German nationality law

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

German Citizenship Act

Parliament of Germany

An Act relating to German citizenship

Enacted by Government of Germany

Status: Current legislation

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. Naturalisation is also possible for foreign nationals after six to eight years of legal
residence in Germany.[1] However, non-EU and non-Swiss citizens must usually renounce their
old citizenship before being naturalised in Germany. Citizens of other EU countries and of
Switzerland usually can keep their old citizenship. 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 a permission
(Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) before acquiring the other citizenship, or they will automatically
lose their German citizenship when they acquire the foreign citizenship. For details, see section
"Dual citizenship."
A significant reform to the nationality law was passed by the Bundestag (the German parliament)
in 1999, and came into force on 1 January 2000. The reformed law makes it somewhat easier for
foreigners resident in Germany on a long-term basis, and especially their children born in
Germany, to acquire German citizenship.[2]
 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. [3] All
German nationals are automatically also citizens of the European Union.

Contents
  [hide] 

 1History
 2Birth in Germany
 3Descent from a German parent
 4Adoption
 5Naturalisation as a German citizen
o 5.1Naturalisation by entitlement
o 5.2Naturalisation by discretion
o 5.3Victims of Nazi persecution
o 5.4Children born in Germany
 6Naturalization statistics
 7Loss of German citizenship
 8Dual citizenship
 9Citizenship of the European Union
 10Germans living abroad
o 10.1German citizens living abroad
o 10.2People of German ethnicity living abroad
 11Travel freedom of German citizens
 12References
 13External links

History[edit]
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 (notablyBavaria) 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 (Reichs- und
Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, shorthand: RuStAG) 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
(Reichsbürgergesetz), the second of the Nuremberg Laws, created a new category called "state
subjects" (Staatsangehörige) 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 the German nationality law was extended to Austria following
the Anschluss which 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.[4] 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.[5]
Article 116(1) of the German Basic Law (constitution) confers, subject to laws regulating the
details, a right to citizenship upon any person admitted to Germany (in its 1937 borders) as
"refugee or expellee 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 formerEastern Bloc (Aussiedler)
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(2) entitles persons (and their descendants), who were denaturalised by the Nazi
government, to be renaturalised if they wish. Those among them, who after May 8, 1945 take up
residence in Germany are automatically considered German citizens. Both regulations, (1) and
(2), 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:

 has a permanent residence permit and

 has been residing in Germany for at least eight years.
In order to retain German citizenship, such children are required to take affirmative measures by
age 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:

 resided in Germany for at least eight years during their 21 first years of life
 has attended a school in Germany for at least six years
 has graduated from a school in Germany
 successfully finished vocational/ professional training in Germany
These requirements are fulfilled in the vast majority of cases. If they are not fulfilled, the applicant
can alternatively prove that he or she does not hold any 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.

 Those born after 1 January 1975 are Germans if the mother or father is a German
citizen.
 Those born before 1 January 1975 could normally only claim German citizenship from
the father and not the mother. Exceptions included cases where the parents were unmarried
(in which case German mothers could pass on citizenship) or where the German mother
applied for the child to be registered as German on or before 31 December 1977.
 Special rules exist for those born before 1 July 1993 if only the father is German and is
not married to the mother. The father must acknowledge paternity and must have married
the mother before 1 July 1998.
 A child born in a foreign country will no longer receive German citizenship automatically
by birth, if his/her German parent was born after 31 December 1999 in a foreign country and
has his/her primary residence there. Exceptions are:

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.

 In case both parents are German citizens, German citizenship will not be passed on
automatically, if both parents were born abroad after 31 December 1999 and have their
primary residence outside of Germany. Exceptions are same as the above.
 Those born in Germany and adopted to a foreign country would need to contact their
local German Consulate for clarification of German citizenship.
Persons who are Germans on the basis of descent from a German parent do not have to apply to
retain German citizenship by age 23. If they acquire another citizenship at birth, they can usually
continue to hold this.

