Completing naturalisation and life afterwards

We support your naturalisation application through to legally effective acquisition and explain what the change from foreign-national to German status means for your next steps. This opens up political rights and makes your own residence independent of a residence permit. At the same time, practical tasks remain, such as applying for German identity documents and clarifying the consequences of holding another nationality. It is essential to distinguish the actual acquisition of citizenship, the documents proving it and the changes that follow.

This dividing line in time can have very specific consequences. Anyone planning a trip before the handover appointment still needs the documents required for their existing status. Someone seeking a job that requires German citizenship may state that naturalisation is approaching, but must not claim already to hold a status that has not yet been acquired. If a child is born shortly before or after the appointment, the date on which a parent acquires citizenship may matter for the child's nationality.

Until completion, we clarify with you which significant changes must be reported in the proceedings. These may include a move, new criminal investigations or changes in the family and financial circumstances relevant to the application. An invitation to collect the certificate does not make such circumstances irrelevant. The details of the final procedural step are explained in the article on the naturalisation certificate, solemn declaration and legal effect.

We review the authority's invitation with you and clarify what you need for the appointment. It indicates which original documents, proofs of payment or additional declarations are required. If several family members are being naturalised, it must be clarified for each person whether their procedure has actually been completed and who needs to attend. Applying together does not automatically produce a single acquisition date for the whole family.

A solemn declaration must generally be made before the certificate is handed over. A statutory exception applies to people who do not have their own capacity to act under the Nationality Act. A public naturalisation ceremony is the intended usual setting for the handover. However, the formal celebration itself is not what creates citizenship. The invitation to a ceremony and the legal completion of naturalisation must therefore be considered separately.

We explain the sequence of your personal steps after handover:

Three offices must be distinguished when making these preparations: the nationality authority completes naturalisation, the passport or identity card authority issues the new documents, and the civil registry office clarifies the legal form of the name if necessary. A combined appointment may be possible locally, but is not a uniform nationwide procedure. For a planned name change or journey, we explain the coordination needed before handover. Otherwise, a document may be ordered that needs replacing again shortly afterwards. Ongoing proceedings for relatives who have not been naturalised belong in a separate schedule of appointments and deadlines.

The naturalisation certificate documents the acquisition of citizenship. The national identity card and passport, by contrast, serve as everyday identity and travel documents. The first German passport does not itself create citizenship. Conversely, citizenship is not lost because a passport expires or a certificate goes missing during a move. Missing documents may, however, make proof more difficult and prevent travel.

German nationals aged 16 or over who are subject to the general registration obligation, or who spend most of their time in Germany without being subject to that obligation, are generally required to possess an identity document. This requirement can also be met by a valid German passport. It does not create a general obligation to hold both a national identity card and a passport. Which additional document is useful depends, among other things, on travel destinations. The statutory basis is § 1 PAuswG.

If a gap between handover and issue of an identity document is foreseeable, we clarify early which question you need to raise with the competent document authority. Different types of documents are available for urgent cases, and their requirements and recognition abroad are not identical. The naturalisation certificate should generally not be packed as a substitute passport. Further information is provided under National identity card, passport and updating personal documents.

As a German citizen, you no longer need a residence permit for your own stay in Germany. Your continued residence therefore no longer depends on keeping a particular job, the continuation of a marriage or renewal of a temporary permit. Expulsion or deportation under the residence law applicable to foreign nationals cannot be imposed on a German citizen.

This also means that a longer stay abroad does not cause German citizenship to lapse, as can happen with some residence permits. Someone living in another country for several years for work does not need to preserve their citizenship through regular short visits. Separately, registration obligations, tax consequences, health insurance and the entry requirements of the country of residence still need to be checked. Citizenship does not answer every question arising from an international move.

We separately explain the effects of your naturalisation on other family members and which changes do not occur automatically. A spouse who has not been naturalised initially remains a foreign national. Residence as a family member of a German citizen may now be possible for that spouse; the necessary steps must be examined separately. A parent's naturalisation certificate likewise does not replace a certificate or an independent basis for acquisition for a child who has already been born.

A later career change does not have to be continually measured against the same standards as the original naturalisation application. Someone who becomes unemployed after lawful naturalisation, takes parental leave, begins a degree or earns less because of illness does not lose German citizenship as a result. Naturalisation is not a promise of a particular income that must be renewed every year.

