German Citizenship Restoration – What We Do
Formed in the aftermath of the Brexit decision, German Citizenship Restoration was established to assist clients with restoring their family’s former German citizenship. From humble beginnings and a handful of clients, we are now entering our fifth year of trading and are delighted to be assisting a global client base with their German citizenship applications, many of which are based on family ancestry – often referred to as German citizenship by descent.
Focussing exclusively on “German” citizenship means we are experts in the field. We do one thing and we do it well. Since founding German Citizenship Restoration in 2019, we’ve submitted hundreds of applications with a 100% success rate.
Our service begins with a no-obligation, free eligibility consultation to evaluate your family’s case and determine the correct legal pathway to restore or acquire German citizenship, including cases involving German citizenship through parents, grandparents or earlier ancestors.
German Citizenship Restoration handles three different application pathways:
- Article 116 GG – this route is specifically for former German citizens and their descendants who, between 1933 and 1945, had their citizenship revoked or were excluded from naturalisation due to Nazi persecution.
- Section 15 StAG of the Nationality Act – this route is for the descendants of former German ancestors who, due to Nazi persecution, gave up or lost their ordinary place of residence in Germany (established prior to 1933). It also applies to descendants of German ancestors who fled Germany and naturalised abroad prior to being officially stripped of their citizenship (all German Jews living abroad had their citizenship revoked on November 25th, 1941). It also includes descendants of former German ancestors who lost citizenship upon marriage to a non-German due to Nazi persecution.
- Section 5 of the German Nationality Act – if you were born after the Grundgesetz (the German Constitution) came into force and you did not receive citizenship by birth, or received it but later lost it, in certain cases you can (re)acquire it.
Following your eligibility consultation, we often begin the process with research in Germany (which takes an average of 4-6 months to yield full results) to source the documentary proof required to initiate the German citizenship application process. In some cases, when the evidence is unquestionable and the format is acceptable, we move directly to the application stage.
Our expertise lies in understanding and meeting the authorities’ exact documentary demands so there is no reason our clients’ applications should be denied or delayed. Meticulous application preparation is essential, and we never suggest proceeding with an application unless we are 100% confident of a positive outcome.
Read our step-by-step guide to the German citizenship application process or visit our FAQs page to learn more.
Our Fees
Initial eligibility assessment – free of charge and no-obligation
Research only – £600
First citizenship application – £3,000
Each additional citizenship application – £600
Note – where we can continue to assist you with a full citizenship application, the research fee will be offset against the total fees payable and therefore the research stage is of no extra charge.
Full application fees are payable in 2 equal 50% instalments, the first upon signing up with German Citizenship Restoration and the final instalment when the application is ready for submission, prior to sending to Germany or submitting via the German Embassy.
All fees are subject to 20% VAT where applicable.
Processing times
The German authorities’ processing times (not ours!) average 24 – 36 months, depending on the legal route taken. Where an applicant is aged 85 or over, they may seek to expedite the usual timeframe, although there are no guarantees.
Please visit www.germanpassport.co.uk or contact us at info@germanpassport.com or by phone +44 208 066 9900 for further information