German nationality law


German nationality law is the law governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of German citizenship. The law is based on a mixture of the principles of jus sanguinis and jus soli. In other words, one usually acquires German citizenship if a parent is a German citizen, irrespective of place of birth, or by birth in Germany to parents with foreign nationality if certain requirements are fulfilled. Naturalization is also possible for foreign nationals after six to eight years of legal residence in Germany.
Although non-EU and non-Swiss citizens normally must renounce their old citizenship before being approved for naturalization, there is a broad exception for when it would be "very difficult" to do so, and as of 2017, a majority of newly naturalized German citizens have been allowed to retain their previous citizenship. Under German law, citizens of other EU countries and of Switzerland may keep their old citizenship by right; however, some EU countries do not allow dual citizenship even with other EU countries. German citizens wanting to acquire a non-EU or non-Swiss citizenship and to maintain their German citizenship must apply for permission before acquiring the other citizenship, or they automatically lose German citizenship when they acquire the foreign citizenship. For details, see Dual citizenship section below.
A significant reform to the nationality law was passed by the Bundestag in 1999, and came into force on 1 January 2000. The reformed law makes it somewhat easier for foreigners residing in Germany on a long-term basis, and especially their children born in Germany, to acquire German citizenship.
The previous German nationality law dated from 1913. Nationality law was amended by the Nuremberg Laws of Nazi Germany; these amendments were revoked after the defeat of Nazism by an Allied occupational ordinance during WWII in 1945. Germany ratified the European Convention on Nationality, which came into force in Germany on 1 September 2005. All German nationals are automatically also citizens of the European Union.

History

Before the formation of the German Empire in 1871, the states that became part of the empire were sovereign with their own nationality laws, those of the southern ones being quite liberal. Prussia's nationality law can be traced back to the "Law Respecting the Acquisition and Loss of the Quality as a Prussian subject, and his Admission to Foreign Citizenship" of 31 December 1842, which was based on the principle of jus sanguinis. Prussian law became the basis of the legal system of the German Empire, though the state nationality laws continued to apply, and a German citizen was a person who held citizenship of one of the states of the German Empire.
On 22 July 1913 the Nationality Law of the German Empire and States established a German citizenship, either derived from the citizenship of one of the component states or acquired through the central Reich government.
Under the Third Reich, in 1934, the German nationality law was amended to abolish separate state citizenships and creating a uniform Reich citizenship, with the central Reich authorities having power to grant or withdraw German nationality. In 1935 the Reich Citizenship Law, the second of the Nuremberg Laws, created a new category called "state subjects" to which Jews were assigned, thereby withdrawing citizenship from Jews who had been citizens; only those classed as being of "German or related blood" retained Reich citizenship.
On 13 March 1938, Germany extended the nationality law to Austria following the Anschluss that annexed Austria to Germany. On 27 April 1945, after the defeat of Nazism, Austria was re-established and conferred Austrian citizenship on all persons who would have been Austrian on that date had the pre-1938 nationality law of Austria remained in force. Any Austrians who had held German nationality lost it. Also see Austrian nationality law.
The Nazi amendments of 1934 and the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were revoked by Allied occupational ordinance in 1945, restoring the 1913 nationality law, which remained in force until the 1999 reforms.
Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland pflegte aufgrund des anfänglichen Alleinvertretungsanspruchs ein außenpolitisch und völkerrechtlich zwiespältiges Verhältnis zur DDR, was sich in der Gesetzgebung niederschlug. Durch ihre deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit waren Bürger der DDR nach bundesdeutscher Rechtsauffassung zugleich Bundesbürger. So konnten sie jederzeit – auch ohne dauerhafte Übersiedlung, z. B. anlässlich einer Besuchsreise im Bundesgebiet – einen bundesdeutschen Reisepass erhalten und damit in Drittstaaten weiterreisen, für die ihr DDR-Reisepass nicht gültig war oder deren Grenzkontrollstempel im Reisepass ihnen bei der Rückkehr in die DDR Nachteile hätten bereiten können. Während der Nutzung des bundesdeutschen Passes wurde der DDR-Pass bei bundesdeutschen Stellen hinterlegt.
During the Cold War, East German authorities established a :de:Staatsbürgerschaft der DDR|new citizenship law in February 1967 which superseded the Nationality Law of 1913. However, Wester German government continued to recognize citizens of East Germany were at the same time, automatically the citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany, although it has a conflicting relationship with the laws of East Germany. Citizens of East Germany were eligible to get West Germany passport even without the permanent relocation.
Article 116 of the German Basic Law confers, subject to laws regulating the details, a right to citizenship upon any person admitted to Germany as "refugee or expelled of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such a person." Until 1990 ethnic Germans living abroad in a country in the former Eastern Bloc could obtain citizenship through a virtually automatic procedure. From 1990 the law was steadily tightened each year to limit the number of immigrants, requiring immigrants to prove language skills and cultural affiliation.
Article 116 entitles persons, who were denaturalised by the Nazi government, to be renaturalised if they wish. Those among them who take up residence in Germany after May 8, 1945, are automatically considered German citizens. Both regulations, and, allowed a considerable numbers of Poles and Israelis, residing in Poland and Israel, to be concurrently German citizens.

