed forces.
Would he have any path to German citizenship given that he had signed up for US military service voluntarily before 2011? He has never renounced German citizenship.
Thank you.
Hello Andreas,
Your blog is very informative! Thank you for the information. I have sent a donation and have a question about FAQ 9. It seems there is conflicting information, and I am looking in every corner to figure out if I am eligible for a German Citizenship Certificate. Some of the information I have come across contradicts what you are saying about children of naturalized parents, so I want to check with you directly.
German Missions in the U.S. says, “If you willingly apply for a foreign citizenship and obtain it, your German citizenship is automatically lost. If you obtain a foreign citizenship without an application for naturalization, you remain a German citizen.”
My German father obtained his US citizenship in 1957 at the age of 10. His mother petitioned for naturalization for herself, and by law, my father was automatically granted US citizenship when she naturalized. No application was made on his behalf. He did not even receive a naturalization certificate. Minors cannot apply for naturalization, and parents cannot fill out naturalization paperwork for a child. However, my father later applied for a Citizenship Certificate as proof of his US citizenship when he wanted to work and needed a social security number to do so. His certificate looks different from his mother’s. It says he “became” (does not say “was naturalized) a citizen on November 25, 1957. Also, it does not list a former nationality, that is only something that is included on naturalization certificates.
I believe that Certificates of Citizenship (both US. and German) are only given to people who received their citizenship involuntarily. So, my question: if an application was never made, but citizenship was derived by relationship, does that mean he still has his German citizenship?
Many thanks for your information,
Deborah
What is my status regards getting to renew my Germen passport I was born in Dresden Germany 29th Oct. 1940 (father’s family lived in Germany since 1529). My mother remarried and I moved to the UK in 1947 and become a nationalized UK citizen 18th Aug 1965 also what is the status of my son born 27th May 1970 in the UK.
Hi Andreas, Donation made 😀
I am researching my Volga German ancestors.
Details I have:
My maternal grandfather’s family is all German and likely all Volga German (I am getting stuck past the Great-great-grandparents). My Great grandparents emigrated from Talovka, (German name Beidek/Beideck) Russia around1904 (I am assuming they walked but I could be wrong), arriving in NYC from Glasgow in December, 1908 (and settling in Newark, NJ), around the time of the Russian Revolution. They were married in NYC (but I suspect they were already married in Russia, but got married again for documentation purposes). They were from the same village and arrived on the same ship, that’s why I am assuming they were already married. All of their 7 children were natural born US citizens. They naturalized in 1937. I have no way of knowing for sure but a couple of questionable things pop up. They ‘believed’ they were German but my understanding is they were stateless when they emigrated. The impetus to naturalize *may* have been the impending war, I don’t know. Also, they listed the birth dates for the two oldest children incorrectly as they were teens. I am not sure any of this is relevant and maybe only fascinating to me, BUT with direct lineage through stateless Volga Germans do I have a path to German citizenship (if I learn German)? They both died in the 1960’s. Thank you so much!
Also, sorry, on my paternal side, my grandmother’s mother was 1st generation American, prior to that the whole family is German and her father, though he emigrated to the US, never naturalized as far as I can tell. I can trace the whole family in Germany back really far. If the Volga side is not an option, is this side an option for a path for me?
And on your paternal side, this is really tricky as well.
Because on the one hand, until 1975, German citizenship could only be passed down through the father. On the other hand, it’s possible to retroactively claim German citizenship for the cases where it was hitherto denied due to that gender discrimination.
But as this is based on the current constitutions equal protection clause, which has only been in place since 1949, this cannot be applied to cases that date back further. So it depends when your grandmother was born, and even then, we would need to look at this very closely. It would be a long shot.
Do you have any recommendations (if you know) of services like Polaron, that specialize in helping ppl research and determine their ability to get citizenship or not?
I contacted Polaron and nothing. Just wondering. Thanks for all your answers.
Hello Amy,
thank you very much for your donation and for the fascinating family history!
It’s almost impossible to say anything with certainty because there are still so many unknowns and ifs in the story.
But generally, it’s highly unlikely – for a multitude of reasons – that your ancestors would still have had German citizenship after living in Russia for more than one generation.
In the multi-ethnic Russian, Austrian and Ottoman empires, many people thought of themselves as German, Armenian, Croat, Jewish, whatever, but they didn’t have that citizenship. (Indeed, some of those ethnicities didn’t even have countries of their own at the time. Germany itself was only formed as a nation state with German citizenship in 1871.)
Volga Germans and other Germans who had once lived in Russia and/or the USSR did have a chance to receive German citizenship under a special law, but that only applied to people who moved to the Federal Republic of Germany.
So, this sounds more like a case where further research might bring interesting historical details to light, but it won’t be of any relevance for your claim to German citizenship. Sorry!
Hi Thanks! So Germany doesn’t have any type system for restoration due to stateless status?
And what about the other side of the family that I mentioned?
There is a way for stateless people to get citizenship, but only if they live in Germany.
(Also, I am not sure they were stateless. Maybe the had Russian citizenship without knowing it? It would depend on the laws in place in Russia at the time.)
Hi Andreas,
Hope you can give some insight (donation made), as things seem much more hopeful after this particular hurdle. My German ancestor (17yr male) boarded a ship in Bremen, and arrived in the USA towards the end of 1902. This is my direct patrilineal line, and all descendants including myself, are male & born in wedlock; I only mention this because I know it avoids a number of pitfalls.
He married to a 1st generation German-American woman in 1906, and their son was born in 1908; at this time he was still a German citizen (had not been gone for 10 years yet), and so his son would’ve been as well.
Things get tricky because as far as I understand it, loss of citizenship due to the 10yr expiration also affected minor children, so his son would’ve lost his as well?
So I think at this point, I need to find some document proving contact with German officials, either in a Matrikel or Passregister. The family lived in Milwaukee, and the nearest Consular would’ve been via the train to Chicago. I searched on Invenio for these documents, and see a Chicago Matrikel for 1877-1901, and again for 1912-1938. Unfortunately, he would’ve most likely made such an action within the gap between books, since he arrived in 1902 and expiration would’ve probably been 1912.
Can you confirm I’m understanding the laws correctly, and going down the correct path? Do you have any recommendations for trying to find such a record to at least extend us past the 1914 mark?
Danke!
Hello Ulfy,
thank you for your donation, and you are right:
§ 21 para. 2 StAG 1870 (in the relevant version valid from 1896) also extended to male children IF the father had custody AND IF they lived with him at the time. (Which due to the young age of the son was probably still the case, until the parents had gotten separated or divorced before.)
Possible exceptions are:
– Having registered with the German Consulate, as you are aware of. In reality, only very few German immigrants knew about this rule and registered. It was usually those who were sent overseas for a limited time, like salespeople or preachers or such.
– If your ancestor held a German passport or a similar travel document, the 10 years are only counted from the time of expiry of that passport. For this information, you would need to contact the archive of the municipality from where your ancestor was.
– Lastly, it’s also worth looking at the Ellis Island immigration records to see if your ancestor maybe traveled back to Europe and returned to the US later. A surprising number of immigrants crossed the Atlantic several times.
(I write about one such example from my own family, one of whom also traveled from Bremen, coincidentally: https://andreasmoser.blog/2022/07/27/june-1922-vogl/ )
Thanks for the response. Yes, they remained married and their children lived with them. I know they were living together (renting) when they married (from family history), and I see them on the 1910 Census as such.
It sounds like my best bet is to see if he held a passport – perhaps prior to leaving Germany, or traveled back to Germany. I had no idea the 10yr limit started after an expired document. That at least gives me some other avenues to explore… thanks for that!
I came from Germany in 1970 and became an US citizen in 1975. US required me to give up my German Citizenship. I guess no dual US/German Citizenship then. I lived in Germany for 24 years and even served in the German Airforce from 1964 to 1970. Can I get my German citizenship back? I yes, what would I have to do?
Hello Edgar,
thank you very much for your generous donation!
There is a possibility to apply for your German citizenship to be reinstated, pursuant to § 13 StAG.
The requirements are that you can financially support yourself, that you still speak/read/write German, that you have continuing (family, professional, business or other) ties to Germany, and no serious criminal record.
But there are two problems with this route:
First, the current German citizenship law would require you to give up your US citizenship in the process. The current administration has already announced plans to make dual/multiple citizenship easier – https://andreasmoser.blog/2021/11/25/new-government-eases-path-to-german-citizenship/ -, but so far, this has not been turned into actual law.
Second, § 13 StAG is a discretionary (re)naturalization. This means that the German government can grant German citizenship, but doesn’t have to. In cases where the applicant lost their German citizenship before 2000, like in your case, this is only granted where there is a special public interest in your (re)naturalization. This is usually the case if you are to take up a job in Germany that is deemed important enough and which no one else could do. Or in the case of great academic or artistic contributions to German society.
The bar here is very high, and most applications are not successful.
Therefore, if your goal is to move to Germany, you might want to use § 38 II AufenthG instead. According to that provision of the Immigration Act, former German citizens can obtain a residence permit if the still speak/write/read German.
With that, you could settle in Germany, and then apply for the normal (re)naturalization based on residency in Germany. (With up to 5 years of your previous residency being considered, § 12b II StAG).
