German citizenship can essentially be acquired
- by birth
- by naturalisation and
- through acquisition by declaration
A child acquires German citizenship if it is descended from a German citizen, is recognised as a child or a court establishes the paternity of a German citizen.
In addition, a minor child acquires German citizenship if it is adopted by a German parent.
Yes, a child of two non-German nationals acquires German citizenship under birthright citizenship if one parent has been legally resident in Germany for at least five years at the time of birth and has a permanent right of residence (e.g. settlement permit, permanent EU residence) in Germany. The same applies if one parent has been an EU citizen entitled to freedom of movement or a national of an equivalent EEA state or Swiss national for 8 years.
In these cases, a newborn child automatically acquires German citizenship at birth in addition to the nationality of its parents, without having to submit an additional application. The existence of the requirements is checked by the registry office when the birth certificate is issued, using the parents' foreigner files.
What often remains unrecognised: Children of Turkish nationals who have been gainfully employed in Germany for many years may be German even if their parents do not (yet) have a settlement permit.
If a child is born in Germany with more than one nationality, he or she no longer has to choose between two or more nationalities.
You are entitled to naturalisation if you are a foreigner who
- have lived legally in Germany for an uninterrupted period of 5 years and have German language skills at level B1 or
- have lived in Germany for 3 years and have German language skills of at least level C1 and can provide evidence of special integration achievements, in particular particularly good academic, vocational or professional achievements or civic engagement.
- has been living in Germany for 3 years and has been married to a German or a German national for at least two years and continues to live with them in a marital partnership. In this case, German language skills at level B1 are sufficient. Shorter deadlines may apply for the simultaneous naturalisation of spouses and children. At the discretion of the authorities, naturalisation can also be granted after three years of legal residence in Germany if there is a public interest.
- has a settlement permit or, as a Swiss national or family member, a residence permit based on the Agreement of 21 June 1999 between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons, an EU Blue Card or a residence permit for purposes other than those specified in Sections 16a, 16b, 16d, 16e, 16f, 17, 18f, 19, 19b, 19e, 20, 22, 23a, 24 and 25 (3-5) and Section 104c AufenthG.
- has a regular income from employment or self-employment,
does not receive unemployment benefit II or social assistance and family members do not receive benefits from the JobCentre or social welfare office,
has no criminal record, i.e. has not been sentenced to fines totalling more than 90 daily rates or suspended prison sentences of more than 3 months, and - has passed a naturalisation test or has a German school or university degree.
Since the new Citizenship Act came into force on 27 June 2024, dual or multiple citizenship has been accepted without restriction in Germany. The previous nationality no longer has to be renounced if the nationality law of the country of origin also permits multiple nationality.
Since 20 August 2021 and until 19 August 2031, numerous people and their descendants who did not acquire German citizenship by birth in the past due to gender-discriminatory provisions in German citizenship law or who have subsequently lost their German citizenship acquired by birth can (re)acquire German citizenship under simplified conditions by simply submitting a declaration. In this case, German citizenship is acquired with the acceptance of multiple nationalities and without proof of knowledge of German or other ties to Germany.
- You were born after the Basic Law came into force on 23 May 1949.
- You are affected by a gender-discriminatory provision. This is the case if:
you are the child of a German mother or a German father and did not acquire German citizenship from him/her or - you are the child of a mother who lost her German nationality before your birth through marriage to a non-German spouse or
- you acquired German citizenship by birth but later lost it again by legitimisation because your German mother married your non-German father after your birth.
- You have not been convicted of any criminal offences in Germany or abroad.
There is no case of § 4 para. 4 StAG.
The German passport can be lost, for example, if a person joins the armed forces of another country. This also applies to Germans who actually take part in combat operations of a terrorist organisation abroad if they do not become stateless as a result of losing their German citizenship. Under certain circumstances, it is also possible to renounce German citizenship.
If you wish to participate in the upcoming elections, here is some general information on the process:
All German citizens who are registered in their electoral district 42 days before the election are automatically added to the electoral roll. If you received German citizenship before the 12th of January, you should have been added to the electoral roll of your district automatically and receive an election notice (with details of where you are registered to pick up your ballot and vote on the 23rd). In Berlin, the electoral roll will be updated even after that, so that your name should be on the roll even after that deadline and you might have received an election notice.
However, if your naturalization is very close to election day, you can make sure you are on the electoral roll by calling your local electoral office (“Wahlamt” in your local citizen office) and ask for confirmation. If you are on the electoral roll, you will be able to vote at your polling station. You can vote even if you have not received your German passport, yet, by showing another piece of official identification (foreign passport, driver’s license…).
Please, find below the link to the citizen offices in Berlin and general information about the election procedure by the Federal Chief Electoral Officer: