Citizenship by Descent in Germany

It turns on whether your parent was a German citizen when you were born. Gather their German passport or birth certificate and any foreign naturalisation record, and compare its date with your birth.

A child of a German parent is usually German from birth, without any application. A parent could be German without ever holding a German passport, because citizenship passed automatically from their own parent.

Before 27 June 2024, a German who applied for another citizenship lost German citizenship. A parent naturalised abroad before your birth was no longer German; if after, you were born German.

For births before 1975, or before July 1993, which parent was German and whether they were married also mattered. Your full birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate settle that.

If the records are unclear, the Bundesverwaltungsamt determines nationality on application and issues a certificate of nationality where it finds you are German.

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