Spouses and civil partners of German citizens: residence, length of marriage and requirements

We assess whether your marriage to a German national enables earlier naturalisation and which evidence is required. Marriage neither confers German nationality automatically nor replaces assessment of the personal requirements. § 9 StAG provides a special route for spouses and registered civil partners of German citizens. In the usual case, the central requirements are three years of lawful habitual residence and a marriage or civil partnership that has existed for two years.

The general entitlement to naturalisation under § 10 StAG normally requires five years of lawful habitual residence. § 9 generally reduces this period to three years for eligible partners. In doing so, the law recognises the close family connection to a German citizen. It also requires the essential personal conditions under § 10 paragraph 1 StAG to be met and expressly refers to the provisions on language, civic knowledge and the corresponding exceptions.

The wording that eligible individuals “shall as a rule” be naturalised establishes an entitlement in the normal case. If the requirements are met and there are no atypical circumstances, naturalisation should generally be granted. The authority therefore does not have unrestricted discretion based on its personal impression. However, § 9 is not an unconditional guarantee. A particularly long or harmonious marriage cannot compensate for mandatory requirements that are not met. The relevant provision is § 9 StAG.

A valid marriage may qualify regardless of whether it is between people of different sexes or the same sex. The law also covers registered civil partnerships. This means a legally established institution, rather than every relationship in which the people involved describe themselves informally as life partners. A long-standing unmarried relationship does not, by itself, provide access to § 9.

For a marriage concluded abroad, we examine its validity under the applicable German legal framework. Producing a foreign certificate is an important starting point, but does not replace an assessment of legal validity in every situation. Particular questions may arise, for example, where earlier marriages still exist, where there have been foreign divorces or where the form of marriage is unusual. Existing multiple marriages preclude naturalisation under § 11 StAG.

Foreign registered partnerships may also be taken into account if they have the necessary legal characteristics. Not every form of registration abroad is sufficient. The law requires a valid union recognised by the state whose legal arrangements are broadly equivalent to those of a German marriage, particularly in relation to mutual obligations.

The two periods are not added together. You do not have to live in Germany for three years first and then remain married for a further two years. The two requirements can overlap in time. For example, someone may already have lived lawfully in Germany for one year before marrying. After another two years, both minimum periods may have been completed, provided the other requirements are met.

According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior’s application guidance, the two-year period also applies to the partner’s German citizenship: the partner must be a German citizen throughout that period and still hold German citizenship at the time of naturalisation. A marriage that has existed for six years therefore does not meet this administrative standard if the partner was only naturalised a few months ago. Assessing the time requirements requires both the date of the marriage and the date on which German citizenship was acquired. The example involving two years of marriage assumes that the partner was German throughout.

Conversely, a long marriage does not replace the residence requirement. Someone who has been married to a German citizen abroad for many years and has only recently moved to Germany does not meet the three-year domestic residence requirement for that reason alone. Other legal possibilities exist for people habitually resident abroad, particularly under § 14 StAG. These must be distinguished from naturalisation in Germany under § 9. Naturalisation while living abroad has its own requirements.

The residence period must consist of lawful habitual residence. Visits, entries in the population register alone and periods of life actually spent abroad cannot all simply be added together. Longer stays abroad may also raise questions under § 12b StAG. Which periods can count in an individual case depends on their legal and factual nature. The detailed article on lawful habitual residence explains these basic concepts.

A marriage certificate proves that the marriage took place, but does not automatically establish that family life continues. § 9 gives preferential treatment to a marriage or partnership that exists in practice. If the marriage exists only formally, this may constitute an atypical case in which the normal entitlement does not apply. Permanent separation is therefore a significant circumstance, even if no divorce order has yet been issued.

However, different residential addresses do not necessarily mean that the marriage has broken down. Employment in another location, caring responsibilities or temporary accommodation elsewhere may explain separate households. What matters is that the relationship and mutual commitment genuinely continue. For enquiries, we explain the reasons and actual family life; formal address changes do not replace the real circumstances.

Even during a marital crisis, we assess the naturalisation routes that remain available rather than assuming that all routes are closed. A distinction must be drawn between temporary difficulties, actual permanent separation and final legal dissolution. If there is a close family relationship with a German child, additional considerations may arise. The particular circumstances of separation, divorce and the death of the German partner are addressed in the related detailed article.

The length of residence and a currently suitable residence title are separate requirements. Through its cross-reference, § 9 incorporates the requirements of § 10 paragraph 1 sentence 1 number 2 StAG. A permanent settlement permit is not invariably necessary. Other legally suitable rights of residence or residence titles may also qualify. Residence permits granted for purposes that are expressly excluded, however, are insufficient.

