Naturalisation and citizenship in Germany

The rules for getting German citizenship are complicated and it is not easy to become German. You may need an immigration lawyer if you intend to try.
It usually requires 8 years living in the country (7 years if you show good social integration) and several other requirements also need to be fulfilled.
Exceptions (i.e. naturalisation after somewhat shorter periods) are possible for spouses of German citizens or if an unacceptable hardship can only thus be avoided. These are case-by-case decisions and not common.
You'll have to renounce all non-EU citizenships to become German.

Note: Kids born to a German (at the time of birth) father or mother are automatically German, even if they do not know about it and no formal paperwork exists (this can be changed by applying for a passport at the nearest German embassy). Germans by birth are allowed to keep other citizenships by birth.

Hi i saw that u are willing to help many people in the area of living and moving to germany
Can u help me too
I am a banker , female , egyptian , single , desperately want to immigrate to germany , any help please , work , study or any
I am willing to do anything just to move in the nearest future
Please take my case seriously

Nourhan Maihoob wrote:

Hi i saw that u are willing to help many people in the area of living and moving to germany
Can u help me too
I am a banker , female , egyptian , single , desperately want to immigrate to germany , any help please , work , study or any
I am willing to do anything just to move in the nearest future
Please take my case seriously

Nourhan: It is not clear from your post whom you address.
In any case, your question is off-topic here, because you need to live in Germany for many years before you can apply for citizenship - see my post above.

Germany,not the best country if you plan to get a passport of a first world country. Not allowing dual citizenship is a show stopper for me.

Hi,

This link has a nice summary: http://www.migrationsrecht.net/european … ation.html

Germany now recognises dual nationality. My daughter is Australian and acquired a German passport because her father was born in Germany. She has both passports.

Hi, this is partially incorrect. Germany has agreements with certain countries and on such cases (e.g. Brazil), you are not required to relinquish your original citizenship and can maintain dual citizenship.

Double citizenship is only allowed for those who are German AND another country's citizens by birth, for EU citizens and for those whose original country does not allow them to renounce.

It took 6 months for my German citizenship to get approved since our marriage certificate needed an Apostille. So I had to post it in Ireland (where we got married).
If married to a Geman, you must be at least 2 years married, 3 years legally entitled residence in Germany, have passed the B1 Zertifikat and Einbürgerungstest (they will look for the original).  As a Filipino (Philippines) national, I have to renounce my Filipino citizenship as I am not entitled to have a dual-citizenship. While my son, born in Germany, he is allowed to have a dual-citizenship.
Nowadays, as my friend just applied for her Citizenship, they are also doing background checks.

Agree... Germany has no law officially allowing for Dual Citizenships, and it is generally only for a child(ren) of German Fathers before 1975 and German Mothers after 1974.  By acquiring German citizenship through other pathways, the passport from the originating country needs to be given up.

If a German parent(s) does not register their child or children within a certain amount of time from birth, Dual Citizenship is not a guarantee and conditions to obtaining a German Passport likely apply - basically through an accelerated naturalization process.  Again, in this instance (only) Dual Passports/Citizenship is allowed.

just a quick question about the "exceptions" mentioned above. We're thinking of moving to Germany. My wife is British, my kids have dual citizenship and I am German. We've been living in the UK for nearly 15 years but my wife is fluent in German (German teacher) and has German children/husband plus we got married in Germany 6 years ago, so have all the paperwork etc in German.
Would you think she's got a case for an exception and might get German citizenship pretty quickly? We're thinking of applying now whilst still in the UK.

I think she has to prove that she has stayed in Germany for a certain amount of time. Once you arrive in DE, you should register your family members at the Registration Office of which town you'll be residing. I'm not sure what would be the prerequisites for British nationals. But I guess, your wife won't have to wait for 8 years to apply for German citizenship.

Vielleicht können Sie diese Website kontaktieren..

http://www.bamf.de/DE/Willkommen/Einbue … -node.html

Marcus, I don't think there is much word play or nuance in German law. Although I have read the word 'discretion', as in a German official may allow for some discretion in determining an individual outcome, if there is no clearly documented 'exemption' - specifically a change to the law, the options are either black or white.

The law you're looking for may be out there, but you will have to find it, as in my experience, if you don't know it or have it in hand, a German official is not going to willingly, or proactively, provide it to you.

jblanche wrote:

It took 6 months for my German citizenship to get approved since our marriage certificate needed an Apostille. So I had to post it in Ireland (where we got married).
If married to a Geman, you must be at least 2 years married, 3 years legally entitled residence in Germany, have passed the B1 Zertifikat and Einbürgerungstest (they will look for the original).  As a Filipino (Philippines) national, I have to renounce my Filipino citizenship as I am not entitled to have a dual-citizenship. While my son, born in Germany, he is allowed to have a dual-citizenship.
Nowadays, as my friend just applied for her Citizenship, they are also doing background checks.

Farther down you post a link to an official government site that states the one needs to have had legal residency in Germany for 8 years, although there are special exceptions where it can be shortened to 6. So how is it that you say you managed after only 3 years?

I have to wonder about the near obsession of getting a German passport. Why? If one is married to a German and their kids are German then they should have no problem getting residency. So what is the big advantage other than getting to vote in German elections? There might be some limitations at first, particular that until one has a Niederlassungerlaubnis one can lose their already established residency by leaving Germany for more than a year.  But for most practical purposes it doesn’t bring much but means that any non –EU passports must be given up. Sometimes American politics makes me so angry that I consider giving up my American citizenship for German but then fear that I might have trouble to go back and visit family in America.

Hi TominStuttgart,

There are some discretions from Foreign National Registration Office for spouses of Germans. Must be at least 2 years married and have been legally residing for 3 years. Also, some additional requirements which I stated in my post.

Not saying you are wrong but it sounds very strange because lots of foreigners are married to Germans, myself included,  and do NOT get those conditions. Even in that situation it usually takes a minimum of 6, normally 8 years. I simply see no legal grounds for such an exemption and the website you linked to contradicts your claims.... Unlimited residency in 3 years yes, citizenship no. Are you sure you haven't confused the two?

Tom,

I think you will find Brexit is to blame in this case.

SimCityAT wrote:

Tom,

I think you will find Brexit is to blame in this case.

Nonsense, Brexit has nothing to do with the subject at hand. Once Brexit has gone through then it will likely be harder for UK citizens to immigrate to, or work in, Germany.

But the person here in question is married to a German as are her kids and she is already fluent in the language. This relationship overrides the fact if the UK is in the EU or not. And with residency assured, I still don't see the big advantage of wanting to quickly get a German passport. Brexit changes nothing in this particular case.