Determination of German Citizenship Upon Application

You must submit a written application to determine whether you hold German citizenship and to obtain a certificate of citizenship; we will provide you with an application form and several declaration forms for this purpose. Please contact us for this purpose. Individuals aged 16 and older are eligible to apply; for individuals under 16, the legal guardian(s) must submit the application. The application should be submitted to your local municipality before you file it with us so that the municipality can provide its opinion. Once we receive your application documents, we will contact you. In some cases, you may be required to visit us in person; we will inform you of this in due course.

Once you have demonstrated a prima facie case of a legitimate interest in the requested determination, we will further examine whether and how you acquired German citizenship, or whether and how you may have lost German citizenship. In all cases, official investigations are conducted and, as a rule, a written hearing is held. The time required to process your application depends on the factual accuracy of your information and the completeness of your application documents; this also includes the information and documents necessary to establish your legitimate interest in the requested determination. It also depends on which potentially complex issues need to be investigated (e.g., in cases involving foreign connections) and how far back in time the review must go.

If German citizenship is determined upon application, the District Committee of the Fulda District issues a citizenship certificate valid for an indefinite period using a standard official form. The certificate of citizenship serves as official proof of German citizenship, whereas the German passport and identity card (hereinafter “German passport documents”) serve only to provide prima facie evidence of German citizenship in legal transactions, without actually proving it. If you fail to demonstrate a legitimate interest in the determination you have requested, or if your German citizenship cannot be established, a notice of denial will be issued.

An application for a determination of German citizenship is admissible only if there is a well-founded and legitimate interest in such a determination. This interest exists if you can demonstrate that you need a binding determination of German citizenship to exercise or protect a right, and if the determination results in a legal benefit because

• German public authorities (e.g., government agencies, courts) have doubts about your German citizenship despite the fact that you have already provided German proof of identity, and therefore specifically require you to have your German citizenship officially verified by the citizenship authority and to present a certificate of citizenship, or
• In exceptional cases, even if you present a valid German identification document to German or foreign public authorities, you may be required to prove your German citizenship with a special certificate of citizenship (e.g., in adoption proceedings, entry into the diplomatic service, applications for exemptions from foreign military service, or renunciation of foreign citizenship) or
• You have so far been classified as a foreign national in Germany but see concrete evidence that you may have acquired German citizenship through your ancestors (e.g., because they were already treated as “Germans” in Germany or abroad, had emigrated from historical German territory, lived in historical German territory that became foreign territory as a result of World War I or World War II World War I or World War II, may have been subject to historical mass naturalizations, or were German soldiers or civil servants), or
• You have so far been classified as a foreign national in Germany but see concrete evidence that you meet the requirements for acquiring German citizenship by birth in Germany after January 1, 2000, pursuant to Section 4( 3 of the German Nationality Act (StAG) in the version in effect on the day of your birth, or for acquiring German citizenship based on an adoption by German citizens that was applied for while you were a minor and subsequently carried out.

If there is no doubt regarding German citizenship and none of the aforementioned exceptional circumstances apply, the application is inadmissible and will be denied on that ground alone. A mere interest in possession or a request for the precautionary issuance of a certificate of citizenship does not warrant protection. In everyday legal transactions, providing prima facie evidence of German citizenship through German passport documents is almost always sufficient. A request to have something “other” than German citizenship clarified is also not a matter worthy of legal protection.

To establish the existence of German citizenship, it is both necessary and sufficient to demonstrate, with a sufficient degree of probability, through public documents, extracts from the population registers, declarations, or other written evidence, that German citizenship was acquired and has not been subsequently lost. The exact documents required are determined on a case-by-case basis.

German citizenship is acquired in accordance with current German citizenship law:

• by birth to parents who are German nationals, or by birth in Germany as the child of foreign parents, provided that additional conditions are met (Section 4 of the German Nationality Act (StAG)),
• through the declaration—reserved for only very specific groups of people—that they wish to become German citizens (Section 5 of the German Nationality Act),
• through adoption by German citizens (Section 6 of the German Adoption Act (StAG)),
• by issuing the certificate pursuant to § 15(1) or (2) of the BVFV to repatriates (§ 7 of the StAG)
• through naturalization (Sections 8 et seq. of the Naturalization Act (StAG)),
• After twelve years of being unjustifiably—though not through any fault of her own—treated as a German national by German authorities responsible for matters of nationality (Section 3(2) of the German Nationality Act (StAG)).

