German Citizenship by Descent/Ancestry

If you are an American citizen with German ancestry, you may be eligible for citizenship by descent. Whether or not you are eligible will largely depend on when you were born, the nationality of your parents, and whether or not they were married when you were born.

Note that being born in Germany is not sufficient to obtain German citizenship. However, you may still be eligible for German citizenship through naturalization, even if you do not have German ancestry. This will generally be an option after 8 years of living legally and continuously in Germany.

There are also a number of other potential routes to German citizenship, including adoption, declaration, and marriage.

Page Contents

• Obtaining German Citizenship through Descent/Ancestry: Overview
• Eligibility for German Citizenship by Descent/Ancestry
• German Citizenship By Declaration
• How to Apply For German Citizenship by Descent?
• Required Documents for German Citizenship by Descent
• Benefits of Obtaining German Citizenship by Descent
• German Dual Citizenship by Descent
• Processing Time
• Application Fees For German Citizenship by Descent
• Other Ways of Acquiring Citizenship in Germany
• German Citizenship Through Naturalization
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

If you are of German descent but did not qualify for German citizenship under the routes already described in this article, you may still be able to obtain German citizenship by declaration. According to the Fourth Act Amending the Nationality Act, a 10-year right of declaration which came into force on 20th August 2021, certain people born to a German parent after 23rd May 1949 may be eligible for German citizenship by declaration.

This route may be an option for you if you were denied citizenship by descent at birth due to past gender-discriminatory versions of the Reich and Nationality Act. Under past versions of this German law, German citizenship was sometimes denied on gender-discriminatory grounds.

For example, you may have been denied German citizenship on gender-discriminatory grounds if you were born out of wedlock to a German mother and non-German father before January 1975, or if your mother lost her German citizenship due to marrying a non-German citizen.

If this applies to you, you may be able to gain German citizenship through this 10-year right of declaration. Note that there is no guarantee that this will continue to be the case once the 10 years have passed.

In order to apply for German citizenship by descent, you will need to complete a number of steps. These are as follows:

You will first need to apply to your local German embassy or consulate. In the US, these services can be found in Washington DC, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. You will need to provide your local consular services with a completed application form and all of the required documents.

Once the application has been submitted, you will receive confirmation that it has been received. You will also be informed if you need to submit further information or documents.

Next, your application will be processed. If the application is successful, you will then receive a certificate of German citizenship.

Once you have successfully acquired German citizenship, you will then be eligible to apply for a passport.

There are a number of documents which you will need to submit as part of your application for German citizenship by descent. Though the exact combination will depend on your specific circumstances, you will generally need to submit the following:

• Passport
• Any additional forms of personal ID
• Birth certificate
• The birth certificate(s) of your parent(s)
• Your parents’ marriage certificate (if applicable)
• Any additional family records, demonstrating your German ancestry (e.g. anything which demonstrates that you have a German mother or German father)
• Certificate of good conduct from the country in which you reside
• Clean criminal record

Depending on the nature of your application, you may also be required to submit additional documents as part of your application. If you are asked to provide additional evidence or information as part of your application, make sure to do so promptly in order to minimize processing delays.

There are a number of benefits if you are able to successfully acquire German citizenship.
For one, Germany is part of the EU, and so German citizenship allows you to live, work, and study in the other EU member states. You will also have easy travel access to the other countries in the EU, whether by train, car, or plane.

Additionally, Germany has a thriving economy and numerous professional opportunities, as well as world-class universities and educational institutions. It thus offers numerous professional and educational opportunities for you and your family.

Furthermore, Germany is a culturally rich country with numerous museums, sites of historical interest, and opportunities to engage with people of other cultures.

In sum, German citizens possess numerous benefits on account of their German citizenship status, making German citizenship well worth pursuing.

If you have dual citizenship, this means that you simultaneously possess citizenship of two different countries. However, each country has its own rules regarding dual citizenship, and so whether or not it is an option for you will depend on the countries in question.

As a general rule, Germany does not allow dual American and German citizenship. However, where you are eligible for German citizenship by descent or declaration, you will generally be able to keep your American citizenship.

Note that, in the case of German citizenship through naturalization, dual US and German citizenship is generally not allowed except in certain circumstances. If you are a citizen of the EU, however, you will be able to retain your original citizenship alongside acquiring German citizenship through naturalization.

The processing time for German citizenship by descent varies based on a number of factors, such as whether your application is submitted correctly and how many other applications are simultaneously being processed.

Generally, however, German citizenship applications can take 2-3 years to be processed.

You can minimize how long your application takes to process by making sure to submit your application correctly, promptly providing any additional information which is requested, and ensuring that you satisfy all the eligibility criteria at the point at which you apply.

You may also choose to seek legal representation in order to help make your application as smooth as possible. Contact Total Law today on +1 844 290 6312 to learn more about how we can help with this.

You should not have to pay a fee in order to apply for German citizenship by descent. However, there may still be outside costs associated with your application. For example, you may need to pay to have your necessary documents translated into German.

You may also choose to pay for legal assistance in order to make your application as smooth as possible. Contact Total Law today on +1 844 290 6312 in order to learn more about the numerous services which we offer.

Alongside German citizenship by descent and declaration, there are a number of other routes through which American citizens may automatically be entitled to German citizenship.

If you are a non-German woman who married a German man between 1st April 1914 and 31st March 1953, you will automatically have acquired German citizenship. If you did so between 1st April 1953 and 31st December 1969, you may also have done so, though this will depend on your specific circumstances.

If you were legally adopted as a minor by a German citizen on the 1st January 1977 or later, you will automatically have gained German citizenship, providing that the adoption took place in Germany. If it took place outside of Germany, you may still be eligible, but you will need to satisfy further conditions.

If you were previously a citizen of the German Democratic Republic, you likely gained automatic citizenship of Germany. You may also have received German citizenship during World War Two if you are from a German minority in either central or eastern Europe.

If you are not eligible for any of the routes to German citizenship already listed in this article, it may still be possible for you to obtain German citizenship through naturalization. However, there are a number of criteria which you must satisfy in order to be eligible.

Generally, you will need to have legally and continuously resided in Germany for at least 8 years in order to be eligible for German citizenship through naturalization. However, it may be possible to reduce this number in certain circumstances, for example if you have married a German citizen, have refugee status, or have completed a German integration course.

Other eligibility criteria include sufficient proficiency in the German language, consent to Germany’s constitution (known as the ‘Basic Law’), and passing Germany’s naturalization test.

Unlike citizenship through descent, there is an application fee for citizenship through naturalization. This is €255, and €51 for each dependent child who is included in the application.