Small children, age limits and reaching adulthood during the procedure

We plan your child's naturalisation around the relevant age thresholds, including birthdays during the proceedings. A birthday during processing may change the requirements for language, personal declarations, representation and the route to naturalisation. The sixth, sixteenth and eighteenth birthdays are particularly important. They serve different legal functions. Taking them into account early allows evidence and family procedures to be planned accordingly.

Not all age limits have the same legal status. Independent procedural capacity from 16 is established by § 34 StAG. The language concession for children under 16 also follows directly from § 10 paragraph 4 sentence 2 StAG. The possibility of naturalisation as a child alongside a parent under § 10 paragraph 2 is restricted to minors. The general age of majority is 18.

The sixth birthday, by contrast, matters primarily for the administrative standards governing small children’s residence periods. For children under six being naturalised alongside a parent, the BMI application guidance generally requires that they have spent at least half their life in Germany immediately before naturalisation. For older children, three years of residence in Germany is the standard benchmark. This guidance on the exercise of discretion must be distinguished from the age limits laid down directly in legislation.

In our timeline, we connect each relevant birthday with its specific legal consequence. “The child will soon turn 16” may mean that new personal declarations or different educational evidence will be required. “The child will soon turn 18”, by contrast, may affect the entire basis of planned naturalisation alongside a parent. The two situations require different preparation.

Independent naturalisation by entitlement under § 10 paragraph 1 generally requires five years of lawful habitual residence. A small child often cannot meet this period simply because of their age. However, this does not mean that naturalisation is ruled out until the fifth birthday. Where naturalisation alongside a parent under § 10 paragraph 2 is available, the residence period can be shorter.

If the parent is being naturalised under § 9 StAG as the spouse or registered civil partner of a German citizen, § 9 paragraph 1 sentence 3 provides a separate basis for including minor children who have lived in Germany for less than three years. Again, it must first be established whether the child is already German. The parent’s different legal basis for naturalisation must not be overlooked when planning the timing.

First, however, we check whether your child is already German. If one parent is German, or the child was born in Germany under the conditions of § 4 StAG, citizenship may already have been acquired at birth. Siblings do not necessarily have the same status either: a later-born child may be German while the requirements were not yet met when the older child was born.

For small children who are genuinely foreign nationals, the main applicant’s naturalisation, the family relationship, parental responsibility and the other requirements must be assessed together. A baby’s limited language abilities are not a reason to apply an adult standard. The law requires age-appropriate development, not abilities the child cannot yet have because of their stage of development.

The administrative rule for children under six relates to their age at naturalisation alongside a parent and their residence in Germany immediately beforehand. It must not be confused with a blanket minimum period of six months. For a four-year-old, half a lifetime is approximately two years; for a two-year-old, approximately one year. The actual dates determine the specific calculation.

A simplified example: a child is four years old and has lived in Germany continuously since their second birthday. The benchmark of half their lifetime may then be met. This does not result in automatic naturalisation. The residence must be assessed legally and factually, the relevant parent must be eligible for naturalisation, and the family-related and other requirements must be satisfied.

If a child moved to Germany only shortly before their fifth birthday, simply belonging to the family of a parent who has lived here for many years does not allow them to take over that parent’s residence period. Nor can earlier visits indiscriminately be added together to make up half a lifetime. Where residence has been interrupted, the authority must consider the actual life history and the relevant rules on counting periods.

Under the standard administrative guidance, the special rule for children under six no longer applies once the child turns six. The three-year benchmark then becomes relevant. These benchmarks describe normal administrative practice. Particular circumstances must be assessed separately within the statutory exercise of discretion.

§ 10 paragraph 4 sentence 2 StAG expressly refers to a minor child who is not yet 16 at naturalisation. In this case, age-appropriate language development is sufficient. The concession does not depend on whether the child is being naturalised alongside a parent or through an independent entitlement. It concerns the child’s personal language requirement.

For a school-age child, current school reports and clear information about attendance may help. For younger children, other suitable information about development and language use may be considered. The statutory wording does not establish a rigid nationwide requirement that every child must have attended nursery for a specified period. Nor is a B1 certificate the standard requirement for every age group.

We set out any particular health or developmental circumstances using suitable evidence. In cases of disability or illness, § 10 paragraph 6 StAG may be relevant. The diagnosis alone does not always explain which requirement cannot be met and why. Meaningful documents explain the connection to learning, communication or providing evidence. An individual feature of a child’s development must not be treated as a lack of integration without a factual assessment.

From 16, a person generally has capacity under § 34 StAG to take procedural steps in nationality matters themselves. They can therefore normally submit an application and make declarations personally. This special rule applies before the general age of majority. Parental consent is then not a general requirement for their own naturalisation application merely because they are a minor.

Under § 34 StAG, this independent capacity to act does not apply where the person lacks legal capacity or where a legal guardian has been appointed for the matter and a requirement for that guardian’s consent has been ordered under § 1825 BGB. Disability or merely receiving support from other people is not sufficient for this. For young people, it is especially important to distinguish an actual need for support from a legal lack of capacity. Both “from 16 there is never any need to assess representation” and “until 18 only the parents decide” are therefore inaccurate.

