German citizenship by descent: who qualifies

The routes

• Likely already GermanA German parent when you were bornSince 1975, either parent passes it on. Before 1975, the rules depended on whether it was your father or mother, and whether your parents were married. You prove it with a citizenship certificate, or by applying for a passport.
• PossiblyA German grandparent or great-grandparentYou’re German if citizenship passed down every generation without a break. The usual break is an ancestor becoming a citizen of another country before their child in your line was born.
• By declarationMissed out because of old rules against mothersFor example, born in wedlock before 1975 to a German mother, or outside marriage before July 1993 to a German father. You can claim by declaration, for free, until August 19, 2031.
• RestorationAncestors persecuted by the NazisPeople stripped of German citizenship between 1933 and 1945 for political, racial or religious reasons, and all their descendants, can have it restored.

Where the chain usually breaks

• Naturalizing abroad before June 27, 2024. Until then, a German who chose to become a citizen of another country usually lost German citizenship automatically, unless they had a special permit first. From August 28, 2007 this didn’t apply to taking another EU or Swiss citizenship. The 2024 change doesn’t undo losses that already happened.
• The timing matters. If your ancestor became, say, American after their child was born, the child had already inherited German citizenship and kept it. If they became American first, the child born afterwards didn’t inherit it.
• Very early emigrants. Before 1914, Germans living abroad for 10 years could lose citizenship. Ancestors who left before about 1904 often lost it this way.
• Second generation born abroad, after 1999. If every German parent you have was born abroad after December 31, 1999 and lived abroad when you were born, and you were born abroad and got another nationality at birth, you’re German only if your birth was registered (or an application was received by a German mission) before your first birthday. It doesn’t apply if you’d otherwise have no nationality.

What a German passport gives you

The right to live, work, study and retire across all 27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. See what an EU passport lets you do. Since June 27, 2024 you can keep your other citizenship.