Adoption
A child adopted by a German citizen becomes German national automatically if aged less than
18 on the date the application for adoption was made. So dual citizenship is granted.

Naturalisation as a German citizen[edit]

Naturalisation by entitlement[edit]
An individual who fulfils all of the following criteria has an entitlement to naturalise as a German
citizen:[6]

 he/she has been ordinarily resident in Germany for at least the last 8 years (this period
can be reduced - see below)
 he/she has legal capacity or a legal representative
 confirms his/her present and past commitment to the free democratic constitutional
system enshrined in the German Basic Law (or that he/she is presently committed to such
principles and has departed from former support of ideas contrary to such principles)
 he/she is a European Union or Swiss citizen in possession of the appropriate residence
permit which permits the free movement of persons OR is a non-EU/Swiss citizen who has
been granted a permanent right of residence
 he/she is able to support himself/herself without recourse to benefits
 he/she has not been sentenced for an unlawful act and is not subject to any court order
imposing a measure of reform and prevention
 he/she possesses an adequate knowledge of German
 possesses knowledge of the legal system, the society and living conditions in the Federal
Republic of Germany
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 - he/she does not have to fulfil
the other criteria (e.g. adequate command of the German language and ability to be self-
supporting without recourse to benefits).
Applicants for naturalisation are normally expected to prove they have renounced their existing
nationality, or will lose this automatically upon naturalisation. An exception applies to those
unable to give up their nationality easily (such as refugees). A further exception applies to
citizens of Switzerland and the European Union member states.
An individual who is entitled to naturalise as a German citizen can also apply for his/her spouse
and minor children to be naturalised at the same time (his/her spouse and minor children need
not have ordinarily resided in Germany for at least 8 years).
Exceptions to the normal residence requirements include:

 persons who have completed an integration course may have the residence requirement
reduced to 7 years
 If a person shows that he/she is especially well integrated and has a higher level of
command of the German language than the basic requirement for the German citizenship
(i.e., higher than CEFR level B1) may have the residence requirement reduced to 6 years
 The spouse of a German citizen may be naturalised after 3 years of continual residency
in Germany. The marriage must have persisted for at least 2 years.
 refugees and stateless persons may be able to apply after 6 years of continual residency
 former German citizens
There are special provisions for victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants.
Naturalisation by discretion[edit]
An individual who is ordinarily resident outside may be naturalised as a German citizen if he/she
can demonstrate sufficient ties with Germany which justify his/her naturalisation. [7]
Victims of Nazi persecution[edit]
Under Article 116 of Germany's constitution, known as the Basic Law, [8] anyone who had their
German citizenship revoked during the Nazi regime for "political, racist, or religious reasons" may
reobtain 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. [9]
This does NOT apply to those born before 1953 to a German Jewish mother: Although the law
that German citizenship passed only through fathers was changed in 1953, this was not made
retroactive.
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 his/her German citizenship,
would his/her descendants have acquired citizenship by birth according to the applicable German
law of citizenship? " [10]
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. [11]
See also the German Citizenship Project.
Children born in Germany[edit]
Under transitional arrangements in the 1999 reforms (effective 1 January 2000), 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 naturalised as German citizens.

 An application for naturalisation was required by 31 December 2000.

 The child was required to apply for retention of German citizenship by age 23 and
normally show that no other foreign citizenship was held at that time.
Naturalization statistics[edit]
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.

Naturalization of foreigners in Germany per (selected) country and year.