If the parents applied before the birthday, we then clarify which personal declarations the young person must now make themselves. Communication with the authority and any power of attorney must also be adapted. This does not automatically restart the entire procedure. However, the transition must be handled correctly in legal terms; processing cannot simply continue as though the child were still under 16.

The special children’s language rule ends on the sixteenth birthday. B1 level then generally applies unless another statutory exception is available. A young person successfully attending a German school does not necessarily have to take an additional language examination. Suitable school reports or qualifications may provide the evidence. Which documents are sufficient must be assessed in light of the specific educational history.

Evidence of civic knowledge is also generally required from 16. A recognised school-leaving qualification may carry different weight from merely being enrolled at school. We assess language and civic knowledge separately; school attendance confirmation does not automatically replace both forms of evidence. Each requirement needs an appropriate explanation of how it is met.

Personal commitments and declarations are also required. These are not formalities whose substance parents can endorse on the young person’s behalf. The young person must personally understand and support the required statements. Before the sixteenth birthday, we clarify with the authority which documents will then be required. The overview of German language skills and knowledge about Germany explains the possible forms of evidence.

§ 10 paragraph 2 refers to minor children and contains no statutory upper age limit of 16. A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old is therefore not excluded from the group covered by the legislation solely because of their birthday. The fact that they normally submit their own application does not change this. The administrative form of the application must not be equated with the substantive legal basis for naturalisation.

However, the BMI application guidance generally provides that children in this age group should also be eligible for independent naturalisation. In administrative practice, the concession is therefore applied more narrowly than for younger children. This establishes neither an absolute statutory bar from 16 nor a guarantee of a substantial reduction in the residence period. For practical planning, it must be assessed which independent entitlement already exists and whether a discretionary decision departing from the guideline can be justified.

During preparation, this may mean that two siblings need different routes. The younger child may be naturalised alongside a parent with a reduced residence period, while the older young person’s full independent requirements take centre stage. This different assessment follows from the respective rules, rather than from the family as a whole being differently “suitable”.

An entitlement under § 10 paragraph 1 may often be available after the birthday if the five-year residence period has meanwhile been completed. However, the other requirements must also be met. For someone studying or undergoing vocational training, for example, the current residence title may raise a separate question. Maintenance payments from parents and finances continue to be taken into account; adulthood does not automatically mean that only the person’s own employment income may count.

If there is no independent entitlement, we assess whether another basis such as § 8 StAG is viable. This is not an automatic remedy for every delay. The authority cannot decide as though minority continued solely because of an earlier family application. The parent article on naturalisation alongside a parent or an independent application discusses the different routes.

We notify the authority of an approaching relevant birthday, including its date and legal significance. A brief account of which requirements are met, which documents are still missing and which concession may be affected after the birthday is helpful. A general request for faster processing conveys the urgency less clearly than an understandable explanation of the age-related consequences.

The procedure must also genuinely become ready for a decision. Missing documents on parental responsibility, unresolved identity or outstanding personal declarations do not become irrelevant because a birthday is approaching. We therefore address these issues as early as possible. A coordinated decision on the parent’s application is also necessary where the child’s inclusion depends on that parent acquiring citizenship.

If a significant deterioration in the legal position is imminent, we assess whether court protection is available. However, an interim order under § 123 VwGO has its own requirements; the birthday alone does not guarantee provisional naturalisation. Whether an entitlement and particular urgency can be demonstrated sufficiently depends on the specific stage of the procedure. The statutory basis for interim orders therefore does not replace an individual assessment.

The reduced fee of 51 euros applies to minor children naturalised alongside a parent who have no income of their own within the meaning of the Income Tax Act. A separate application by a seventeen-year-old with procedural capacity does not exclude the reduction merely because they sign it personally; what matters is their legal inclusion in naturalisation alongside a parent and the other fee requirements. Conversely, minority alone is insufficient for this reduction where naturalisation takes place through an independent route.

The date of completion must not be confused with an oral assurance or a prepared document. § 16 StAG links acquisition to the handing over of the naturalisation certificate. If an age limit is imminent, the actual legal completion must therefore be considered. A planned joint celebration at a later date does not automatically resolve this question.

This makes it clear whether only a new school document will be needed or whether timing threatens the entire basis for naturalisation alongside a parent. A preferred joint appointment cannot replace these different requirements.

An important different age rule applies to certain people born in Germany who have been stateless since birth: their application must be submitted before their 21st birthday, but completion may follow later. This limit, which is expressly tied to the application date, must not be transferred to naturalisation alongside a parent before the 18th birthday. The special naturalisation entitlement for stateless people born in Germany must therefore be examined separately where the person has that status.

We clarify with the statutory representatives, and from age 16 with the young person, who makes each declaration. Where parents are separated, representation must also be clarified in good time; an approaching birthday does not replace any necessary consent. The article on parental responsibility and legal representation explains these requirements. Early preparation tailored to each individual thus connects the child’s stage of development with the right legal route.