German citizenship law is based on the principle of descent. This means that German citizenship is generally established by descent from a German parent and not through birth on German territory.

Children born abroad do not acquire German nationality by birth if their German parent(s) were themselves born abroad after 31 December 1999 and at the time of the child’s birth were ordinarily resident abroad, provided such children acquire another nationality upon birth.

Recent Changes

The law to modernize nationality law (StARModG) has come into force on June 27, 2024, a retention permit will no longer be required in order to avoid the automatic loss of German citizenship if you accept Canadian or another citizenship upon application.

The following criteria play a vital role in answering the question whether a person is German or not:

- date of birth

- whether a child was born from a German father or mother

- the fact whether the parents were married at the time of birth of a child or whether the child was born out of wedlock

The latest amendment of the German citizenship Act (see here: Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) introduced

- the possibility to become German by declaration for persons who could not acquire the German citizenship by descent (due to the regulations in force at the time of their birth, were excluded in a gender-discriminating manner from acquiring German citizenship by descent at birth) and

- an additional legal basis for persons who were affected by National Socialist persecution and therefore lost or did not obtain German citizenship but who have no entitlement to the restoration of German citizenship pursuant to Article 116 (2) sentence 1 of the Basic Law, and for their descendants

If you want to find out whether you are a German citizen by birth or whether you may become a German citizen through declaration or naturalization, please check the various categories below for further information before contacting us.