Source (2015): Official 2015 Migration Report, p. 235

Country/ 199 199 199

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2011 2012 2015
Year 5 6 7

 Turke 31,5 46,2 42,2 59,6 103, 82,8 76,5 64,6 56,2 44,4 28,1 33,2 19,6
y 78 94 40 64 900 61 73 31 44 65 03 46 95

 Iran 1,17 1,52 1,86 14,4 12,0 13,0 9,44 6,36 2,72 2,46 2,53
874 649
1 9 3 10 20 26 0 2 8 3 3

 Serbia
and 3,62 2,96 2,24 2,72 3,44 9,77 12,0 8,37 5,50 3,53 6,30 6,08
-
Montenegr 3 7 4 1 4 6 00 5 4 9 9 5
o

 Afgha 1,66 1,81 1,47 1,20 1,35 4,77 5,11 4,75 4,94 4,07 2,71 2,71 2,57
nistan 6 9 5 0 5 3 1 0 8 7 1 7 2

 Moro 3,28 2,91 4,01 4,98 4,31 5,00 4,42 3,80 4,11 3,82 2,85 2,55
-
cco 8 8 0 1 2 8 5 0 8 0 2 1

 Leban 1,15 1,78 2,49 5,67 4,48 3,30 2,65 2,26 1,28 1,48
595 784 -
on 9 2 1 3 6 0 1 5 3 5

 Croati 2,47 2,26 1,78 2,19 1,53 3,31 3,93 2,97 2,04 1,68 3,32
- -
a 9 8 9 8 6 6 1 4 8 9 8

 Bosni
a- 2,01 1,92 3,46 4,23 4,00 3,79 2,35 1,77 2,10 1,86 1,71
995 -
Herzegovi 0 6 9 8 2 1 7 0 3 5 9
na
  Vietn 3,35 3,46 3,12 3,45 2,27 4,48 3,01 1,48 1,42 1,37 2,42 3,29 1,92
am 7 4 9 2 0 9 4 2 3 1 8 9 9

 Pakist 1,15 1,25 1,39

- - - - - - - - - -
an 1 1 3

 Polan 10,1 7,87 5,76 4,96 2,78 1,60 1,77 2,64 2,99 7,49 4,28 4,49 5,95
d 74 2 3 8 7 4 4 6 0 9 1 6 7

 Russi
4,58 4,97 3,73 2,76 4,38 2,96 3,16 2,32
an – – – – –
3 2 4 4 1 5 7 9
Federation

 Ukrai 2,97 3,29 3,65 3,88 3,84 4,26 3,69 4,16

– – – – –
ne 8 5 6 9 4 4 1 8

1,26 1,72 2,99 3,56 4,79 3,51 3,45

 Iraq 364 363 290 319 483 984
4 1 9 4 0 0 0

1,02 1,10 1,36 1,73 2,84 3,16 1,97 1,43 1,48

 Israel 0 584 0 802
5 1 4 9 4 4 1 8 1

 Nigeri 1,09
– – – – – - - - - - - -
a 9

Total (incl
uding
countries 71,9 86,3 82,9 106, 143, 186, 178, 154, 140, 127, 106, 112, 107,
not 81 56 13 790 267 688 098 547 731 153 897 348 317
mentioned
)

Loss of German citizenship[edit]

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.[9]
Other cases where German citizenship can be lost include:

 Persons acquiring German citizenship on the basis of birth in Germany (without a

German parent) lose German citizenship automatically at age 23 if they have not
successfully applied to retain German citizenship. If it is desired to maintain a foreign
citizenship, application must be made by age 21.
 A German citizen who voluntarily serves in a foreign army (over and above compulsory
military service) from 1 January 2000 may lose German citizenship unless permission is
obtained from the German government. From 6 July 2011, the permission to serve above
compulsory military service is automatically given for the armies of EU, EFTA, and NATO
countries and the armies of Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of
Korea.[12]
 A German child adopted by foreign parents, where the child automatically acquires the
nationality of the adoptive parents under the law of the adoptive parents' country. (For
example, a German child adopted by Americans prior to 27 February 2001—the effective
date of the U.S. Child Citizenship Act of 2000—would not have automatically lost his/her
German citizenship, because the child did not automatically acquire United States citizenship
by virtue of having been adopted by U.S. citizens.) An exception applies where legal ties to
the German parent are maintained.

