Determination of Whether or Not German Citizenship Exists (Ex Officio)

The process generally begins when other authorities notify the Citizenship Authority of circumstances that were previously unknown and therefore not taken into account, which raise reasonable doubt regarding a person’s previously assumed German citizenship or suggest that a person has thus far been wrongly classified as a foreign national in Germany. The Citizenship Authority is usually requested by other agencies to definitively resolve the doubts that have arisen regarding a person’s German citizenship. It must investigate the facts ex officio through official inquiries to determine the extent to which there is a public interest in establishing whether and by what means German citizenship may have been legally acquired, or whether and by what means German citizenship may have been legally lost. The person concerned has a duty to cooperate in this process and is given an opportunity to be heard.

The citizenship authority decides ex officio whether the person concerned holds German citizenship or not by issuing a legally binding decision, which is notified to the person concerned and may be subject to judicial review under the Administrative Court Code. In the ex officio determination procedure, neither a certificate of nationality nor a “negative certificate” is issued.

A determination of the existence or non-existence of German citizenship ex officio may be considered if there is a public interest in such a determination. This is particularly the case when the existence of German citizenship gives rise to further legal consequences that are significant not only for the person concerned and their descendants, but also for German public authorities (e.g., government agencies, courts, and social service providers). This is the case, for example, when a person’s rights and obligations are linked to their German citizenship, or when the continued residence of foreign parents is affected by a child’s possession of German citizenship.

This is also the case when, in legal proceedings, there are doubts regarding a person’s German citizenship that must be conclusively resolved. Specific examples include doubts regarding a child’s acquisition of German citizenship by birth, either because incorrect facts were assumed from the outset or because the legal requirements for acquiring German citizenship have been retroactively nullified (e.g., due to the final revocation of a parent’s naturalization, a final determination that a German national is not the child’s father, or the final retroactive revocation of the parent’s relevant residence permit or right of residence, which was decisive for the child’s acquisition of German citizenship, provided the child had not yet reached the age of five at the relevant time). Another basis for the existence of a public interest is that the accuracy of the voter registry is in question (e.g., in cases where naturalization of German citizens abroad or the reacquisition of a foreign nationality—which had originally been renounced to avoid dual citizenship—becomes known after the fact, provided that these events occurred before June 27,2024 and may therefore have resulted in the automatic loss of German citizenship).

With regard to the grounds for acquisition and loss of German citizenship, the provisions governing the determination of the existence or non-existence of German citizenship upon application apply accordingly. The scope of the official investigation and the documents required for it are determined by the circumstances of each individual case.

The ex officio determination of whether or not a person holds German citizenship is free of charge.

§§ 30(1), third sentence, and 38(3)(6) of the Nationality Act (StAG)

• Nationality Act (StAG)