But that option, too, currently requires you to give up your US citizenship.
I am very sorry that there is (currently) no easy, quick and certain way to re-obtain your German citizenship.
Hello. I think I probably already know the answer to this question but I am double checking because you seem so knowledgeable. My father was born in 1946 in Heidenhaim in a displaced persons camp. His parents were both Slovakian and had been in concentration camps-taken from their homes in 1938. My grandmother was in auschwitz and my grandfather in workcamps. They remet, married and had my dad in Heidenheim. They left for the US in 1949 where my dad subsequently became a US citizen. Is there any path for me to claim German citizenship because my dad was born there and they were stateless at the time?
Hello Emma,
I am terribly sorry, but I don’t have the time right now to delve into questions to which people already know the answer.
Hello Andreas – I thought I should provide an update – I used your blog several times in the last 5 years and donated multiple times when I used your services. The outcome was a positive and I obtained German Citizenship for myself and my children while retaining our US citizenship.
I received my German citizenship due to the Gender Discrimination rules changes on Section 8 first bullet of your FAQ.
Even though mine was as an open and shut case as possible (mother is still living, has a German passport, never gave up German citizenship etc etc) it was still a very intensive paperwork and difficult process. I retained the services of an immigration lawyer as the German bureaucracy has difficulty interpreting the new law and its updated requirements (for instance they have not updated the forms and then rejected my application due to the old forms not being filled out correctly. I also had to successfully argue that as a child of less than 14 it was not necessary for me to prove that I had not (a double negative) committed hate crimes as this was not requested of German children and was paradoxically discriminatory. Anyhow there was lots of contradictory work that benefits from having an experienced German immigration lawyer involved from the beginning. I used a local one near me in Boston.
I have listed my timeline below since that was a question I was unable to obtain this answer prior to applying for citizenship
Learned about new potential law June 2021 and retained lawyer
June to Sept – many supporting documents refinements of answers and clarifications to application – law needed to be published and ratified
October 2021 – Application submitted
Feb 2022 German Bureaucracy kicks into high gear – much contradictory and discriminatory requests requiring lawyers intervention and clarification and even more documents.
March 2022 updated applications and answers submitted – more Bureaucratic wrangling ensues between German Immigration Department and German Passport (State) dept on who has the ability to over rule each other
May 2022 Additional documentation required on my German Grandparents
Oct 2022 Obtained Declaration of German citizenship
Nov 2022 German passports arrived in the mail
Dec 2022 entered Germany first time as a German Citizen
Thank you very much for the update and congratulations on the result!
It’s nice to hear back from someone, because sadly, most people don’t keep me updated, so I don’t know what becomes of them of if they ever proceed with their claim.
Wishing you many happy trips to Germany and Europe!
I lost my German citizenship when naturalizing in the US in 1990. My ancestors lived in Germany for at least a century, although my parents have both passed. I would like to regain my Germany citizenship while keeping the US citizenship. Can you elaborate whether this is possible with the Citizenship law changes that Scholz approved yesterday? And if so, how would I go about it? Thanks!
This week was only the finalization of the government proposal, no new law has been enacted yet.
Whenever this will happen, I’ll have all the details on my blog.
Of course, you can always contact me for a consultation, but at the moment, I am really advising everyone to wait for the new law to be passed, because if it does, it will definitely make things easier.
Hello,
I was born in Germany in 1959, and got married in the US where I obtained a green card in 1979. I had German citizenship until age 28 when I took the US citizenship (in 1987) in order to have more legal rights to my two young daughters than the green card would have allowed. With a heavy heart, I had to give up my German citizenship.
I am legally married to another woman, meaning we are in a lesbian relationship.
I have read many articles about proving German generations back, that is no problem at all, I have quite the documented family tree on both my parents’ sides. I am fluent in German, of course, and still have family living in Germany.
As the political situation in the US is turning more and more against the LGBTQ+ community and with the threat of the Republican Party coming back into power we are looking to possibly move if our lives would be threatened.
My wife and I are retired Montessori teachers, I am 65, and she is 75. We are financially able to support ourselves.
What are my chances to reacquire my German citizenship while also keeping my US one?
Any insights, advice, what my next step should be would be deeply appreciated.
Thank you,
Gisela Tilch
Andreas, I just read your reply to Edgar Schaffarczyk; does all of that still apply? I thought dual citicanship is now possible?
Thank you
Hello Gisela,
as you are a former German citizen yourself, there is no need to refer to your ancestors.
You can re-apply for German citizenship, with dual citizenship being the only problem. At the moment, you would need to show really good reasons to obtain an exemption from the general ban on dual citizenship.
There is a bill in parliament to change that – https://andreasmoser.blog/2021/11/25/new-government-eases-path-to-german-citizenship/ -, but it hasn’t passed yet.
But you don’t need German citizenship in order to move to Germany. For former German citizens, there is a special residence permit pursuant to § 38 AufenthG, which will allow you (and through a spousal visa your wife) to take up residence in Germany.
And then you can simply wait until dual citizenship will be easily available.
If you want to discuss this option, including the practical steps, in more detail, I will happily make myself for a consultation with you both.
I charge a flat fee of 400 EUR for that, irrespective of how many hours we’ll talk.
Andreas,
I am in the process of applying for German citizenship under Article 116 as my grandparents both fled Germany during the Holocaust. My father was in Dachau but he was Hungarian so that is not really relevant in terms of gaining German citizenship.
My difficulties are that I have very few original documents in terms of their old birth, marriage certificates and such. I also do not know their last known German addresses.
Would you have any suggestions on how/where to obtain this information?
Danke und hertzlische Grüsse,
Andrea
Hello Andrea,
that’s a dramatic family history indeed. :-(
The only solace is that both your grandparents survived and managed to escape Germany.
As to the search for more information and documents, it depends on what you already know and have.
It would be best if you send me an e-mail with the timeline, as detailed as you know it, and listing the documents you have (or the ones you have tried to obtain thus far).
I charge 200 EUR for such a consultation, and it also covers a phone conversation, in which we will brainstorm about all the possible documents we can still obtain.
I would also not completely discount your grandfather despite his Hungarian citizenship, because § 15 StAG (see no. 4 of the above FAQ) also covers non-Germans who could have become German, for example due to marriage with a German woman, but were denied German citizenship on racial/ethnic/religious grounds by Nazi Germany.
The other thing to keep in mind is that you might also have a claim to Hungarian citizenship, which as an EU citizenship is just as good for living in Europe as the German citizenship is.
The Dachau memorial have an archive and records about the large majority of the prisoners.
You can request the information about your grandfather with this form:
https://www.kz-gedenkstaette-dachau.de/forschung-und-sammlung/anfrage-zu-haeftlingen-des-kz-dachau/
Of course, I will also be happy to file that request for you or help you filling out the form. (That’s all covered by the fee for the initial consultation.)
I would be honored to help you with that research.
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HI. (just donated) I was born in 1968 to a German mom, American dad. So I can actually get my German passport now via declaration and that’s it? I have been researching this forever but have never found this updated info. Would a copy of my moms birth certificate and passport be enough? Can it really be that simple? I AM VERY EXCITED RIGHT NOW.
Hello Karla,
I am going to reply to your e-mail right away, but the short answer is:
Yes, it’s that simple now!
(§ 5 I 1 Nr. 1 StAG)
Hi Andreas,
I don’t know if you can help me, this is a long shot but I thought you would know best.
My 2 x Great Grand Parents moved to Australia separately and married here.
2 x GG Grandmother came out as a child in 1875 and from what I can find she never was Naturalised.
2 x GG Grandfather arrived in 1883 and was naturalised in 1884
They were married in 1892. If GG Grandmother was a citizen of Germany at this point would she have lost her citizenship?
They had my Great Grandmother in 1893 who spoke fluent German and she married an Australian in 1925. If she was a citizen, she would have lost her citizenship.
Could you please tell me if there any possibilities of this working?
Respect that you can trace your ancestry so far back!
But unfortunately, German citizenship was lost early on due to at least two reasons:
(1) Between 1870 and 1913, Germans living abroad lost their citizenship, unless they registered with a German consulate at least every 10 years.
The large majority of emigrants did not do that. (They didn’t even know, nor would most of them have cared.)
(2) Until 1975, German citizenship could only be passed on through the father, not the mother.
While this has been found unconstitutional now, descendants of German mothers are only granted German citizenship if they were born after May 1949 (when the current German constitution entered into effect).
Hi Andreas,
I have a couple of questions.
I was born in Germany while my mother, who was formerly German, was there with my non-German father, who was stationed there. They were both Americans at the time. My mother lost her German citizenship as a child when she was naturalized as a U.S. citizen along with her German mother, after her mother married a German man that naturalized as an American. My mother’s German birth father (not the man her mother later married) went to America and probably naturalized, but I am not sure. I was wondering, since my mother’s birth father was not involved in her naturalization, if that means there is some chance that she could still be German or if I could somehow claim to be German from all of this. I do not think me being born there counts for anything.
The other question I have is – does the time I spent in Germany as a baby count towards any time requirement for visas or for citizenship? I have the birth certificate and would need to track down military orders or some record of when they were transferred out of Germany.