Birth in Germany

Children born on or after 1 January 2000 to non-German parents acquire German citizenship at birth if at least one parent:
To retain German citizenship, such children are required to take affirmative measures by the age of 23, after which their German citizenship otherwise expires. These affirmative measures may include proof of the applicant's link to Germany, as evidenced by at least one of the following:
Applicants fulfill these requirements in the vast majority of cases. If not, the applicant can alternatively prove they hold no foreign citizenship other than in a European Union member nation or a nation such as Morocco, Nigeria, or Iran whose domestic law provides that its citizenship cannot be lost.
Parents who are citizens of European Economic Area states or Switzerland are eligible to receive permanent resident permits after five years.

Descent from a German parent

A person born of a parent with German citizenship at the time of the child's birth is a German citizen. Place of birth is not a factor in citizenship determination based on parentage.
  1. The child would be stateless.
  2. The German parent registers the child's birth within one year of birth to the responsible German agency abroad.
Persons who are Germans on the basis of descent from a German parent do not have to apply to retain German citizenship by the age of 23. If they acquire another citizenship at birth, they can usually continue to hold this.

Surname requirements for German citizens born abroad to a German parent

German law forbids double-barreled surnames. However, an exemption is granted to German citizens by descent who are born abroad and have a double-barreled surname, providing that their surname format is permitted under the law of their country of birth and the laws of any other countries of which either parent is a citizen.
German citizens in this situation must obtain a name declaration before being allowed to hold a German passport or identity card.

Adoption

A minor child adopted, in Germany, by a German citizen on or after January 1, 1977, is a German citizen. Minor children adopted by German citizens outside of Germany must meet "certain requirements" to obtain citizenship.

Naturalization as a German citizen

Naturalization by entitlement

Individuals are entitled to naturalise as a German citizen if they fulfill all the following criteria:
The examination tests a person's knowledge of the German Constitution, the Rule of Law and the basic democratic concepts behind modern German society. It also includes a section on the Constitution of the Federal State in which the applicant resides. The citizenship test is obligatory unless the applicant can claim an exemption such as illness, a disability, or old age.
An individual who does not have legal capacity is entitled to naturalise as a German citizen merely through ordinary residence in Germany for at least 8 years—and does not have to fulfil the other criteria.
Applicants for naturalisation are normally expected to prove they have renounced their existing nationality or that they lose it automatically on naturalisation, before receiving German citizenship. However, they are not required to do so if the previous citizenship is from another European Union member state or Switzerland, or if the other citizenship may be renounced "only under very difficult conditions." Such difficulty is to be assumed if any of six conditions apply, including unreasonable difficulties in renouncing, holding a refugee travel document, and the potential economic hardship of renunciation. Most persons naturalised as German citizens in 2017, 61%, fell within these exceptions and were successful in obtaining approval to retain their other citizenships, with more than 81% of new German citizens from the Americas doing so. That global proportion is up from 45% in 2000.
An individual who is entitled to naturalise as a German citizen can also apply for a spouse and minor children to be naturalised at the same time.
Exceptions to the normal residence requirements include:
There are special provisions for [|victims of Nazi persecution] and their descendants.

Naturalization by discretion

An individual who is legally ordinarily resident may be naturalized as a German citizen if they can demonstrate sufficient ties with Germany to justify naturalization.