This is also important in relation to social benefits. Lawfully receiving benefits under SGB II or SGB XII at a later stage is not an independent ground for loss. Since 1 July 2026, the SGB II benefit has been called Grundsicherungsgeld; until 31 December 2026, authorities may also use the term Bürgergeld. The change and its transitional rule are set out in § 19 and § 65a SGB II in the official collection of legislation published by the Federal Employment Agency. Which benefits a person receives continues to depend on the respective eligibility requirements.

A different question arises if the original naturalisation was obtained through intentionally false information that was material to the decision. A new loss of income and a significant problem deliberately concealed before the handover are not the same situation. The legal assessment depends on the actual sequence of events, the requirements at the time and the content of the declarations made.

German citizenship brings, in particular, the opportunity to vote in Bundestag elections if the other statutory requirements are met. These include voting age and the necessary connection to Germany for people living in Germany or abroad. For naturalisation shortly before an election, we explain how to check the electoral register with the election office in time. The certificate alone does not replace the electoral procedure.

Citizenship also matters for access to public office. The Basic Law guarantees equal access according to suitability, qualifications and professional performance. However, it promises neither a specific position nor recognition of a foreign professional qualification without assessment. Professional authorisation remains necessary for regulated professions. In many occupations, employment was already permitted before naturalisation; the specific advantage therefore depends on the previous status and career objective.

Rights as a German citizen provides a comprehensive introduction. It brings together political participation, protective rights, consequences for families and the limits of particular entitlements, without equating naturalisation with an entitlement to every state benefit.

Since 27 June 2024, Germany has generally no longer required applicants for naturalisation to give up their existing nationality. Likewise, under current German law, subsequently acquiring another nationality on application no longer leads to loss of German citizenship solely for that reason. The former permission to retain German citizenship is no longer required for this. However, this change does not automatically restore a status that had already been lost before then.

Whether the existing nationality is actually retained is determined by the other state concerned under its own law. Some states attach consequences of their own to voluntary naturalisation abroad. Others treat dual nationals within their territory exclusively as their own citizens. This may create particular requirements concerning entry, registration or military service. A German authority cannot override the other state's law by issuing a naturalisation certificate.

For your planning, we first distinguish the question of which nationalities actually remain after naturalisation. Which documents may continue to be used? What duties are owed to the other state? And what help can Germany actually provide if problems arise there? The article Multiple nationality and consequences in the country of origin guides you through this assessment.

Anyone who becomes a national of an EU Member State for the first time through naturalisation also acquires Union citizenship. This facilitates residence and employment in other Member States. Depending on the circumstances, however, a longer stay requires, for example, employment or sufficient resources and health insurance cover. Freedom of movement therefore goes beyond visa-free tourism, but is not an unconditional entitlement to all social benefits in the host country.

If a child is born after your own naturalisation, the child may acquire German citizenship by descent. For births abroad, particular attention must be paid to the statutory limitation affecting certain German parents who were themselves born abroad. Under the conditions in § 4 paragraph 4 StAG, a timely application to register the birth can be decisive. For family planning abroad, we assess the German acquisition rule before birth rather than waiting for the child's passport application. The requirements and the one-year deadline are explained in the article on acquisition through a German parent. For a birth near the naturalisation date, we check exact certificate dates even in Germany; a month alone may be too imprecise.

Marriage, divorce or a change of name, in turn, raises separate questions about documents. Not every change requires new records or a new naturalisation certificate. What matters is a clear connection between the existing documents, the legally used name and the newly requested identity papers. Keeping the available evidence in an organised way often saves considerable effort later.

German citizenship enjoys particular constitutional protection. It is not taken away because an identity document has expired, because of a disagreement with an authority or because of an ordinary change in personal circumstances. Article 16 GG distinguishes prohibited deprivation from cases of loss governed by law.

The current grounds for loss include, in particular, valid renunciation, certain military or terrorist activities and withdrawal of naturalisation obtained unlawfully. Each of these grounds has its own requirements. Holding another nationality does not generally make someone a less protected German citizen. It may, however, be legally relevant to particular grounds for loss expressly provided for by law.

If you receive a letter about withdrawal or a finding of loss, we examine the specific allegation, the period concerned and appeal deadlines. The different procedures must not be confused. The overview of withdrawal and loss of German citizenship explains the distinctions and links to the relevant detailed articles.