Dual citizenship[edit]
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 (e.g., Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica.
P.S.: In case of Brazil it is possible to renounce your citizenship through a requirement
made in the Brazilian consulate if you already have acquired another citizenship
voluntarily, but it is not required to do so; the following jus-soli countries allow
renunciation only if the citizenship was acquired involuntarily by birth there to non-citizen
parents: Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Uruguay), or if the renunciation process is too difficult, humiliating or expensive (e.g.,
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Syria,
Thailand, Tunisia, USA), 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
("Beibehaltungsgenehmigung") of the German Government (e.g., existing relative ties or
property in Germany or in the other country or if the occupation abroad requires
domestic citizenship for execution). The voluntary acquisition of a non-EU or non-Swiss
citizenship without permission usually means the automatic loss of the German
citizenship (but see Point 4). 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 the person is a refugee and holds a 1951 travel document during naturalization.
4. If a child born to German parents acquires another citizenship at birth (e.g., based on
place of birth [birth in jus-soli countries mostly of the Americas], or descent from one
parent [one German parent and one foreign parent]).
5. 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 had this
status for at least three years) 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 (but see Point 1).
Citizenship of the European Union[edit]
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 movementand have the
right to vote in elections for the European Parliament.[13] 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.[14][15] German citizens can live and work
in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted
in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.[16]

Germans living abroad[edit]

Germans living abroad, (aka German emigrants or Auslandsdeutsche), are German
citizens residing outside of Germany. German emigrants usually do not pay taxes to Germany.
Germans abroad are allowed to vote in the Republic's federal elections (general elections).
According to the German Foreign Office in Berlin (Auswärtiges Amt), "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."http://www.konsularinfo.diplo.de/Vertretung/konsularinfo/de/06/Wahl/Wahlneu.html
The German term Auslandsdeutsche is sometimes used in this sense, but it is also used
subjectively to refer to ethnic Germans and German-speaking communities abroad. In order to
be unambiguous when speaking German and talking about German emigrants, it is necessary to
specify "German citizens with permanent residence abroad" (Deutsche Staatsbürger mit
ständigem Wohnsitz im Ausland).
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[edit]

 Netherlands: 368,512 (2008, 2.19% of Dutch population, includes second generation

immigrants)[17]
 Switzerland: 265,944 (2009, 3.3% of Swiss population) [18]
 Austria: 124,710 (2008, 1.5% of Austrian population) [19]
 Australia: 106,524 (2006, 0.53% of Australian population) [20]
 United Kingdom: 92,000 (2008, 0.15% of UK population) [21]
 France: 75,057 (1999, 0.12% of French population). [22]
 Poland: 64,000 - both German and Polish citizenship (0.17% of Polish population,
Census 2011), 45,000 - exclusively German citizenship (0.12%, Census 2011) [23]
People of German ethnicity living abroad[edit]

 Romania: 36,884 (2011 census)[24]

 Russia: 597,212 (2002, 0.4% of Russian population).[25]
 Hungary: 131,951 ethnic Germans (1.9% of Hungarian population, 2011 census) [26]
There was a number of 786,000 Germans in interwar Romania in 1939. Dr. Gerhard Reichning,
Die deutschen Vertriebenen in Zahlen, Teil 1, Bonn 1995, Page 17 USA: Large numbers of
German citizens live permanently in the U.S., especially academics, artists, computer experts,
engineers, and business people. 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.”http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/02__GIC/GIC/02/f__a__q__seite.html Som
e of those Germans abroad hold passports from both Germany and the United States.

Travel freedom of German citizens[edit]

Main article: Visa requirements for German citizens

Visa requirements for German citizens

Visa requirements for German citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of
other states placed on citizens of Germany. In January 2017, German citizens had visa-free or
visa-on-arrival access to 176 countries and territories, ranking the German passport equal 1st in
the world according to the Visa Restrictions Index.[27]