Victims of Nazi persecution

Under Article 116 of Germany's constitution, known as the Basic Law, anyone who had their German citizenship revoked during the Nazi regime for "political, racist, or religious reasons" may re-obtain citizenship. The Article also includes the descendants of Nazi victims, and does not require them to give up the citizenship of their new home countries.
Regulations stipulate that a descendant of those who had their citizenship revoked is entitled to re-naturalization only if "the following hypothetical question can be answered with a 'yes': Had the primary claimant of the naturalization claim not been deprived of German citizenship, would their descendants have acquired citizenship by birth according to the applicable German law of citizenship? Note that children adopted by German Jews before 1945 are not eligible for German citizenship, even if they were born in Germany.
The "applicable German law of citizenship" referred to states that "Children born in wedlock between Jan. 1, 1914 and Dec. 31, 1974, acquired German citizenship only if the father was a German citizen at the time of their birth." Some waivers were granted for "Children born in wedlock between April 1, 1953 and Dec. 31, 1974 to a German mother and a non-German father"—but not for those born earlier.
In August 2019, the German Government announced new measures to cover the restoration of citizenship to victims of Nazi persecution ; this included new provisions for the descendants of German Jewish mothers who lost their citizenship by marrying non-German men whilst overseas.
See also the German Citizenship Project.

Children born in Germany

Under transitional arrangements in the 1999 reforms, children who were born in Germany in 1990 or later, and would have been German had the law change been in force at the time, were entitled to be naturalized as German citizens.
In addition to the principle of descent, since 1 January 2000 German nationality law also recognizes the for the acquisition of citizenship. According to this principle, children born in Germany to non-German parents may, under certain conditions, acquire German citizenship. At least one of their parents must have been a legal resident of Germany for at least eight years and must have a permanent right of residence at the time of the child's birth.

Naturalization statistics

Between 1995 and 2004, 1,278,424 people obtained German citizenship by naturalization. This means that about 1.5% of the total German population was naturalized during that period.
Country/Year1995199619971998199920002001200220032004201120122015
Turkey31,57846,29442,24059,664103,90082,86176,57364,63156,24444,46528,10333,24619,695
Iran8746491,1711,5291,86314,41012,02013,0269,4406,3622,7282,4632,533
Serbia and Montenegro3,6232,9672,2442,7213,4449,77612,0008,3755,5043,5396,3096,085-
Afghanistan1,6661,8191,4751,2001,3554,7735,1114,7504,9484,0772,7112,7172,572
Morocco3,2882,9184,0104,9814,3125,0084,4253,8004,1183,820-2,8522,551
Lebanon5957841,1591,7822,4915,6734,4863,3002,6512,265-1,2831,485
Croatia2,4792,2681,7892,1981,5363,3163,9312,9742,0481,689--3,328
Bosnia-Herzegovina2,0101,9269953,4694,2384,0023,7912,3571,7702,103-1,8651,719
Vietnam3,3573,4643,1293,4522,2704,4893,0141,4821,4231,3712,4283,2991,929
Pakistan----------1,1511,2511,393
Poland10,1747,8725,7634,9682,7871,6041,7742,6462,9907,4994,2814,4965,957
Russian Federation–––––4,5834,9723,7342,7644,3812,9653,1672,329
Ukraine–––––2,9783,2953,6563,8893,8444,2643,6914,168
Iraq3643632903194839841,2641,7212,9993,5644,7903,5103,450
Israel1,025058408021,1011,3641,7392,8443,1641,9711,4381,481
Nigeria–––––-------1,099
Total 71,98186,35682,913106,790143,267186,688178,098154,547140,731127,153106,897112,348107,317

Loss of German citizenship

German citizenship is automatically lost when a German citizen voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, except:
  1. When the German citizen acquires a nationality from within the European Union, Switzerland, or another country with which Germany has a corresponding treaty.
  2. When permission to obtain a foreign citizenship has been applied for and granted in advance of foreign naturalization. Failure to obtain so-called permit to retain German citizenship prior to naturalization results in the individual automatically losing German citizenship upon becoming a naturalized citizen of another country. A proposed law called Brexit-Übergangsgesetz is intended to allow UK nationals who apply for German citizenship before the UK leaves the EU to retain dual nationality. Many UK and German nationals in each country are supporting the Permanent European Union Citizenship Initiative with the objective of ensuring that Germans taking UK citizenship retain their EU citizenship.
Other cases where German citizenship can be lost include:
Naturalized Germans can lose their German citizenship if it is found out that they got it by willful deceit / bribery / menacing / giving intentionally false or incomplete information that had been important for the naturalization process. In June 2019, it was decided to prolong the deadline from 5 to 10 years after naturalization.
Attila Selek, one of the plotters in the 2007 bomb plot in Germany had hidden criminal proceedings against him for breaches against gun regulation from the passport authorities during his citizenship application. Those authorities removed his citizenship in 2011 on the grounds that it had been fraudulently obtained. This rendered him stateless.
See also the section "Revocation of German citizenship for adult terrorists with second citizenship."

