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My Descent Passport
Germany · Documents

The documents you’ll need

You’re proving two things: that your ancestor was German, and that citizenship passed down each generation without a break. Dates of naturalization abroad are often the key evidence.

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Your German ancestor

  • Birth certificate from the German register office (Standesamt), or a church record for older births
  • Proof of German citizenship: an old German passport, ID, citizenship certificate, military papers or similar
  • Marriage certificate
  • Their naturalization record from the country they moved to, showing the date, or proof they never naturalized

Each generation between them and you

  • Long-form birth certificate showing both parents
  • Marriage certificate (this matters for the pre-1975 and pre-1993 rules)
  • Any naturalization record, with dates

You

  • Long-form birth certificate
  • Marriage certificate, if your name changed
  • Copy of your passport
  • The Federal Office of Administration’s application forms

Useful to know

  • Translations and apostilles. Documents in English, French or German generally don’t need translating. Documents in any other language need a certified German translation. For proof of citizenship, divorce judgments and custody agreements need a certified translation, and the Federal Office can ask for other documents to be translated. The German missions in the US say US documents usually don’t need an apostille. Check the Federal Office’s instructions for your own case.
  • Certified copies. From the US, copies certified by a notary public are accepted. German consulates certify copies for free.
  • US naturalization records are held by the National Archives and by US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ genealogy service. The date on them often decides the whole case.
  • UK, Irish and US certificates: see the certificate table on our Ireland page for where to order them and what they cost.

Next stepCommon questions

Common questions
Sources

A plain-English guide, not a legal opinion. Nationality laws can be amended at short notice, so confirm the details with the consulate or the official body before you send an application or pay anything. The full disclaimer.

Cousins and siblings may qualify as well

One ancestor can open the same door for a whole branch of the family, and you can split the cost of the certificates. Send them this page while it’s fresh in your mind.

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