Thank you
I should have mentioned some of the dates. This all happened with my grandmother and mother after World War II, and I was born much more recently, but do not want to post the date online.
Hello Sean,
thanks for your donation!
But this is such a complex and convoluted situation, I would really need the exact dates. Even after WW2, there were different citizenship laws in places at different times.
I would also need to look at the naturalization paperwork, to see if it resulted in the loss of German citizenship or not.
If you can e-mail me the documents and a family tree, with all the names and dates of birth, marriage, emigration etc., then I could begin to analyze the situation.
For such a consultation, I charge 250 EUR.
Your second question is easier:
For a visa, there is no time requirement.
For citizenship based on naturalization (which is different from citizenship based on descent), you need 5 years of residence in Germany and up to 3 years from a previous stay can count (§ 12b II StAG).
However, in your specific case, it depends on the immigration status you had as a child. If you were in Germany as the dependent of a US servicemember, the time does not count as legal residence.
But even if you had fallen under German immigration law at the time (or had even been German), time spent as a baby usually does not count. You need to show lasting German skills from previous stays, so anything before school usually doesn’t help. (Unless you still speak fluent German and can base it on the time spent in Germany as a child.)
Hello!
I would mainly like to know if there is any possibility of obtaining nationality if my ancestor lost his nationality in 1903 and his son was born in 1899. I know that when Germans lost their citizenship, their children did as well before 1914, but I have read cases where German jurisprudence has been present, and minors did not lose their nationality, because they were not in their full legal capacity. I am not sure if these precedents are taken into account.
so:
Ancestor 1: Born in Germany in 1832. He arrived in Chile in 1861 and in Argentina in 1870, and is registered in both countries in the consular records.
Ancestor 2: Son of Ancestor 1, born in Argentina in 1872, I cannot find any records of his matrikel, so he lost German nationality in 1903 (21 yrs + 10).
Ancestor 3: Born in 1899, when his father had not yet lost citizenship, but I understand he lost it when his father lost it in 1903 due to being a minor. This is where I have doubts if jurisprudence comes into play or if nothing can be done.
The two main exceptions for minors not losing the German citizenship are:
– When the relevant parent does not have legal custody, for example after a divorce.
– When the minor child does no longer live with the relevant parent. Due to the age of ancestor 3, I would find this unlikely. (And we would need to prove it.)
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Thanks Andreas. This is a very useful blog! But I have a question: I lost my German citizenship in September 2022 when I gained the British citizenship after the transition period (Brexit regulations) was over. At the time, it was not possible to use the Beibehaltungsantrag, so I made the difficult decision to choose British citizenship over the German one.
I realise that this law has now been changed (June 27, 2024), and German citizens will be able to have dual citizenship with GB again.
When I contacted the German Embassy in London, they sent me a link to the renaturalization application. However, having read through the requirements, I don’t see how I could possibly qualify – I’m certainly not a person of “public interest”, and it is clearly stated that personal reasons like family ties do not suffice. (I live in the UK and intend to stay here indefinitely.
Would you agree that it’s not worth trying? It seems awefully unfair – I’ve obviously fallen victim to unprecedented political confusions.
It seems to me that you have fallen victim to not reading my blog, where I already explained in 2021 how German citizenship law was going to change:
and where I explicitly warned everyone from giving up any citizenship before the new law would pass.
Es gibt eine theoretische Möglichkeit der Wiedereinbürgerung nach § 13 StAG, und zwar wenn bei Ihnen 2022 die Voraussetzungen für eine Beibehaltungsgenehmigung nach § 25 II StAG a.F. vorgelegen haben und heute noch immer vorliegen.
Haben Sie damals einen entsprechenden Antrag gestellt?
Hello Andreas,
I was born in Germany in 1960 of parents who were both American. Because I was not born in an American hospital, I had dual citizenship. When I was 2, my parents revoked my German citizenship and had me naturalized as an American. Can I have my German citizenship reinstated?
Honestly, this doesn’t make sense.
If you were born to two American parents, you only received American citizenship at birth. There was no ius soli in Germany in 1960.
The type of hospital somebody was born in has no bearing whatsoever on their citizenship.
Also, why would your parents have had to naturalize you as an American citizen if you already (allegedly) had dual (I presume you mean American and German) citizenship?
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Hi Andreas,
my husband would like to find out if he is able to obtain German citizenship based on his mother’s history.
My mother-in-law was forced to flee to Germany during WWII from her home in then, Czechoslovakia. All the family’s Estate was taken by the communists. Her family was granted German citizenship on April 1st, 1940. She was never able to move back to Czechoslovakia because when the family applied to retain their Czech citizenship, it was denied, and they attempted to return to their property in 1946 but were deported back to Germany. They now had German citizenship. My mother-in-law married an American soldier on December of 1947 and moved to the USA. She became a naturalized citizen of the USA in 1952. My questions to you are:
This falls under question 8 described above:
The mother lost her German citizenship in 1947, when she married a foreigner. Therefore, her son (your husband) has a right to claim German citizenship under § 5 I no. 2 StAG.
This right also extends to his children (§ 5 I no. 4 StAG).
The trickiest thing is probably to find/get the documents about the German naturalization in 1940. If you have those, then the rest is just filling in lots of forms. Here is the application pack: https://www.bva.bund.de/DE/Services/Buerger/Ausweis-Dokumente-Recht/Staatsangehoerigkeit/Einbuergerung/EER/01-Informationen_EER/01_02_EER_Wie_geht_es/02_02_EER_Anleitung_node.html
By the way, as a budding historian, I may need to correct the family lore a little bit:
In 1940 and throughout World War II, nobody was forced to flee from the communists in Czechoslovakia. Because there weren’t any, at least not in power. Czechoslovakia was a democratic country until 1938/39, when it was occupied – in several stages – by Nazi Germany.
Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany until 1945, when it was liberated by both the US Army and the Soviet Army. The US Army quickly retreated, as had been agreed at the conference of Yalta. At the Potsdam conference, the Allied Powers determined that ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia should lose their property and, if they were still on Czechoslovak territory, should be forcibly moved to Germany.
The new Czech government (which was not yet communist) followed through with this. In the course of these expropriations and especially the expulsions, lots of tragic things happened. And of course, the general assumption that all Germans in Czechoslovakia had been Nazi collaborators was wrong (although at least in the Sudetenland, it was generally right).
Czechoslovakia only became communist in 1948.
Anyway, this is just a reminder to take those family stories with a grain of salt and to doublecheck them with history. As you can guess, I am not very popular at family gatherings. :-)
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hallo, interesting!
about this:
“This means that if your ancestors left Germany before 1904, chances are slim. But it’s still worth to take a look at it, because depending on when and whom they married and when they had their child (which is in your direct line of ancestors), you may still qualify.”
I thought there were no chances if the father lost citenzenship. The mother and son also lost it.
Not if the husband and wife divorced, for example.
Or if the father lost custody of the child.
Or there are cases where the father emigrated before 1904 and died before the 10 years were up, but the child was born so late that it didn’t complete the 10 years before 1913.
And so on.
Hi Andreas
Thank you so much for putting this information together – it truly makes my brain feel like jelly, and your page is so helpful!
From the info you’ve provided, I think that I should be eligible for Stag 15?
German grandmother (born and raised) born 1920
Married foreigner (grandfather) April 1945
Gave birth to son (my father) born in Germany 1947
Left Germany as displaced persons end of 1949 for Australia – all registered as Yugoslavian (my grandfather’s nationality)
Would this qualify me for citizenship? They were not Jewish or face religious persecution.
Any help would be *hugely* appreciated.
I am not sure I see a case of § 15 StAG there, unless your Yugoslav grandfather had been living in Germany long enough to obtain naturalization, but was excluded on racial or other discriminatory grounds (§ 15 no. 3 StAG).
Your grandmother lost her German citizenship due to marrying a foreigner (§ 17 no. 6 RuStAG), so your father already wasn’t born as a German citizen.
However, this was not a specific Nazi policy, but rather the old RuStAG from 1913 (based on similar rules from the citizenship laws before).
For such cases of gender discrimination, there is § 5 StAG, which tries to rectify these old injustices, but it only dates back to 1949.
I am afraid your case probably falls through the cracks, because your father was born in the interregnum, when there really wasn’t any German state (1945 to 1949).
But, depending on which part of Yugoslavia your grandfather came from or with which Yugoslav ethnicity he identified, you might have a shot at claiming the citizenship of one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. Depending on the specific state, this might come with EU citizenship, which is just as useful as German citizenship for the purpose of living in Europe.
My great great grandfather immigrated to the US in 1856. I read that the 10 year absence rule did not apply to those who left prior to 1871. Is this correct?
Before 1871, there was no German citizenship, because there was no Germany.
Hello, Andreas, wonderful web site!
I am interested in finding out if I might be German by descent, and qualify for German citizenship.
– My grandfather was born: Aug 16, 1898, Więcbork (Vandsburg), Prussia
If my grandmother became German through marriage, and naturalized after my dad was born, would my father (and therefore me) become German as well?
