Citizenship, naturalisation and a German passport: the differences

When you ask us to clarify your path to a German passport, we first distinguish between two requests:

• The person is already German and needs a travel document.

• The person first wants to become a German citizen. The distinction determines which authority is responsible, which documents are needed and when the person's legal status actually changes. Citizenship, naturalisation and a passport are connected, but they serve different purposes.

German citizenship is the legal status that connects a person to the German state. Under § 1 StAG, a German within the meaning of the Nationality Act is someone who holds that citizenship. This status exists regardless of whether the person currently has a valid passport. Losing your passport or allowing it to expire does not cause you to lose your citizenship.

Rights and obligations attach to citizenship. Subject to the applicable statutory requirements, these include rights to political participation and the status of a citizen of the European Union. Citizenship is not, however, the same as an individual entitlement to a benefit. Whether someone receives a particular social benefit, is liable to tax or may vote in a particular election also depends on the relevant legislation. Residence, age and other circumstances may continue to be decisive.

Nor does citizenship say anything about the language someone speaks at home, where their parents were born or how they describe their cultural identity. A German citizen may live abroad permanently. Conversely, a foreign citizen does not become German simply by having their centre of life in Germany for many years without a statutory ground for acquisition. Legal affiliation and personal attachment may coincide, but they do not have to.

Naturalisation is an administrative decision through which a person who was not previously German receives German citizenship. It exists alongside other routes to acquisition. § 3 StAG lists, in particular, birth, declaration, adoption and acquisition in connection with an ethnic German resettler certificate. Not everyone without a German passport therefore needs naturalisation.

Naturalisation under § 10 StAG generally requires five years of lawful habitual residence and fulfilment of further conditions. Other provisions concern, for example, spouses of German citizens, former German citizens or restitution for persecution. The applicable legal basis must be established before the complete set of application documents is assembled. Routes to German citizenship provides an overview.

A naturalisation certificate is not merely subsequent proof of a right that arose at some earlier time. As a general rule, handing it over is itself a necessary part of acquisition. The date of issue shown on the certificate therefore does not necessarily coincide with the actual acquisition date. An announcement by letter or notification that the certificate has been prepared does not replace the handover.

Before the certificate is handed over, the solemn declaration required by law must be made unless an applicable exception applies. The law also provides that the certificate should be handed over at a public naturalisation ceremony. Practical planning depends on the specific invitation and the procedure followed by the competent authority. The detailed account of the Naturalisation certificate and when naturalisation takes effect explains the individual steps.

Once naturalisation has taken effect, the person is already German even if their first passport has not yet been produced. We explain why keeping the certificate permanently is important. It may later be important for identity documents, family-law matters or establishing children's citizenship. If it is lost, the first step is to clarify the documentary record of the earlier acquisition; there is no need to naturalise again because of the loss.

A German passport serves to prove the identity of its holder and their corresponding legal status when crossing borders. The Passport Act governs its issue, validity and use. When applying, the required personal details and the person's status as German must be proven. A passport application is therefore not a substitute for a naturalisation application.

In the ordinary course, a German person obtains their passport from the competent passport authority or, abroad, from the competent German mission. Production takes additional time after the processing of the actual acquisition procedure. When discussing your travel plans, we distinguish both processes: acquiring citizenship does not guarantee a travel document will be available before departure.

The document's period of validity and the duration of the status also differ. Under § 5 PassG, an ordinary passport is normally valid for ten years; if issued before the holder's 24th birthday, it is valid for six years. Different periods apply to a temporary passport. The expiry of this period means that a new document is needed. It is not a statutory ground for losing citizenship. Equally, a passport that has not yet expired does not conclusively establish in every conceivable situation that citizenship has not been lost in the meantime.

The German identity card is the usual identity document for many matters within Germany. It can also be used as a travel document under the applicable entry rules. Someone who holds a passport therefore does not need to apply for an additional citizenship certificate for every purpose. The applicable obligations to hold documents and the question of which document is sufficient for a particular journey must be assessed separately.

By contrast, the citizenship certificate (Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis) is issued in connection with a binding determination under § 30 StAG. It records that the citizenship authority has established that the person holds German citizenship. It is not a passport and does not replace a travel document at the border. Its purpose is to clarify a person's legal status, for example where acquisition must be traced through several generations.