For a family reunification permit, we check its exact legal basis and validity. Separation may also affect the continuation of the right of residence. A naturalisation procedure neither replaces the renewal of a residence title nor automatically grants a new right of residence when an application is submitted. If a change of residence title is necessary, the naturalisation and residence procedures need to be coordinated.

The applicant does not necessarily have to be financially independent through their own wages alone. Reliable income from the German spouse can support the family. The decisive factors are the available funds, the needs and maintenance obligations to be taken into account, and a sufficiently sustainable outlook. A shared household with a high income is therefore assessed differently from a merely non-binding promise of payments.

Where benefits under SGB II or SGB XII are involved, we assess the statutory exceptions separately. For the full-time employment exception, the person concerned must currently work full-time and must have done so for at least 20 of the last 24 months. The family exception may cover spouses or registered civil partners who live as a family with such a person and a minor child. The partner’s German citizenship alone does not create a general exemption from the income requirement.

Since 1 July 2026, the SGB II benefit under § 19 paragraph 1 has been called Grundsicherungsgeld. Its former name, Bürgergeld, may continue to appear in official correspondence during the transition. For § 9 in conjunction with § 10 StAG, the benefit’s statutory classification remains decisive. If difficulties arise, the article on social benefits and naturalisation explains which benefits and exceptions need to be distinguished. For applications submitted on or before 23 August 2023, § 40a StAG preserves the former livelihood rule where it is more favourable. This does not generally freeze the other requirements at their earlier position.

German language skills at B1 level are generally required. The fact that the German partner handles contact with the authorities does not replace this evidence. Marriage likewise does not provide a general exemption from the naturalisation test. However, language skills and knowledge of the legal system, society and living conditions may also be demonstrated through other suitable educational qualifications. Which documents are accepted depends on their specific content.

Illness, disability and age-related limitations may be taken into account under § 10 paragraph 6 StAG. A language hardship provision may also apply if the conditions of § 10 paragraph 4a are met. In the application, we explain the specific impairment or documented learning efforts. A letter merely stating that family or work commitments leave little time will generally not answer the statutory questions.

The consequences differ: where an inability to meet a requirement is demonstrated for the reasons listed in paragraph 6, the relevant language or knowledge requirement is waived. Paragraph 4a, by contrast, requires that acquiring the language be impossible or permanently and substantially more difficult despite serious, sustained efforts, and retains a requirement for oral communication in everyday situations. Where this hardship provision applies, the civic knowledge requirement is also waived under paragraph 6 sentence 2. Marriage to a German citizen does not provide a separate language exemption.

The person seeking naturalisation must personally make the required commitments and declarations. They must understand their meaning and genuinely endorse their substance. Personal grounds for exclusion are also assessed individually. Criminal offences, ongoing investigations and security-related issues do not disappear because the spouse is German. § 12a StAG contains specific rules on convictions and criminal investigations.

Under German naturalisation law, it is generally no longer necessary to give up your previous citizenship. This also applies to the route under § 9. Whether the country of origin itself attaches loss of citizenship or other consequences to acquiring German citizenship is a separate question. Marriage to a German citizen does not answer that question of foreign law. We assess the German acquisition rule and identify the need for separate advice on your home state's law. Nor can the citizenship status of the couple’s children be inferred solely from the outcome the parents want.

Under § 9 paragraph 1 sentence 3 StAG, minor children of the foreign spouse or civil partner can be naturalised alongside them, even if they have not themselves lived lawfully in Germany for three years. First, however, it must be established that they are not already German, for example through descent from the German parent. For children from a previous relationship, particular care is needed to distinguish parentage, step-parent relationships and parental responsibility.

Children are not naturalised simply because they are mentioned in a parent’s application. Their wish to acquire citizenship must be validly expressed; their personal requirements and representation are assessed separately. Children under 16 must demonstrate age-appropriate language development. We include upcoming birthdays in planning. The detailed article on naturalising children describes the possibilities and limits.

This makes it clear, for example, whether the marriage has existed for a long time but the German citizenship relevant to § 9 was acquired only later.

Until completion, we coordinate with you which significant changes must be reported to the authority. The requirements are not frozen solely as at the date of application. Citizenship is legally acquired when the naturalisation certificate is handed over under § 16 StAG. Only then can the corresponding German identity documents be requested. If § 9 time requirements are missing, we also assess any entitlement now available under § 10. The family overview puts these alternatives into context.