I know this is complicated, but possibly accurate, I think. I don’t know if we could do a StAG 5 application, since my dad was born before 1949. It seems like an obvious case of gender discrimination, however, since if my grandfather had been German instead of my grandmother, it’d be a straight-forward StAG 5. If we had to go with StAG 14, would it be possible to use the “public interest” clause to get approved, rather than B1 German and “strong ties to Germany”? I know some german, but would need to work a bit to get to the B1 level.
I have copies of a birth record for both grandparents, marriage records for them and my parents, and birth certificates for my dad and me.What do you think?
Thank you so much.
Well, the first thing we need to do is to find out what citizenship your grandfather had in 1922, in 1927 and in 1928.
The place where he is from was in the territories disputed between Germany and Poland after World War I, so he might have changed citizenship a couple of times.
This is quite tricky, and it might honestly be impossible to find conclusive evidence. The first thing to look at would be his immigration records at Ellis Island, the US census records and the US naturalization paperwork.
I am also curious when and how your grandmother became stateless.
As to your legal reasoning, I would probably see things a bit differently:
§ 14 StAG is not an option anymore since 2021, when § 5 StAG and § 15 StAG were introduced. § 14 StAG is now reserved for very special cases.
Thus, my initial assessment is: This is very interesting research, but it most likely won’t lead to German citizenship.
I am not sure if my grandfather arrived with a German or Polish passport. I am pretty sure he started out German but may have been forced into a Polish citizenship after WW1. My great-aunt is mailing me a copy of his passport from when he arrived, so I’ll find out soon.
I not entirely sure of his citizenship in 1927, when married. He naturalized to the USA in early 1928, renouncing Poland on his oath. My grandmother became stateless in 1908, as she was from Germany and lost citizenship due to the 10-year rule.
You’re right about my gender switch comment. I meant that one of the two parents (mother) was German, but gender discrimination only allowed males to pass on their citizenship.
Very interesting regarding § 14 StAG. I had no idea that § 14 StAG was that rarely applied. I thought maybe its “public interest clause” could be applied to gender discrimination and thereby reduce or eliminate its other requirements.
Thank you for the assessment!
If your grandfather renounced Poland in 1928, then he most likely came to the USA on a Polish passport.
Because it’s unlikely that he would have changed citizenship/passports from Germany to Poland while living in the USA.
In this case, there wouldn’t have been any German parent at the time your father was born.
(I have no idea if you could have a claim at Polish citizenship, which for the purpose of living in the European Union is just as good as German citizenship.)
About § 14 StAG, you will still find lots of outdated information on the interweb, maybe even on this blog (at least in the comments). Until 2021, § 14 StAG was the catch-all clause for past discrimination, whether based on gender (now § 5 StAG) or on Nazi persecution (now § 15 StAG).
But ever since, this has become irrelevant and the “public interest” is being interpreted extremely narrowly.
My grandfather’s passport info arrived. It is a Deutches Reich Preussen Reise-Pass, issued Feb 1922. The photo page appears to have four Polish stamps on the corners of his photo.
We also have an April 1921 Personalausweis ID document that lists Preusen as his Staatsangehorigkeit, with stamps saying “DT BRIESEN” on the four corners of that picture.
I didn’t realize the Deutches Reich passport would still be issued in parts of 1922 Poland. Does this mean he was German, or is it also possible he was Polish, or both?
His Ellis Island arrival lists him as German, but his US naturalization papers renounced Poland, not Germany.
Messy. :)
Hm, this is really confusing.
Maybe your grandfather, although born in Więcbork (Vandsburg) moved to a different place before emigrating to the US? “DT BRIESEN” could mean “Deutsch Briesen” and refer to Brzeżno (as opposed to the Briesen in Brandenburg).
This was part of Prussia/Germany until 1945, so if he lived there last, he almost certainly would have held German citizenship.
It still doesn’t explain why he would renounce Polish citizenship in 1928. (After all, this was before the time when Germans abroad had a good reason to conceal their German citizenship/identity.)
Legally, we still have the problem of the 1949 cut-off date in the application of § 5 StAG, though, because your father was born before 1949.
seems like this Briesen? -> https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10335060
Can Jews acquire German citizenship if they are indirect descendants of family members persecuted by the Nazis – for example, if the relatives were grand aunts and uncles?
No.
Indirect relatives are irrelevant in citizenship law, because you don’t descend from them.
(These relations may become of relevance in inheritance law and in royal succession, though.)
I was born to two US citizens on an American Air Force base in 1972. At that time, I was issued both US and German birth certificates. Under US law, my parents renounced my citizenship with German when I was 13 (1985) because the right to dual citizenship was not granted until 1986 in the US. Is there a process for me to reclaim German citizenship so that I can live and work in Germany?
I don’t think you ever had German citizenship.
A birth certificate from a certain country does not bestow that country’s citizenship.
Both your parents were US-American at the time of your birth, so you only received US citizenship at birth.
Also, the USA allowed dual citizenship way before 1986. In fact, I believe it did so since its founding.
But of course you are still welcome to live and work in Germany! You just need to follow the normal immigration route (and can then get naturalized after 5 years, if you want to stay long-term).
Hello Mr. Moser,
I’m researching a potential claim under §5 StAG and would appreciate your perspective.
My grandmother was born in Ukraine and classified as a Volksdeutsche in 1942, and issued a Volkstumsausweis from the Volksdeutsche Mittelstelle. In 1944, she was formally naturalized via the Staatsangehörigketsstelle (EWZ) and received an Einbürgerungsurkunde. After resettlement, she lived and worked in Niedersachsen, where she was registered locally and issued German ration cards. I have all of the documentation of her German naturalization, including the ausweis, application, and naturalization certificate indicating “uneingeschränkte Einbürgerung”
In 1948, she married my grandfather, a U.S. citizen, and from what I can tell she lost her German citizenship under the discriminatory marriage laws of the time.
Given this background, do you believe a claim under §5 StAG is reasonably likely to succeed?
I should add that she naturalized as a US citizen in 1951. My mother was born in 1959, and I was born in 1985. From what I can tell my grandma was stateless between 1948 and 1951 due to her loss of citizenship by marriage.
Best regards,
Gabriel
Hello Gabriel,
I incorporated your two questions into one and will answer it again. (When I first replied, I hadn’t read the second part yet.)
It’s a bit of a tricky case, because your mother could have a claim under § 5 StAG, as she was born after May 1949 (the cut-off date for the application of § 5 StAG). If she does, that right also extends to you.
The problem is that your grandmother got naturalized as a US-American citizen BEFORE your mother was born. Even if your grandmother still would have been German after her marriage (eliminating the gender-based discrimination in the pre-1953 Citizenship Act), she still would have lost German citizenship upon her naturalization in the USA pursuant to § 25 StAG. The latter was NOT gender-discriminatory, as it applied to men and women equally. (And was based on the voluntary decision to naturalize.)
In your case however, we could argue (and nobody could prove the opposite) that your grandmother only applied for naturalization in the USA because she had previously been rendered stateless by the discriminatory German Citizenship Act before.
=> I recommend to file a claim under § 5 StAG for yourself (and for your mother if she is still alive).
If you live outside of Germany, you need to file this claim with the Bundesverwaltungsamt BVA, where the process unfortunately takes years. Which is a disgrace, because § 5 StAG explicitly says that you receive German citizenship based solely on your claim, not on any government decision.
If you won’t have heard anything from the BVA after half a year or so, you could therefore contact me to follow up and exert some pressure on the BVA. If necessary, we would need to sue. When you contact me, please include a link to this comment, so that I will be reminded of the facts of your case.
Good luck!
Hi Mr. Moser,
Thank you very much for your detailed reply and for taking the time to respond so thoughtfully — I really appreciate it. Based on your recommendation, I’ll move forward with my application to the BVA. Depending on how things unfold over the next 6–12 months, I’d be glad to reach out to you for further guidance if needed.
All the best,
Gabriel
Estimado Andreas, espero puedas comprender mi explicación en español.
Mi madre nació en Chile el 20 de marzo de 1930 con nacionalidad alemana por sus padres. Nunca se hizo chilena.
Remontándome explico la línea:
Fritz nacido en Alemania Banderburgo, ander Havel en 1862, el migro a Chile en 1887, (tiene matrícula consular todos inscritos hijo y esposa en Iquique) se casó con peruana de Tacna, PERU. Ella se convirtió en alemana. Por ley. (tengo Pasaporte)
Su hijo nació en Tacna, PERU en 1899, lo suscribieron en la matrícula consular de Iquique, Chile en 1900, se convirtió en alemán.
Estudio en Lima, PERU. Se caso con peruana en 1925, ella, su esposa se convirtió en alemana por matrimonio, tengo pasaporte alemán. Donde sale mi madre hija de 11 años.
Por asuntos de la post- guerra mi abuelo, pidió su nacionalidad peruana de nacimiento, (no pidió permiso al Consulado Alemán), la nacionalidad peruana de nacimiento se la dieron el 5 de abril de 1948, su hija sale en ese Titulo como peruana de sangre por su madre y padre por el por territorio TACNA, mi madre tenía 17 años, ella cumplía 18 años el 20 de Julio de 1948, nació en territorio chileno, nunca solicito nacionalidad chilena era alemana hasta el 48 (menor de edad). Estuvo sin nacionalidad desde los 17 años hasta los 25 años, en enero 1956, le dieron el certificado de peruana nacida en el extranjero, a sus 25 años reconocieron su nacimiento de peruana nacida en el extranjero por sus padres. Ella se casó con mi padre siendo peruana en marzo 1957.