A determination on application requires the applicant to credibly demonstrate a legitimate interest. Such a certificate is therefore not automatically among the documents that every German must obtain as a precaution. If citizenship and identity are sufficiently proven in the normal passport procedure, a further determination procedure may be unnecessary. If, however, a complex family history makes a binding clarification of status necessary, the article Establishing and proving existing citizenship explains the appropriate procedure.

§ 3(2) StAG provides special protection for people who have been treated as German by the authorities over many years. Anyone who has been treated as a German citizen by German public bodies for twelve years and is not responsible for this treatment acquires citizenship by operation of law under the conditions set out in that provision. The authority does not decide this at its unfettered discretion. The issue of passports, identity cards or citizenship certificates is particularly significant in this context. However, this is an independent statutory rule with additional requirements, not a general statement that every identity document immediately creates a status.

The relationship between several documents is also decisive. An old passport can be important evidence of how someone was treated at a particular time. A birth certificate, by contrast, primarily shows when and where a birth took place and who is registered as the parents. Acquisition can be inferred only by considering this together with the citizenship law applicable at the time and, where necessary, further certificates. No single document necessarily answers every legal question.

Foreign nationals may live in Germany on the basis of different rights. A residence permit authorises residence for a particular purpose. A settlement permit generally confers a permanent right of residence. Both legal statuses must be distinguished from German citizenship. Someone with a permanent right of residence may still hold only foreign citizenship.

An existing residence status may be an important requirement for naturalisation. In turn, the requirements for residence status at naturalisation are not entirely identical to those for acquisition by birth by a child of foreign parents. For example, § 10 StAG also lists the EU Blue Card, whereas § 4(3) StAG generally requires a permanent right of residence. A person's possible entitlement to naturalisation therefore does not directly establish that their newborn child is already German.

A travel document for refugees or stateless persons issued by a German authority is also not a German national passport. It may enable travel without conferring German citizenship. The precise type of document and the underlying status are decisive. The issuer of a travel document and the state whose citizenship the person holds need not be the same.

A further separate question is whether such a document sufficiently proves identity for naturalisation. Even a refugee travel document without a note indicating that it is based on the holder's own statements does not automatically conclude this assessment. The graduated evidence model distinguishes five levels of proof and takes into account whether obtaining documents is possible and reasonable. The article on Evidence of identity and the graduated evidence model explains this question. Entitlement to travel, proof of identity and proof of citizenship must therefore be considered separately even where a single document is involved.

The term “dual citizenship” describes two legal affiliations. It does not merely mean having two passport booklets. A person may hold several citizenships and have a valid passport for only one of them. Conversely, passport law may permit several German passports where there is a legitimate interest, without this creating several German citizenships.

Since 27 June 2024, German naturalisation law no longer generally requires applicants to give up their previous citizenship. The former loss of citizenship upon acquiring a foreign citizenship on application was also abolished. However, the rules in force at the time may remain relevant to acquisitions before that date. The reform does not restore a previously lost citizenship merely because the person possesses an old passport.

The other state decides under its own law whether its citizenship continues to exist when German citizenship is acquired. Special rules may also apply to entry using that state's national passport. These questions are explored in the article Multiple citizenship: German rules and consequences in the country of origin. The decisive first step in assessing the situation is to establish which citizenships legally exist; only then does the question of the appropriate travel documents arise.

A child born abroad to a German mother may already be German even if they have never lived in Germany. The first step here is to examine Acquisition by birth, including any special rules concerning births abroad. A language test or proof of income would not be the appropriate starting point merely to prove this acquisition. The documents needed concern primarily the birth, parenthood and the mother's citizenship.

By contrast, someone who has worked in Germany for many years, has foreign parents and has no other ground for acquisition will generally need a naturalisation procedure. It is not sufficient for them to apply directly for a German passport. Someone whose naturalisation certificate has already been handed over with legal effect is in a different position again: they are German and can now arrange their identity card and passport.

We explain your request to the authority through the decisive facts: is it, for example, a first German passport following birth abroad to a German father, or the first acquisition of citizenship through naturalisation? This distinction helps identify the appropriate evidence. We compare conflicting earlier information with the available correspondence and include it in our explanation.

We distinguish established facts from open questions and narrow those questions using your documents. A German surname or oral family tradition does not replace proof of acquisition; conversely, the absence of a passport does not prove that citizenship is absent. On this basis, we clarify with you whether acquisition proceedings, a status determination or the issue of a document is the appropriate next step.