We cannot discuss here the historical grounds for acquiring German citizenship or the changes that have taken place over time.

German citizenship could be lost as of June 26, 2024:

• by release or waiver (Section 26 of the StAG),
• by acquiring foreign citizenship upon application without prior authorization to retain German citizenship,
• through adoption by a foreign national,
• by joining the armed forces or a comparable armed group of a foreign state, or by actively participating in combat operations carried out by a terrorist organization abroad (Section 28 of the StAG),
• by a declaration by persons subject to the option requirement who hold multiple nationalities that they wish to retain a foreign nationality
• by revoking an unlawful administrative act (Section 35 of the StAG) or
• due to the retroactive legal elimination of the grounds for acquiring German citizenship for children under the age of 5 (Section 17, paras. 2 and 3, of the German Nationality Act (StAG))
  
  

As of June 27, 2024, the following grounds for loss of German citizenship have been eliminated:

• by termination
• by acquiring foreign citizenship upon application
• through adoption by a foreign national
• through the declaration of persons subject to the option requirement.

In addition to the documents listed under "Applications/Forms," the following documents are required:

A) A personal statement explaining the request and written evidence demonstrating a legitimate interest in obtaining a determination, as well as proof of residential history

B) Information and any supporting documents to prove descent and identity; If the acquisition of German citizenship by descent is to be reviewed, in addition to the information and documents regarding your own person, you must also submit information and documents regarding the individuals from whom you derive your German citizenship (e.g., parents, grandparents, great-grandparents). Acceptable forms of proof include:

• Birth certificates, certificates of descent, baptismal certificates
• Marriage certificates, family registers, divorce certificates
• Death Certificates
• Certificates of Name Change
• German and foreign passport documents
  
  

C) Possible evidence of German citizenship, treatment as a German citizen, or legal status as a German without German citizenship includes:

• Certificates of Citizenship (Citizenship Cards, Certificates of Origin)
• Certificates of Naturalization
• Certificates/Documents Confirming the Acquisition of German Citizenship by Declaration or Option (Option Certificates, Voter Registration Cards)
• Documents evidencing membership in groups of persons covered by a collective naturalization (e.g., proof of former right of domicile, citizenship, residence in the relevant areas, certificates of waiver of the right to renounce citizenship)
• Documents/Identification Cards Proving German Citizenship
• German travel documents (e.g., passport, child's ID card, national ID card, identity card)
• Extended German residence certificates; historical residence records
• Certificates for Late Repatriates, Displaced Persons ID Cards, Registration Certificates
• Military ID cards, pay books
• Certificates of Appointment Under Civil Service Law
• Declaration Regarding the Retention of German Citizenship
• Documents Confirming That Another Nationality Has Not Been Acquired (Certificate of Non-Acquisition)
• Foreign residence permits (e.g., Permanent Resident Card, Alien Registration Card)
• Proof of the acquisition or possession of another nationality without filing an application
• Permission to Retain German Citizenship Upon Naturalization Abroad

These documents must be submitted either as originals or as officially certified copies. German citizenship can only be presumed if it has been proven or credibly demonstrated that you—and, if applicable, the persons from whom you derive your German citizenship—have been treated as German citizens by German authorities since at least 1950. This does not apply if doubts arise in individual cases, e.g., due to birth or residence abroad—including in territories whose constitutional status has changed—or if parents or siblings hold foreign citizenship.

The fee for determining, upon application, whether a person holds German citizenship is 51 euros. A fee of 51 euros is generally also charged for the rejection or withdrawal of an application after the substantive review has begun.

Section 30, paragraph 1, sentence 1, and paragraph 3, sentence 1, of the Nationality Act (StAG)

Section 38, paragraph 2, sentence 1, item 2 of the Nationality Act

The certificate of citizenship is not proof of identity. It cannot be used for travel or as a substitute for identification.

• Application for Determination of German Citizenship
• Declaration Regarding the Retention of German Citizenship
• Information Sheet on the Issuance of a Certificate of Citizenship