Desde la perspectiva alemana, me podría informar si yo podría sacar mi nacionalidad alemana con la Ley 5 Stag?, por declaración?
Gracias
Maria
Hola Maria,
si, puedo comprenderlo en espanol, aunque ya he olvidado mucho de su lindo idioma desde he quedado en Sudamerica. (Por casualidad, me gustaban las ciudades de Tacna y Iquique!)
También he recibido su correo con las mismas preguntas.
Como es una historia larga con muchas complicaciones y multiples leyes de diferentes paises, no puedo investigar su situación gratis.
Una vez cuando recibo pago de 4.000 soles, podemos comenzar la investigación.
Hola Andreas me respondes al correo por favor, con tu cel para conversar por wassap. Soy María de Lima PERU, si queremos la investigación pero antes queremos conversar contigo.
GRACIAS
María
Hola Andreas donde tengo que pagar. no entiendo, me respondes a mi correo por favor?, mi ingles es malo.
Does the “new” StAG 5 II nos.1, 2 & 3 really allow children born before 1975 to german women who lost german citizenship due to marriage to a foreigner or were married before april 1953 to a foreigner to apply for citizenship under one of those sections?
Dont the children have to be born after May 23, 1949, which I keep reading about? I seem to fall into that “no mans land” between before May 1945 and after May 23, 1949 that can only go through StAG 14 requiring B1 language, health insure, financial proof, etc. My mother was born in Germany in 1928, lost her citizenship due to marriage to my father, a US citizen in 1947. I was born just 9 days before May 23, 1949 when the Basic Law took affect. My mother had not yet naturalized by the time of my birth because she needed to live in the US for 2 yrs before she could do that. In effect, she was stateless til she could naturalize. Based on these details, under what StAG # do you believe I can apply for citizenship?
andi B
Unfortunately, you were really born 9 days too early to qualify for § 5 StAG. :-(
You can try discretionary naturalization through § 14 StAG (C1 would be better than B1) or move to Germany under normal immigration law and then apply for naturalization after 5 years.
(hopefully this isn’t a duplicate post, not sure if original post went through)
What a fantastic resource this website is. Just made a donation! Wondering if you can shed any light on this potential Feststellung citizenship claim.
Great-grandfather (Jacob) born 1893
Jacob immigrates to US in 1896 with parents, siblings
Father of Jacob dies 1904 (dies a German citizen, <10 years since leaving Germany, did not naturalize in US). Jacob is 10 or 11 at this point. Jacob’s mother does not remarry, dies in 1914.
Jacob marries in 1919, my grandmother born in US in 1924
As of 1930 census, Jacob had not naturalized
Jacob dies 1940 (do not believe he naturalized, but need to confirm)
Grandmother marries 1943
Mother born 1953
Mother marries 1978, I’m born 1981
I am aware of the law that says that it was necessary to travel to Germany or check in with German consulate every 10 years, and that the children and wife follow the husband’s citizenship. So my question is, since GG’s father died as a German citizen, what would have become of GG’s German citizenship (and subsequent generations)? Was GG German or stateless when he died? Wondering if this could be worth pursuing…
Thanks so much!
Thank you very much for your donation, and I already replied to your other comment. But there is no harm in publishing it here as well. After all, it’s a question which may help many others:
While § 21 StAG 1870 did extend the loss of the father’s German citizenship to his wife and minor children, as you pointed out, there is no rule in the StAG 1870 about German children who live abroad without their father (as Jacob did since 1904).
I went to the library, found Wilhelm Cahn’s annotated version on the Citizenship Act of 1870, where this issue is addressed in annotation 8 to § 21 StAG 1870.
To cut short a long and interesting legal discussion (printed in that beautiful old script, to make it yet more complicated): There are different opinions on how the 10-year rule is to be interpreted for (unaccompanied) minors, but most legal scholars argue that they were not living abroad voluntarily and thus cannot be held to the 10-year rule. Following that argument, Jacob would only have fallen under § 21 StAG 1870 once he turned 21. (By which time the law had been changed, as RuStAG 1913 no longer included a similar rule.)
It’s only circumstantial evidence, but was Jacob interned as an enemy alien during World War I? What citizenship did he provide on the marriage certificate? And in the census?
And of course it would be great to make sure if he ever got naturalized.
Assuming Jacob was still German in 1924, then your grandmother would have been German at birth (as well as US-American because she was born in the USA).
However, if your grandmother got married to a non-German in 1943, she would have lost her German citizenship automatically. (Until 1953, German women lost citizenship if they married a foreigner. This was pretty typical for the citizenship laws of many countries at the time.)
Therefore, your grandmother could not have passed on German citizenship to your mother.
BUT this is where the new § 5 StAG kicks in! Because the only reason your mother did not receive German citizenship in 1953 was the previous gender-based discrimination, your mother can now claim German citizenship under § 5 I no. 2 StAG. And you can do the same under § 5 I no. 4 StAG.
So yes, in my eyes, you both have a valid claim!
Thank you so much for your incredibly thorough and thoughtful response. I’ve done some more digging and found out that Jacob’s father DID naturalize, only 14 days before he died in 1904! Therefore, based on US law at the time, Jacob (age 11 at the time) would have automatically naturalized but would not have been listed on any documentation. I don’t think they started doing any kind of documentation for minors until after 1929, which would have been after my grandmother was born (if that matters).
I read somewhere that children who automatically naturalize do not necessarily give up their German citizenship – I am not sure if that applies in this situation?
If we still have something to pursue here, is it possible to hire you to help? Thanks so much for your insights.
The rule that Germans automatically lost German citizenship upon naturalization in another country was only introduced in 1913 (§ 25 RuStAG, replacing the 10-year absence rule).
Because Jacob’s father and family got naturalized before, this did not lead to them losing German citizenship.
So, yes, it’s worth pursuing your claim under § 5 StAG.
As to my help, I don’t usually help with the application itself. That just requires collecting all the paperwork and filling in the forms- https://www.bva.bund.de/DE/Services/Buerger/Ausweis-Dokumente-Recht/Staatsangehoerigkeit/Einbuergerung/EER/02-Vordrucke_EER/02_01_EER_Vordruck_Erklaerung/02_01_EER_Vordruck_node.html .
But once you file, you probably won’t hear anything from the BVA for several years, just because the number of applications is so high.
This is where I can come in to exert some pressure and to sue the Federal Republic of Germany, if necessary.
And of course you should let me know if the BVA comes back with doubts about the legal validity of your claim.
Thesis on the Preservation of German Nationality
In 1871, my great-grandfather was fourteen years old when his father passed away—coincidentally the same year the German Nationality Law of 1870 (StAG 1870) came into force. Orphaned of his father, he reached the age of majority (twenty-one) in 1878, thereby commencing the ten-year period of potential loss of nationality abroad under Article 21, which concluded in 1888. This chronology conforms to the scholarship of William Cahn, the 1891 ruling of the Supreme Court of Prussia, and a 2011 decision of the Higher Regional Court of the Rhineland, all of which establish that the ten-year term for forfeiture of nationality abroad begins only upon attainment of full civil capacity at age twenty-one.
My grandfather was born in 1883, squarely within this decade (1878–1888) during which his father’s German nationality remained intact. Under Article 3 of StAG 1870, every child born to a German subject acquires, from birth, the status of a “German subject.” Article 21 further provides that:
Accordingly, as my grandfather was born in 1883, he was a German subject from birth and could never have been subject to loss of nationality, given the reflexive protection afforded to minors who did not cohabit with a forfeited parent. This conclusion rests on the combined application of §§ 3 and 21 of StAG 1870 and the pertinent Prussian jurisprudence of 1891.
I should also note that children of German subjects born in or after 1883 fell within the transitional window for exemption from consular registration: they would reach age twenty-one in 1904, concluding their own ten-year registration period in 1914—by which time the consular registration requirement had already been abolished as a condition for retaining German nationality abroad.
In your opinion, how strong is this legal thesis for securing recognition by the Bundesverwaltungsamt? I possess all genealogical and evidentiary documents proving our German descent, except for my great-grandfather’s consular register entry, which was officially lost—along with its entire volume—due to the exigencies of the world wars.
Because I am very busy at the moment, my recommendation is this:
– Just give it a try and apply.
– If the BVA approves your application, great.
– If they deny it, then you can still get me involved.
– In the meantime (which might be several years), start saving for the legal fees. ;-)
Thank you so much! Another path I’m curious about… Great-grandmother (Catherine) born in 1895 in US, one year after her German-citizen parents immigrated to US (no naturalization prior to her birth, but perhaps this doesn’t matter given dual citizenship laws at the time). Catherine marries an American in 1919, presumably losing German citizenship. Does 5 Stag apply to this situation as well? Catherine went on to have my grandfather (born 1921) who then married my grandmother (same grandmother from story of Jacob – so I guess they were both potentially German citizens) and then had my mother in 1953 which led to me in 1981.
If this is a legitimate path, I’m curious if it is more favorable / simpler than the path through Jacob? Or would we be better to go through Jacob? I went ahead and made another donation since I’m presenting another whole other scenario!