Dual citizenship

Allowed under following circumstances:
  1. If the other citizenship is that of another EU country or of Switzerland. Non-EU and non-Swiss citizens must usually renounce their old citizenship if they want to become German citizens. There are exceptions made for citizens of countries that do not allow their citizens to renounce their citizenship , or if the renunciation process is too difficult, humiliating or expensive, or, rarely, in individual cases if the renunciation of the old citizenship means enormous disadvantages for the concerned person.
  2. If a German citizen acquires a non-EU or non-Swiss citizenship with the permission of the German Government. The voluntary acquisition of a non-EU or non-Swiss citizenship without permission usually means the automatic loss of the German citizenship. The permission is not necessary if the other citizenship is of another EU country or of Switzerland or if dual citizenship was obtained at birth.
  3. If a non-German citizen acquires German citizenship by naturalization, and renunciation of the other citizenship would be "very difficult." Such difficulty is to be assumed if any of six conditions apply, including unreasonable difficulties in renouncing, holding a refugee travel document, and the potential economic hardship of renunciation exceeding a cost of 10,225.84 Euros. Most persons naturalised as German citizens in 2017, 61%, fell within these exceptions and were successful in obtaining approval to retain their other citizenships, with more than 81% of new German citizens from the Americas doing so.
  4. If a person, or their qualified descendants, receives restored citizenship under Article 116 par. 2 of the Basic Law that states former German citizens who between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945, were deprived of their German citizenship on political, racial, or religious grounds may re-invoke their citizenship, and may hold dual citizenship. Such restored citizens need not have ever lived in Germany.
  5. If a child born to a German parent acquires German citizenship and one or more other citizenships at birth, e.g., based on place of birth or descent from one parent.
  6. Children born on or after 1 January 2000 to non-German parents acquire German citizenship at birth if at least one parent has a permanent residence permit and the parent was residing in Germany for at least eight years. The children must have lived in Germany for at least eight years or attended school for six years until their 21st birthday. Non-EU- and non-Swiss-citizen parents born and grown up abroad usually cannot have dual citizenship themselves.

    Revocation of German citizenship for adult terrorists with second citizenship

In June 2019, Germany adopted a law that allows to revoke the German citizenship of dual citizens who have joined or supported a terror militia such as the Islamic State and are at least 18 years old.
See also the section "Fraudulent application."

Citizenship of the European Union

Because Germany forms part of the European Union, German citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament. When in a non-EU country where there is no German embassy, German citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country. German citizens can live and work in any country within the EU and EFTA as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.

Extradition of German citizens to foreign countries

German citizens can be extradited only to other EU countries or to international courts of justice, and only if a law allows this. Before the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant, the extradition of German citizens was generally prohibited by the German Basic Law.

Germans living abroad

Germans living abroad are German emigrants, namely, German citizens residing outside Germany. German emigrants usually do not pay taxes to Germany. Germans abroad are allowed to vote in the Republic's federal elections. According to the German Foreign Office, "German citizens with permanent residence abroad can participate in federal elections in Germany and European elections. As a rule, German voters who reside permanently in non-EU countries abroad and are not resident in Germany any more, cannot participate in German state and local elections. However, German citizens who are living permanently in other EU countries can vote in municipal elections of their country of residence."
In addition to the above sense, in German-speaking communities abroad who descend from settlers in those countries generations or centuries ago. To be unambiguous, modern-day German emigrants may be specified as "German citizens with permanent residence abroad".
The case is complicated by the German right of return law concerning Spätaussiedler'', people who do not have German citizenship but who are in theory entitled to it because the German state considers them German nationals, like Volga Germans in Kazakhstan.
Significant communities of German citizens abroad are found in the following countries:

German citizens living abroad

More statistics at German diaspora#Distribution.
There were 786,000 Germans in interwar Romania in 1939.
USA: Large numbers of German citizens live permanently in the U.S., especially academics, artists, computer experts, engineers, and businesspeople. According to the German Missions in the US, “German citizens living abroad are not required to register with the German Embassy, so we are unable to say how many German citizens live in America.”
Some of those Germans abroad hold passports from both Germany and the United States.

Travel freedom of German citizens

Visa requirements for German citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Germany. In January 2020, German citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 countries and territories, ranking the German passport 3rd in the world according to the Henley & Partners Passport Index.
The German nationality is ranked number two as of 2018 in The Quality of Nationality Index