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Overview

You were born on or after September 01^st, 1986, your parents were married at the time of your birth, and they have always had different names? If you are applying for your first German passport only now and if no declaration was given for you in the past, you have to give a name declaration now to determine your last name. The name indicated in your foreign birth certificate is mostly irrelevant.

If you were born outside of a marriage, you have automatically obtained the name your mother had at the time of your birth, even if a different name is indicated in your foreign birth certificate. If your name was not changed afterwards until your 18^th birthday, a name change today is not possible.

If the name of your mother has changed in the meantime, you might be able to follow her name change. For further information in this case, please contact the competent consulates in Vancouver or Toronto.

Due to the complexity of German name law, please get in touch with the consulate in in advance if you are unsure whether you need a name declaration or whether the desired name is possible.

Necessary documents:

(each as original)

• Filled out application form, not signed
  
  Erklärungsformular Deutsch, barrierefrei / Declaration form in German, accessible OR
  
  Erklärungsformular zweisprachig, nicht barrierefrei / Declaration form bilingual, not accessible
• Birth certificate (Canadian birth certificates have to include the names of parents, so-called “birth certificate with parental information”)
• Valid passport of the applicant
• If applicant is not a Canadian citizen: Permanent Resident Card (front and back) or valid Canadian visa
• Birth certificates of both parents (“birth certificate with parental information”)
• Current passports of both parents, additionally: German passport/s of German parent/s issued before birth PLUS German passport/s of German parent/s issued after the of birth of the applicant OR “Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis”, if present
• Official marriage certificate of parents (if married in Canada: issued by Vital Statistics; marriage certificates issued by religious institutions or marriage license / proof of solemnization of marriage are not sufficient)
• If applicant has lived in Germany before: proof of deregistration from last German residence (Abmeldebestätigung)
• If applicable: Proof of dissolution of parents’ marriage or prior marriages of each parent (court decree or death certificate of former spouse)
• If the German parent was naturalized in Germany: certificate of naturalization
• If the German parent was naturalized in Canada: Canadian certificate of naturalization + “Beibehaltungsgenehmigung”

Translations of foreign – non English – documents have to be submitted in German. Civil status documents originally issued in English are accepted by German civil registry offices in most cases. Please note, that the competent civil registry in Germany may request translations of foreign documents in Germany language.