Also, with either path, does my mother (age 72) need to apply for recognition of her German citizenship for me to apply? I also have two kids (ages 11 and 14) – can I include them on my application?
Hello Ashleigh,
thanks for your renewed donation!
To start with the simple question: Your mother does not need to apply (but of course she can – after all, the application is free of charge, and you never know when a second citizenship comes in handy). And yes, you can include your children.
The problem with Catherine is that her father would have lost German citizenship in 1904, 10 years after the immigration, due to § 21 StAG 1870, and this would have included his wife and minor children.
So, it’s better to pick the path via Jacob.
Oh right, I forgot about the 10 year immigration rule then! Thanks so much for your help. So if it’s my mother, myself and my two kids is that 4 separate applications? Can the applications share documentation or do we need to request 4 copies of all the birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc?
If you all file together (or refer to the other applications), then you only need to provide the evidence once.
You can either file through the Bundesverwaltungsamt (link provided in one of the comments above) or go to a German consulate, if that is more convenient. (They will forward it to the BVA for a decision, though, so it will take more time.)
Awesome, I’m getting started now. I’ve been reviewing documentation lists and saw somewhere that death certificates were not required as a part of the application process. However, is our claim dependent on the fact that Jacob was a minor when his father died in 1904? Put in a different way, had Jacob’s father naturalized in the US and lived more than 10 years out of Germany, both he and Jacob would have lost their German citizenship? Or did the fact that his father naturalized (and Jacob automatically) change the application of the 10 year rule since dual citizenship was allowed at the time? My thinking is that I’ll need to provide the death certificate for Jacob’s father but please let me know if I am missing anything. Thanks again so much for your insights!
In your case, the date of death of Jacob’s father is relevant.
So, if you have the death certificate, just include it.
Hello Andreas,
Thank you so much for all the information you’ve provided.
My great grandmother emigrated to the US from Germany as a child. She was married to a foreigner at just 14 and had a child shortly after. She did later become an American citizen through naturalization.
My question is this: technically I believe she lost her German citizenship when she married a foreigner, but would that mean I still qualify for citizenship under § 5? And does it matter that she was still a minor when she was married in regards to whether she lost her citizenship because of it?
I have done a decent amount of research, but it feels like her situation is a bit unique since she was married to a foreigner and had her first child when she was still a minor.
Thank you for any help!
Sorry, I forgot to include that her family came to the US in 1928. She was 6.
That is indeed a bit of a unique situation, even more so because of the marriage at age 14. I would need to research the law in place at the time (in the state in which she lived) to determine if it was even a valid marriage.
And for the purpose of assessing your claim to German citizenship, I would also need an exact timeline of anything (birth, marriage, naturalization, et cetera) that happened between 1928 and your birth.
As this is a bit more complicated, I would need to charge my full consultation fee of 400 €.
Hello, Andreas!
Such great work with this blog. I’m hopeful you can provide me with a bit of guidance. (I’ve made a small donation to the blog and am happy to continue doing so — or schedule a consultation if needed.)
I’ve been researching German citizenship law and came across the 2020 Müttererlass decree. I’m wondering if you could help me understand whether my family might qualify under section 3.1.2, specifically for cases before 1949 involving mothers who lost citizenship due to marriage.
Here’s a quick version of my family’s story to put things in context:
From what I’ve been able to piece together, my great-grandmother would have been excluded from passing on her citizenship due to gender-discriminatory laws, since this was before 1953. My grandmother was born in 1936 — clearly before the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) came into force in 1949.
From what I understand, section 3.1.2 of the Müttererlass was designed precisely for cases like this — daughters of German mothers who couldn’t pass on citizenship, and whose own mothers lost it through marriage to foreigners. The decree explicitly says it applies “unabhängig vom Geburtsdatum” (“regardless of the date of birth”), so births prior to 1949 seem to be covered.
I’ve also read that applicants under 3.1.2 receive certain procedural advantages:
Is that understanding correct?
I have all the relevant documents: birth and marriage certificates, the original German ancestor’s birth record from Bavaria (Schimmendorf), and emigration records. I’d like to know whether:
Any thoughts or confirmation would be truly appreciated. This has been quite a maze to navigate, and I’d love to be sure I’m interpreting this part of the law correctly.
Best regards,
Link for the Müttererlass decree:
https://media.frag-den-staat.de/files/docs/7d/a3/5a/7da35a8c41504584ba2ff53262410bdb/2020-01-31_13-05-36_nrcourtman_19.pdf
Hello Thiago,
thank you very much for your donation!
§ 14 StAG and the administrative guidelines passed thereunder have mostly been rendered moot in 2021, when § 5 StAG and § 15 StAG were introduced. Ever since, § 14 StAG can only be used for the few cases that fall through the cracks of either § 5 StAG or § 15 StAG. But I would always aim to use one of the latter sections, in your case § 5 StAG, because those provide a right to German citizenship, whereas § 14 StAG only provides for discretionary naturalization.
In your case, the application of § 5 StAG is indeed a bit tricky, as we are dealing with three gender-based instances of discrimination:
To make matters more complicated, two of these three events happened before 1949. In my understanding of § 5 I Nr. 4 StAG, it is sufficient that your mother and you were born after 1949 for your mother and you to qualify for German citizenship. But I should say that on all the similarly complicated cases where my clients have filed a declaration under § 5 StAG, we haven’t received a decision yet.
My advice would be to focus on § 5 StAG, file the declarations for you (and your mother, if she is interested), and then get me involved to speed up the decision. Because unfortunately, cases with the BVA take years before anyone even looks at them.
As to your practical questions:
You can apply directly with the BVA online. There is no need to go through the German Consulate.
Under § 5 StAG, you don’t need to demonstrate any German language skills or other ties to Germany. However, it really doesn’t hurt to learn the language, just in case you need to revert to § 14 StAG. Because § 14 StAG is a discretionary naturalization, I would aim for a really good command of German, at least B1 level, preferably better.
If you are planning to move to Germany/Europe, we would probably need to think of something else, because the process with the BVA usually takes several years.
Viel Erfolg!
Hello,
I was born in Germany in 1969 to German parents(citizens). I was raised and grew up in Germany up until finishing High school there. I went to the US, got married to a US citizen and later became a naturalized US citizen, which at the time meant, I had to give up my German citizenship. With the new law, is it possible to regain my German citizenship, even if I remain in the US for the time being? I hope to split my time between Germany and the US after I retire.
Also, would you have a link to the application website for this?
Thanks so much for your help.
Here is the application website:
https://www.bva.bund.de/DE/Services/Buerger/Ausweis-Dokumente-Recht/Staatsangehoerigkeit/Einbuergerung/Ermessen13/01-Informationen_E13/01_01_Erm13_was_ist/01_02_Erm13_was_ist_node.html ,
but § 13 StAG has a few requirements which are a bit tricky. Keep in mind that § 13 StAG is (re)naturalization by discretion, so you need to present a compelling case.
For what you are planning, you don’t necessarily need German citizenship, as you could also get a residence permit for the time that you want to spend in Germany.
If you want, we can schedule a call to discuss your situation and your plans.
I only charge 400 € for such a consultation.
Hi, Andreas. I really appreciate all of the information that you have provided here and elsewhere on your blog. I’m definitely supportive of the work you are doing, and I have made a donation. I think that I may have at least one, or potentially two or more, pathways for declaring German citizenship. The path that I’m going to describe, involving gender-based discrimination according to § 5 StAG with my great-grandmother losing her German citizenship due to marriage to a “foreigner”, seems likely to me to be the most plausible path, so I’ll start with that:
(1) My great-great grandparents, Conrad Frech and Catherine (Catherina) Mahn were born, respectively, in 1822 in Kettenheim, Hesse (Conrad) and 1818 in (or near) Darmstadt, Hesse (Catherine). They were married in Germany (I haven’t yet found the place and date) and then emigrated to the US in 1846/1847 (apparently arriving in New York City – I haven’t yet found which ship and the exact date).
(2) Conrad and Catherine’s daughter, my great-grandmother, Elizabeth Frech, was born in 1848 in Manhattan, New York. If my understanding is correct, by birth Elizabeth would have been a citizen of the Grand Duchy of Hesse (specifically Rhenish Hesse, in the Alzey-Worms district) and then as of 1871 she would have become a citizen of the German Empire (on 18 Jan 1871?), and she also would have had dual citizenship in the US. This is where it may get interesting. Elizabeth married my great-grandfather, John Hausam, on 30 March 1871. John was born in 1846 in the US state of Iowa. His father, Peter Hausam, was a former German immigrant who had naturalized as a US citizen in 1842, therefore Peter would have lost his German citizenship at that time. So John also was not a German citizen when he married my great-grandmother. So when John and Elizabeth married on 30 March 1871, assuming that Elizabeth had newly acquired the citizenship of the German Empire as of 18 Jan 1871, she would have then lost that German citizenship due to marrying a “foreigner”.
