German Citizenship Restoration – Our Services

German Citizenship Law Specialists

German Citizenship Restoration specialises in restoring and acquiring German citizenship for individuals and families with historical eligibility. This includes descendants of those persecuted by the Nazi regime, as well as former German citizens and individuals who did not acquire German citizenship at birth under discriminatory laws previously in force.

Established in the aftermath of Brexit in 2019, and led by a legal expert with over 25 years of experience in German nationality law, GCR supports a global client base and has successfully handled hundreds of applications to date, with a 100% success rate.

Restoring German citizenship can secure EU freedoms for you and, in many cases, for your descendants, without the requirement to surrender your British, US or most other nationalities.

If you’re unsure whether you may be eligible, you can review our German citizenship FAQs or contact our specialist team for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Our Services in Detail

Who We Help

GCR focuses on clients whose families were directly or indirectly affected by Nazi persecution, as well as other eligible former German citizens and their descendants who are entitled to restore or acquire German citizenship. Typical clients include:

Descendants of German Jews and other victims whose German citizenship was revoked between 1933 and 1945 or who were excluded from naturalisation on racial, religious or political grounds.
Families whose ancestors fled Germany due to persecution, gave up their ordinary residence in Germany, or naturalised abroad before or after their citizenship was formally taken away.
Families whose ancestors were excluded from sweeping German naturalisation orders such as in Bohemia and Moravia, due to persecution.
Descendants of German women who lost citizenship automatically upon marriage to a non-German.
Individuals and their descendants, born after May 24, 1949, who were either unable to acquire German citizenship by birth or who lost German citizenship they had previously acquired due to gender-discriminatory regulations formerly in place under German citizenship law.

Of course, every family history is unique. If you are unsure whether your family circumstances fit any of these categories, GCR offers a free, no-obligation eligibility consultation to clarify your position.

Application Routes

GCR works with the following legal routes:

For former German citizens whose citizenship was revoked due to Nazi persecution between 1933 and 1945, and their descendants

For former German residents who, due to Nazi persecution, gave up or lost their ordinary residence in Germany, fled and naturalised elsewhere, or former German women who lost their citizenship through persecution related marriage and similar historic rules as well as those who were barred from naturalisation due to Nazi persecution and their descendants.

For those born after May 23, 1949 and who did not acquire German citizenship at birth, or who acquired and later lost it, but are now entitled to (re)acquire German citizenship by declaration, as well as their descendants.

How Our Service Works

GCR provides an end to end service, from initial assessment through to the granting of your German citizenship certificate.

1. Free eligibility consultation

2. Specialist research in Germany (where needed)

If existing documents are incomplete or inconclusive, GCR, for a research fee, undertakes targeted research in German archives / registries and relevant institutions to obtain the necessary proof of citizenship, residence, persecution or naturalisation history.
Research typically takes an average of 3–6 months to obtain necessary documentation, though timeframes can vary depending on the case and archive response times.

3. Application preparation and legal argument

GCR only moves to application stage when there is 100% confidence in a successful outcome, meaning your documentation meets or exceeds the authorities’ strict requirements. Where a research fee was paid, said fee is set off against the application fee in full.

Once engaged, we’ll provide a personalised document checklist to include each applicant and support you every step of the way:

How to prepare that documental evidence to submit with your petition (application)
Which supplementary ID documents are required – this will be tailored to include the additional family members applying
We provide draft English petition forms and translate the contents into the official German versions, as required by the authorities
We closely review all applicants petition forms and check all documental evidence is correctly prepared

4. Submission and liaison with German authorities

GCR submits your application along with the legal grounds for restoration directly to the competent German authority or you may be able to submit via your nearest German Embassy/Consulate, depending on the application route and your country of residence.
Throughout the process, GCR handles all correspondence, responds to queries and manages any potential additional requests for information or documents.

5. Citizenship decision and final steps

Once the German government approves your application, GCR’s formal role concludes.
You will be invited directly by the relevant German Embassy/Consulate to collect your naturalisation certificate. Once you have signed for it, you’ll officially become a German citizen as such, entitled to apply for a passport. Passport appointments can be made directly at the respective German mission usually at the same time as certificate collection.

6. Processing times

The legal processing time for German authorities currently averages at 24–36 months, depending on the application route selected. Once our clients’ applications are submitted to the authorities any changes to the German authorities’ processing times are outside our control. Clients will be informed of any amendments to quoted time frames.

Usual processing times may be significantly expedited in cases for applicants over 85, although this cannot be guaranteed.

Our Fees

The fees quoted do not include fees incurred by clients on a case-to-case basis, such as fees for ordering documents, notarisation fees on copies or translation fees or apostilles, or any other service, if required. Those fees are settled between clients and the provider of the service used directly and without GCR’s involvement.

GCR’s fee structure is designed to be transparent and aligned with the stages of the process.

Initial eligibility assessment: Free of charge and with no obligation to proceed.
Research only (where required): £600 (ex-vat), which is later offset against the full application fee if client continues with the complete citizenship application.
First citizenship application: £3,000 (ex-vat).
Each additional eligible family member application £600 (ex-vat).

Full application fees are payable in two equal 50% instalments: the first on signing up with GCR and the balance once the application is fully prepared and ready to submit. Fees are subject to 20% VAT where applicable.

Call +44 (0)20 8066 9900 / email GCR info@germanpassport.co.uk for a complimentary initial consultation