You might have heard that since August 20, 2021, under section 5 of the German National Act, you can potentially acquire German citizenship by declaration.
But what does that mean? Declaration before whom? Under what circumstances and what documents do you have to present to the authorities in Germany?
Let us try and shed some light on this new form of acquisition of citizenship. Whilst it may seem straight forward and rather simple, the devil lies in the detail, and we have seen many attempts to make this declaration fail before clients turned to us for help.
If you were born after May 23, 1949 (this is not a random date but the day the German Constitution, the Grundgesetz, came into force) and you did not receive German citizenship by birth or had received but lost it, in certain cases you can (re-)acquire German citizenship.
Cases of eligibility under section 5 of the German National Act
Subject to being born after May 23, 1949, a person is eligible to naturalize under the new rule if said person:
- is a descendant of a German father or mother but did not acquire German citizenship from them at birth; or
- is the child of a mother who had lost her German citizenship by marring a foreign national prior to the birth of said child (please see here for further information on this particular subject); or
- was a German citizen but lost said citizenship because the German mother married a foreign national after said person was born (please see here for further information on this particular subject); or
- any descendant of said person.
Section 5 of the German National Act will however not apply on a person who had acquired German citizenship (i.e. via naturalization) but then lost it again (i.e. via waiver, naturalization in another country without consent for retention) or on the descendants of such person.
It will further not apply on children of German nationals who were born abroad and fall under the so-called generation cut off point.
No Criminal Record
Terms of imprisonment or youth custody of at least two years, even if imposed abroad, orders of preventive detention for serious offenders ordered in connection with the most recent incontestable conviction, and the existence of other grounds for exclusion pursuant to section 11 of the Nationality Act may lead to an application being denied. Therefore the applicant has to provide a certificate of good conduct together with the application.
The Deadline
An application under section 5 of the Nationality Act must be submitted by August 19, 2031. At this point we cannot assume that there will be extensions.
Personal documents and Forms
If you decide to hire our services, GCR will guide you through the process by tailoring an individual list of documents you will need to provide. As per general rule, these documents will need to be originals or certified copies, they will need to be translated by a certified translator or notary and will usually need to bear a Hague apostille.
The application forms as well as the additional information forms will need to be filled in in the German language. GCR is happy to do this for you based on information you can provide us in English translations of said forms. We will then transfer the information and make sure all data is complete, correct and that there are no contradictions within the application forms of various family members.
We know that all the documents and forms can be daunting. Rest assured that we will make this as smooth as possible and guide you through the process, step by step, we will patiently respond to any questions you may have and we will keep you posted, as soon as your applications have made their way to Germany and until we receive notice on the approval of your petition!