If it is possible for Elizabeth’s German citizenship to be restored based on a declaration of gender discrimination according to § 5 StAG, then the next question is would she be able to retain that citizenship at least until the time that my grandfather was born in 1884? It seems to me that retaining her German citizenship until then would only be possible if the 10 year rule for losing citizenship without a Konsulatsmatrikel does not apply for a German citizenship that has been restored based on § 5 StAG. It’s not clear to me whether or not that is actually the case. But I can’t see how it would work if the 10 year period for losing citizenship was actually enforced in this situation, as with my great-grandmother’s citizenship having already been removed due to marrying my “foreign” great-grandfather, based on the law in effect at that time, my great-grandmother would not have had a German citizenship to be able to list in a Konsulatsmatrikel, which would make meeting that requirement completely impossible.
(3) Assuming that Elizabeth’s German citizenship can be restored based on § 5 StAG, then my grandfather, John Leroy (also known as Roy John) Hausam, should also have received German citizenship. So assuming for the moment that is the case, since my grandfather was born in 1884 he would have reached the age of majority in 1905 and then the 10 year period following that would end in 1915, so he would not have lost his citizenship based on the 10 year rule which was no longer in effect in 1915.
(4) My father, Robert Hausam, was born in 1923. So if his father, John Leroy, did have German citizenship, then my father also would have had it. My father enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and served during World War II. In fact, he was shot down in March 1945 during a bombing mission to Berlin, Germany, and he was subsequently captured and interred by the German military as a POW for several months until the end of the war when his POW camp was liberated. But, as I understand it, service in the US military during that time (even fighting against Germany) would not automatically cause my father to have lost German citizenship?
(5) I was born in 1953, so I meet the criterion of birth after 23 May 1949, and I believe I also meet the additional § 5 StAG eligibility criteria. So, assuming that my father was able to have and retain his German citizenship until I was born, then I believe that I should be able to acquire German citizenship by declaration. And I’m hoping that is correct?
I’ve tried to state all of this as accurately as I can, but I’m nowhere near certain that I actually do understand all of the details and have stated everything correctly. So I’m definitely looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all of this. Thanks!
Rob
Hello Rob,
thank you very much for your donation and for your kind words about my blog! It’s also impressive how far back you can trace your ancestors and how much you were already able to uncover.
In order to do a full legal assessment, I would need to charge my regular fess, though, because I would need to look at the laws in place at the time for each generation. At least for pre-1871 times and territories, I can’t answer this off the top of my head.
But even if everything else works our and you obtain the supporting documents, I think you have correctly identified one problem in paragraph (2): How to deal with the Konsulatsmatrikel requirement for people who weren’t German at the time, but on whose former German citizenship you now base a claim under § 5 StAG.
The law does not address this. I checked the parliamentary records for the § 5 StAG, and it’s not addressed there either. Obviously, nobody thought that § 5 StAG could apply to cases dating that far back (and it usually doesn’t).
My advice depends mainly on what your objectives are:
If the plan is to move to Germany in the near future, I would choose a different route, because processing times for § 5 StAG applications with the Bundesverwaltungsamt are currently up to 4 years. And your case is more on the complicated side. If you move to Germany under normal immigration laws, you can still pursue the citizenship claim once you live there, but you can circumvent the BVA.
In either case, you may have to take this case to court, which means you are looking at many years more (and lawyer’s fees).
If on the other hand, you have no plans for migration to Germany/Europe and are only pursuing this out of interest/fun/curiosity, then you can collect all the documents, file a claim with the BVA and wait. In that case, I would only get a lawyer involved once you hear back from the BVA and need to address specific legal questions.
I have some additional information on Peter Hausam, which might be pertinent – particularly in regard to whether and when he lost his German (Bavarian) citizenship. This a court record in regard to his intent to become a US citizen and renounce his Bavarian citizenship. But it seems that this is not the record of his actual naturalization, where I presume both of those intended events would have actually been accomplished.
At the moment I don’t have a further record of Peter’s naturalization, but it is referenced in this list of facts about him that were compiled:
So, if this is correct, Peter’s actual naturalization occurred on 01 Aug 1845, as he was continuing to live in St. Charles, Missouri (where he served as the mayor in 1862-1863). My presumption is that he did actually renounce his Bavarian citizenship at the time of his naturalization in 1845 (though I assume we may need to locate documentation that actually shows that).
Peter’s son John Hausam, my great-grandfather, was born on 10 Nov 1846. So, if the above information is correct, then John was born somewhat over a year after his father Peter had naturalized in the US and relinquished his German (Bavarian) citizenship, and, if so, my previous statement that John would not have been a German citizen presumably would still be correct.
Thanks very much for the information, Andreas. It’s very helpful. And at least you didn’t say that my idea and understanding of this is entirely unrealistic and impossible! But it is clear that there are significant uncertainties and hurdles that would need to be overcome to be successful with a claim to the BVA. I think my objectives fall somewhere in the middle of the two scenarios that you described. It isn’t only about interest/fun/curiosity, though certainly some of that is involved. But I haven’t made any immediate or near term plans to move to Germany (my wife would need to agree with that first!). So I’m not necessarily in a hurry, though I would prefer not to wait many years before I would have a decision. And how a decision went could significantly influence how seriously I would consider moving to Germany (ideally maybe for part of the time, which I think would be considerably easier if I had citizenship).
So I’m not entirely sure where this leaves things. If there’s a reasonable likelihood of obtaining significant further useful information (which I assume is the case), and particularly if it could significantly increase the chances of a successful claim (which seems maybe less certain), I likely would be interested in engaging you for the full legal assessment. But I also could try filing a claim with the BVA first, and then see if the full assessment will be needed (unless it simply takes too long to find that out). If you have any further thoughts regarding which of those alternatives would make the most sense to proceed with now, I would be happy to hear them.
Hello Rob,
in this case, I would recommend to collect all the paperwork and file it with the BVA.
That way, you get the ball rolling, but you don’t spend thousands on a legal opinion which will probably be ambiguous and not helpful at all.
Once your hear from BVA (or if you never hear from them and want to speed up the process: https://andreasmoser.blog/2025/01/02/faq-untaetigkeitsklage/ ), I can still get involved.
Also, this leaves the possibility that someone else with a similar family background as yours will litigate the case and provide some clarity, but at their expense. ;-)
Keep in mind that as a US citizen, you can always spend 3 out of 6 months in Germany/Europe without any visa. So a part-time move might even be feasible without citizenship.
Hello, and thank you for the helpful information.
I’d like to ask for your opinion regarding a case under §15 StAG. We are applying for restored German citizenship based on Nazi persecution. One of our direct ancestors — a Jewish woman born in the former USSR — was evacuated during the Nazi invasion in 1941 and later officially recognized as a victim of Nazi persecution (including through documentation from the Red Cross and compensation from the Claims Conference).
Although she never held German citizenship and had lived outside Germany (in Ukraine), we understand that §15 now covers such situations where citizenship was denied or not granted due to racial persecution.
We’ve already submitted the full application and supporting documents to the German consulate abroad, including:
Given these circumstances — being descendants of a Jewish person who was persecuted and displaced due to the Nazi regime, but never held German citizenship — does this sound like a case that would typically be accepted under §15?
Any insight or experience would be greatly appreciated.
It does not immediately sound like a case that qualifies under § 15 StAG, unless she was of German ethnicity and was excluded from a “Sammeleinbürgerung”.
The purpose of § 15 StAG is to grant German citizenship in cases where German citizenship was previously lost or denied due to Nazi persecution.
If your ancestor was a Soviet citizen displaced by the German invasion, then she suffered tragically (for which there are other forms of – always insufficient – compensation, as you have mentioned), but people fleeing from advancing armies are usually not given citizenship of the invading country (at least not as long as the war is raging). That was not a Nazi-specific or Anti-Semitic policy.
Under which of the four alternatives of § 15 StAG did you apply and why do you think she should have received German citizenship?
It’s too late in your case, but for everyone else:
Please don’t file the application first and then ask a professional only thereafter.
Filing unfounded applications (not only under § 15 StAG, but also § 5 StAG or § 14 StAG) takes up a lot of time at the BVA and blocks the legitimate applications from being processed in due time.
Thank you very much for your detailed and thoughtful response.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to reply directly to your comment, but I truly appreciate the time and clarity you provided.
I understand your point regarding the purpose of § 15 StAG and the distinction between those who lost or were denied German citizenship, versus those who were displaced due to the war. That’s an important legal nuance.
In our case, the application was submitted based on the interpretation that § 15 StAG — especially following the 2021 amendments — allows descendants of individuals who were excluded from obtaining German citizenship due to racial persecution, even if they were never citizens themselves.
Our ancestor was Jewish, born in 1928 in the USSR, and was forcibly evacuated eastward in 1941 due to the Nazi invasion. She was later officially recognized as a victim of Nazi persecution — both by the Claims Conference and the Red Cross. While she did not hold German citizenship or German ethnicity, we understood that § 15 may apply to such cases as part of the broader effort to address historical injustices, especially where exclusion from citizenship occurred due to racial laws or the political context of the time.
Before submitting, we consulted various sources, including embassy guidance and legal blogs, and carefully gathered the required documentation, including:
That said, I now see the importance of clarifying which of the four § 15 StAG alternatives our case fits best. I also realize the potential limitations of our interpretation, and I appreciate your invitation to reflect on that.
