We work with you to identify the route to German citizenship that fits your life and family history. Applying for naturalisation is the right route for many people. Others have been German since birth or can acquire citizenship through a declaration, adoption or a special admission procedure. We therefore examine earlier acquisition events and family connections alongside your period of residence.
First establish whether you still need to acquire citizenship
The most important initial distinction is: Do you already hold German citizenship, or do you need to acquire it? Anyone who is already German does not need naturalisation. Instead, they need to prove their existing status and then, where appropriate, apply for identity documents. Not having a German passport does not answer this question. A child may, for example, have acquired citizenship from a German parent even though they live abroad and have so far used only a foreign passport.
Conversely, a German school-leaving qualification, many years of working in Germany or marriage to a German person do not, in themselves, establish German citizenship. These circumstances may be relevant to naturalisation. However, they do not replace a statutory basis for acquiring citizenship. § 3 StAG provides an overview of the different grounds for acquisition. The article Citizenship, naturalisation and a German passport explains the distinctions between status, the acquisition procedure and a travel document.
The overview Already German without naturalisation? guides you through assessing whether you may already hold this status. Four questions are particularly helpful for an initial assessment: Where and when were you born? What citizenship did your parents hold at that time? Was there a subsequent adoption, naturalisation or declaration under citizenship law? Have you or your parents acquired another citizenship or renounced a citizenship? This information alone can indicate whether it makes sense to examine your family history before applying for naturalisation.
German through birth
If one parent was German
Under the current § 4(1) StAG, a child generally acquires German citizenship by birth if at least one parent is German. This means a legally effective parent–child relationship. In particular, where the mother is unmarried and the father is German, acknowledgement of paternity or a court determination of paternity may therefore be decisive. As a general rule, the parent must already have held German citizenship when the child was born.
For births further in the past, today's rule cannot simply be applied retrospectively. Earlier law distinguished between mothers and fathers and between children born within and outside marriage. A German ancestor may also have lost their citizenship before the next generation was born. A German grandmother is therefore an important starting point, but not yet complete proof of her grandchild's citizenship.
An additional rule applies to children born abroad: where certain German parents were themselves born abroad, the so-called generational cut-off limits the transmission of citizenship. A timely application to register the birth can secure acquisition. The details are covered in German parent: descent, birth abroad and the generational cut-off.
If both parents were foreign nationals
The reduction in the required period of residence from eight to five years has applied since 27 June 2024. For children born earlier, the version applicable at the time must be examined. If a parent obtains a permanent right of residence only later, this does not retrospectively give the child citizenship by birth. Subsequent naturalisation remains a separate possibility. The article Birth in Germany to foreign parents explains the calculation, the procedure at the registry office and the significance of earlier residence titles.
Naturalisation following residence in Germany
For people who are not yet German and whose centre of life is in Germany, naturalisation by entitlement under § 10 StAG is the main route to citizenship. As a general rule, it requires five years of lawful habitual residence. Further requirements include, in particular, established identity and citizenship, an eligible residence status, the necessary knowledge, the statutory declarations of commitment and the absence of significant criminal or other grounds for exclusion. The ability to support yourself must also be assessed under the statutory rules, including their exceptions.
Five years of residence therefore does not mean automatic naturalisation. It is one requirement within a broader assessment. Conversely, anyone who meets all applicable requirements generally has a legal entitlement; the decision then does not depend on a general assessment of whether the authority personally considers naturalisation desirable. The detailed overview of the Requirements for naturalisation sets out the individual points to be assessed.
The former possibility of reducing the residence period to three years under § 10(3) StAG on the basis of exceptional integration achievements was abolished with effect from 30 October 2025. This does not mean that every route to citizenship requires five years of residence without exception. Separate rules apply to spouses of German citizens, family members being naturalised together with an applicant and special grounds for acquisition. The current version of the Nationality Act, in particular §§ 9 and 10, is decisive.
Particular family circumstances in naturalisation
Today, marrying a German person does not in itself result in acquiring citizenship. However, it may make naturalisation possible under § 9 StAG. This provision generally requires three years of lawful habitual residence and a marriage or registered civil partnership that has existed for two years. The other statutory requirements must also be met. Marriage is therefore a legal basis for eligibility, not a substitute for the entire procedure.
Where a family plans to naturalise together, spouses and minor children may be naturalised alongside the main applicant under the conditions of § 10(2) StAG even if they have not yet completed the standard residence period themselves. Here too, their inclusion must actually be applied for and assessed. A child does not automatically become German simply because their mother or father later receives a naturalisation certificate.
