Claiming German Citizenship Through Your Mother
If you have read our blog entry on the acquisition of German citizenship by declaration, you will know that under certain circumstances the child of a mother who lost her German citizenship by marrying a foreign national may be able to claim German citizenship through their mother by declaration.
We would like to provide some more in-depth information to help you determine whether this situation could apply to you.
As a general rule, a German woman who married a foreign national before 23.05.1949 automatically lost her German citizenship. If you are a descendant of such a woman, you may therefore be eligible to claim German citizenship under Section 5 StAG of the Nationality Act.
It becomes trickier if a German woman married a foreign national between 23.05.1949 and 31.03.1953. The interim regulations in place at the time determined that a German woman marrying a foreign national would only lose her German citizenship if that loss would not leave her stateless. For example, this would apply if she married a stateless person. In any other case, German citizenship was maintained despite the marriage to a foreign national.
To illustrate this, consider the following example: German woman A marries British man B on 01.06.1949. Under the British Nationality Act (1948), she would not have automatically received British citizenship upon marriage. Had her German citizenship been lost at that point, she would have ended up stateless, which is precisely what the law at the time sought to avoid.
To further illustrate this, if the German woman then applies to be registered as a UK national, even shortly after her marriage, and that application is successful, this is the moment her German citizenship is lost. Not due to the marriage, but due to the application for and receipt of a foreign nationality.
Unfortunately, this loss of German citizenship is final.
There are a few exemptions to this rule:
- The German woman received a permit to retain her German citizenship from the relevant German embassy or consulate before being registered as a UK (or other) national or
- At the time of applying for and receiving a foreign nationality, the German woman had her ordinary and registered place of residence in Germany and applied for the foreign citizenship through the embassy or consulate of the country granting that citizenship. Whether she later gives up her residence in Germany is irrelevant.
- The foreign citizenship was not acquired through an application or petition, but was instead automatically granted or imposed under the laws of the country of the foreign national spouse.
Since 31.03.1953, marrying a foreign national no longer causes a German woman to lose her German citizenship. If it is lost, it is usually because she later naturalised in a foreign country.
Because of the complexities described above, we ask clients to complete an evaluation form and provide their family history and relevant dates. During our free initial consultation, we can then help determine whether you may be eligible to claim German citizenship by declaration through your mother.
Feel free to reach out to us at any time – we are happy to help!
info@germanpassport.co.uk | +44-20-8066 9900