If you happen to know of any cases involving Jewish evacuees from the former USSR — either accepted or rejected — I’d be very grateful to learn from those examples.
Again, thank you for your insight and for helping clarify such a complex topic.
I doubt your (great) grandmother even wanted to apply for German citizenship at the time.
Oh really? You’re speculating about what my great-grandmother “wanted” while she was running for her life from the Nazis?
She was a Jewish woman in the Soviet Union in 1941 — fleeing bombs, murder squads, and genocide. The last thing on her mind was filling out forms for citizenship from the country trying to wipe her people off the map.
Your comment isn’t just ignorant — it’s insulting. If you don’t understand why § 15 exists, maybe sit this one out instead of throwing around tone-deaf, arrogant nonsense like that.
I think you got the point:
Most Soviet citizens in 1941 would not have wished to become German citizens.
That’s why they couldn’t have been unfairly (or for Anti-Semitic reasons, to be more precise) denied German citizenship in 1941.
And that’s why § 15 StAG doesn’t apply.
I think I understand very well why § 15 StAG exists. I am kind of an expert on this law, and I have helped dozens of people to obtain German citizenship that way.
But § 15 StAG was never intended to bestow German citizenship on all ancestors of all victims of Nazi aggression and persecution. (Not least because 230 million people lived under Nazi occupation, and their ancestors probably number 1 billion people.) There is nothing in the law that would indicate such a far-reaching interpretation. Also, as I tried to allude to in my last answer, asking for the citizenship of the aggressor country as reparation/compensation is kind of a strange idea, isn’t it?
Part of my job as a lawyer, sadly, is to tell people when it’s better to forget about something and to withdraw their application.
If you really want to become German, you can of course still move to Germany and then apply for naturalization after 5 years of residence.
As horrible as your great-grandmother’s fate was, we have to realize that the displacement to the farther east of the USSR probably saved her life.
Not only did very few Jews survive German occupation, but during the time of Stalin, the post-war Soviet Union was not kind to Soviet citizens who had survived Germany occupation either. There is a chapter about this in Svetlana Alexievich’s book “Secondhand Time”.
Speaking of books, when people avail themselves of my legal expertise and historical knowledge without having paid for my services, they are sometimes kind enough to mail me a few books from my wishlist. 😉
Hello, how can I find out if I became a West German Citizen in 1977, I believe I did as I was living and working there but I haven’t got any proof?
Thank you
Jill
Do you have more detailed memories, for example about where/when you were born, what citizenship your parents had, and if you ever applied for German citizenship or held a German passport?
Thank you for the great information! I’ve read through it all and can’t figure out if I would qualify for citizenship by descent. I’d appreciate your thoughts!
GGGGF was born 1833 in Merlebach, France
GGGGM was born 1841 in Uberherrn, Germany
They marry in Uberherrn, Germany in 1865
My GGGM was born the next year (1866) in Freyming, France
I believe that in 1871 both Merlebach and Freyming were a part of Germany
My GGGM emigrated to the United States in 1887 without her parents
My GGGM married my American GGGF in 1892, never returning to Germany
– I believe she lost her German citizenship by marrying a foreigner. She never naturalized in the U.S., possibly leaving her stateless for the rest of her life.
My GGM was born in the U.S. in 1902
My GM was born in the U.S. in 1929
My father was born in the U.S. in 1956
I was born in the U.S. in 1982
I’ve read in other places that if my German ancestor were male, I would qualify for citizenship by descent, but because she is female and the next generation was born before 1914, I would not. I thought the point of the law was to remove sex discrimination in citizenship? Thank you for your insights!
Complicating your case further, your GGGM might also have lost her German citizenship (if she ever had it in the first place) if she had been male. This is due to the requirement in place between 1871 and 1913 to register with a German consulate every 10 years, lest one would forfeit German citizenship. (The calculation is a bit more complicated, because we also have to take into account the age and the civil status of the people involved.)
The idea of § 5 StAG is indeed to remove the effects of past gender discrimination, but that obligation only extends back to 1949, when the Grundgesetz, the (West) German constitution, was passed, banning gender discrimination.
If § 5 StAG applies to cases where the gender discrimination happened before 1949 is up for debate, because the wording is ambiguous.
Sooner or later, the law will be clarified or there will be a court decision about it. You will definitely read about it on this blog.
Thank you and excellent points! I’ll watch for an update in the future once § 5 StAG applicability is decided.
Hello Rob,
I would like to know if it is possible to acquire German citizenship from a distant ancestor such as a great-great-grandmother.
In my particular case, my great-great-grandmother was born in Schleswig-Holstein in 1857. From what I have read, in 1866, after the Austro-Prussian War, both duchies were annexed by Prussia and became the province of Schleswig-Holstein. And in 1871, it became part of the German Empire. So I understand that when my great-great-grandmother emigrated to Argentina in 1883, she was a German citizen. Then in Argentina, she married an Argentine citizen and lost her citizenship (although in all Argentine documents she is listed as a German citizen until her death). Would it be possible to restore German citizenship from such a distant genealogical line by arguing gender discrimination because she was a woman and was prevented from passing on her citizenship or lost it when she married someone of another nationality? Could the restoration of German citizenship be requested in accordance with the current doctrine and practice of reparation under §15 StAG and the spirit of Art. 116 II GG?
Thank you
Martin
§ 15 StAG and Art. 116 II GG definitely don’t apply, because if she left Germany in 1883, she can’t have been the victim of Nazi persecution.
This is a great post thanks for all the info! I am seeking clarification regarding possible eligibility for German citizenship under either §5 or §15 StAG.
My understanding is that:
As my ancestor was German at birth and only lost citizenship in 1940 through marriage, it seems this case would fall under §15 StAG (restoration), rather than §5 StAG.
Could you confirm whether this interpretation is correct — and whether descendants today would be eligible to apply for restoration under §15 StAG, even though the case does not involve Nazi persecution? Maybe neither work here – but was hopeful
Thank you for your guidance.
That’s incorrect.
§ 15 StAG only applies to political, racial or antisemitic discrimination by Nazi Germany.
(It very explicitly says so in § 15 StAG.)
My mother was born in Germany in 1930. She emigrated to the US in 1955 when she married my father, a US citizen. My mother became a US citizen through naturalization in 1959. She was told she could not retain her German citizenship. My mother is still living in the US.
My oldest sister was born in the US in 1957.
My next oldest sister was born in the US in 1962.
I was born in the US in 1963.
All of my mother’s family is still in Germany. My grandparents, two uncles, and an aunt are all deceased, but I have cousins still living in Germany.
From what I have read it is not possible for my sister born in 1962 or myself to get German citizenship. Is that true? Could my mother get her German citizenship back and would that help us to get our citizenship? We have strong connections to Germany and we do speak the language (although it’s a little rusty), but we have no plans to move to Germany at this time.
It just seems like there should be a way.
It was your mother’s personal and voluntary decision to move to the USA and to swap her German for US citizenship.
Thus, you were born to two US parents in the USA. No legal connection to Germany there.
I am not sure if “there should be a way” to undo the consequences of all of our ancestors’ decisions. That’s life. You also have to live with your parents’ economic, professional, financial, educational, geographical, even emotional decisions.
Hello, just made a donation. Your site is very detailed and helpful!
I was wondering if you could explain the 10-year rule a bit further. I understand the law was intended to revoke a person’s German citizenship between 1870 and 1914 if they didn’t take the proper steps to keep it. My great-great-grandfather (born in 1831) and my great-grandfather (born in 1878) came to the United States in 1880. My great-great-grandfather died in the U.S. in 1890, if that matters in this case. My great-grandfather stayed in the United States, and his son (my grandfather) was born in the United States in 1913. There’s no evidence that any of them visited a consulate or visited Germany during this time. I’m guessing the 10-year rule would’ve taken effect in 1890, unless my great-great-grandfather’s death somehow intervenes. However, there’s no record in the German archives that German officials ever officially revoked their citizenship. So, that got me wondering…
Here’s my question: does the BVA automatically apply the 10-year rule to all German expatriates from that time period, even if there’s no German documentation showing that their German citizenship was ever formally revoked at the time? I’ve read some sources that argue the 10-year law was not self-executing at the time and that the German government had to take formal action to officially invoke it, and so therefore the BVA might take a more permissive approach in cases where there’s no official loss of citizenship.
What are your thoughts, especially based on the cases you’ve seen?
Thank you for your consideration!
Hello Christopher,
thank you very much for your donation!
The loss of German citizenship under § 21 StAG 1870 was automatic and by law.
It did not require any revocation.
This is perfectly normal in citizenship law: You receive the citizenship without being asked, and you may lose it without being told.
(Also, Germany didn’t even know if the emigrants were still alive, where they stayed, how they could be reached, if they had already applied for another citizenship, and so on.)
hello, my grandmother was born on 1946 in Germany to a German mother and English father, I understand they were not married at the time of her birth and she was born a German citizen. Shortly after they all moved to England and her parents married and everybody lost German citizenship.
would anybody be able to advise if you think I would be able to now claim citizenship via descent and if so how do I go about this, what will I need and how can I gather records (my grandmother is still alive and may have some stuff, but she has a bit of dementia and I don’t know what documents she may have)
Why, how and when did your grandmother lose her German citizenship?