When preparing naturalisation for a family, we assess each person’s route individually. A younger child born in Germany may already be German, while an older sibling needs naturalisation. One spouse may have an entitlement in their own right, while the other needs to be assessed for naturalisation alongside them. The article Naturalisation as a family explains how these different starting points can be brought together.
When a discretionary decision may be an option
Discretionary naturalisation is also not a general means of bypassing every unmet requirement of § 10 StAG. It has its own requirements and possible exceptions. Whether particular hardship, for example, can be taken into account legally depends on the specific circumstances and the applicable provision. We therefore first examine the specific obstacle to entitlement-based naturalisation and any other rule applicable to that obstacle. The detailed article Naturalisation by legal entitlement and at the authority's discretion explains the differences fully.
Declaration, adoption and the ethnic German resettler procedure
§ 5 StAG gives certain descendants of German parents a right to make a declaration. Its main purpose is to remedy the effects of earlier gender-based discrimination in the acquisition of citizenship. Anyone who falls within the group defined by law can acquire citizenship through a valid declaration. Residence in Germany and the usual evidence of integration required for naturalisation under § 10 StAG are not necessary for this route. However, it has its own requirements and exclusions.
In the case of adoption by a German person, § 6 StAG may trigger acquisition directly. In particular, the validity of the adoption and the person's age at the time of the relevant application are decisive. Adult adoption does not confer citizenship simply because a parent–child relationship subsequently exists under family law. Foreign adoptions must also satisfy the statutory requirements regarding their effects.
Ethnic German resettlers (Spätaussiedler) and family members included under the relevant rules acquire German citizenship under § 7 StAG when the certificate under § 15(1) or (2) BVFG is issued. An admission notice and this certificate are different documents. German ethnic origin alone is likewise insufficient. The combined detailed article on Adoption, declaration and ethnic German resettlers explains these three independent routes and the different points at which citizenship is acquired.
Restitution and naturalisation from abroad
Where a family history involves Nazi persecution, we examine the special restitution provisions. Article 116(2) GG concerns, in particular, former German citizens who were deprived of citizenship on the grounds of persecution specified there, and their descendants. § 15 StAG covers further exclusions and losses resulting from persecution as defined by law. These provisions are distinct from ordinary naturalisation following several years of residence in Germany.
Former German citizens and other people living abroad can also be naturalised under special conditions. §§ 13 and 14 StAG are particularly relevant here. However, a former German passport or existing ties to Germany do not always create an entitlement. It is necessary to distinguish between a status that has actually continued to exist, a special entitlement to restitution and discretionary naturalisation. Further guidance is provided in the articles on Renaturalisation and naturalisation from abroad and Restitution for victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants.
Which records we examine for your route
We organise with you a chronology of events that may have affected your status: births, marriages, legal parenthood, adoptions, naturalisations and acquisition of other citizenships. For each relevant step, we connect the person concerned with the appropriate evidence. This focuses document collection on the legal question that actually remains open.
The following can be particularly informative:
birth and marriage certificates linking the generations;
former and current passports as indications of how the authorities have treated the person;
naturalisation certificates, certificates of acquisition by declaration or ethnic German resettler certificates;
for citizenship acquired at birth through foreign parents, evidence of their residence status at that time;
for births abroad, evidence that an application to register the birth was received in time.
A certificate can answer only a particular question. Birth in Germany does not in itself prove German citizenship. A parent's naturalisation certificate is informative primarily when considered alongside its effective date and the child's date of birth. The Determination procedure is available for a binding clarification of an existing status.
Multiple citizenship and the next procedural step
Since the 2024 reform, Germany generally permits multiple citizenship. German law no longer generally requires applicants to give up their previous citizenship in order to naturalise. Whether the previous citizenship is retained under the other country's law must nevertheless be examined separately. Nor does the reform automatically reverse all earlier losses of citizenship. The detailed article on Multiple citizenship explains both perspectives.
On this basis, we set out your specific request to the competent authority: proof of an existing status, acquisition by declaration or naturalisation on a particular legal basis. We assess each certificate by its legal function, rather than its name alone:
These differences have a direct effect on children. If a child is born between a parent's application and their naturalisation, that application has not yet made the parent German. If the child is born after citizenship has been validly acquired, however, acquisition by descent may apply. A family's shared wish therefore does not necessarily lead to everyone acquiring citizenship at the same time.
The person's actual centre of life also matters when choosing the procedure. Those living in Germany generally contact the locally competent citizenship authority; for those habitually resident abroad, the Bundesverwaltungsamt is generally responsible. A German mission abroad can receive applications and provide assistance. The subsequent passport application remains a separate matter for the passport authority or the mission abroad. The Federal Foreign Office's overview of responsibilities helps identify the appropriate office.