DE · Citizenship by descent

German citizenship by descent

Reaches a grandparent. A great-grandparent only if your ancestor fled Nazi persecution. Every answer on this page is what Postern’s rulebook returns, word for word, with the law it cites. The free check runs the same rules.

Last verified 25 September 202630 sourcesNot legal advice

DE · PARENTLIKELYThrough a parentCitizen by descentDE · GRANDPARENTPOSSIBLEThrough a grandparentCitizen by descentDE · GREAT-GRANDPARENTUNLIKELYThrough a great-grandparentCitizen by descentLikely if your ancestor fled Nazi persecution
Routes
Restoration (Art. 116(2) GG / §15 StAG) · Citizen by descent (§4 StAG) · Declaration (§5 StAG)
Dual citizenship
Kept on every open route
Comes with
EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

The stamps assume no one in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born. What changes each answer is below.

On this page
  1. 01Who qualifies
  2. 02Dates that matter
  3. 03Mothers’ lines
  4. 04Keeping your citizenship
  5. 05The routes and the law
  6. 06The documents
  7. 07What it takes
  8. 08Where the records live
  9. 09Former places
  10. 10Law changes
  11. 11Other doors
  12. 12Sources

01Who qualifies

Who qualifies, generation by generation

LIKELY

Can you claim German citizenship through a parent?

Citizen by descent

A child of a German citizen is German by birth. You may only need to document it.

What changes the answer

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    If your ancestor took another citizenship before their child was born, German citizenship did not pass down. The 2024 reform ended that loss rule going forward but did not undo losses that had already happened.

  • LIKELY
    If your ancestor fled Nazi persecutionRestoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

    Descendants of people who lost or were denied German citizenship under Nazi persecution are restored or naturalised by right, in any generation, and keep their other citizenships.

  • LIKELY
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    A minor who became a foreign citizen automatically through a parent's naturalization did not, as a rule, lose German citizenship; the loss rule reached only acquisitions made on the person's own application or one made for them. German Missions in the United States: loss of German citizenship (children naturalized with their parents)

  • POSSIBLE
    If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1975Declaration under §5 StAG

    Born before 1975 to a German mother, you did not receive citizenship at birth, but since 2021 you can acquire it by simple declaration.

If your ancestor fled Nazi persecution, 2 more cases
  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    Descendants of people persecuted 1933–1945 are usually restored by right, but where the ancestor later voluntarily took another nationality (or held German status only through the Anschluss), the authorities and courts have refused; the chain needs a document review.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending

    Restoration under Article 116(2) has no character condition, but naturalisation under §15 is barred for anyone sentenced for intentional offences to two years or more of imprisonment or youth custody, or placed in preventive detention. Nationality Act (StAG) §15: naturalisation for descendants of persecuted persons who lost or were denied citizenship, §15 sentence 1, last clause

POSSIBLE

Can you claim German citizenship through a grandparent?

Citizen by descent

Through a German grandparent, citizenship may have passed down unbroken, but pre-1975 maternal lines and any naturalization along the way break it. It needs a document review.

What would settle itWhether each person in the line was still German when the next was born.

What changes the answer

  • POSSIBLE
    If the grandparent is your grandmother

    Before 1975 citizenship generally did not pass from a German mother; the §5 declaration repairs many such lines. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    If your ancestor took another citizenship before their child was born, German citizenship did not pass down. The 2024 reform ended that loss rule going forward but did not undo losses that had already happened.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you don’t know whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth

    Any voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship before 2024 ended the line at that point. Nationality Act (StAG) §25 (pre-2024)

  • LIKELY
    If your ancestor fled Nazi persecutionRestoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

    Descendants of people who lost or were denied German citizenship under Nazi persecution are restored or naturalised by right, in any generation, and keep their other citizenships.

  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    A minor who became a foreign citizen automatically through a parent's naturalization did not, as a rule, lose German citizenship; the loss rule reached only acquisitions made on the person's own application or one made for them. German Missions in the United States: loss of German citizenship (children naturalized with their parents)

If your ancestor fled Nazi persecution, 2 more cases
  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    Descendants of people persecuted 1933–1945 are usually restored by right, but where the ancestor later voluntarily took another nationality (or held German status only through the Anschluss), the authorities and courts have refused; the chain needs a document review.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending

    Restoration under Article 116(2) has no character condition, but naturalisation under §15 is barred for anyone sentenced for intentional offences to two years or more of imprisonment or youth custody, or placed in preventive detention. Nationality Act (StAG) §15: naturalisation for descendants of persecuted persons who lost or were denied citizenship, §15 sentence 1, last clause

UNLIKELY

Can you claim German citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Citizen by descent

Chains this long rarely survive Germany's old loss rules, but a document review can tell you for sure.

What would settle itWhether each person in the line was still German when the next was born.

What changes the answer

  • UNLIKELY
    If the great-grandparent is your great-grandmother

    Before 1975 citizenship generally did not pass from a German mother; the §5 declaration repairs many such lines. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    If your ancestor took another citizenship before their child was born, German citizenship did not pass down. The 2024 reform ended that loss rule going forward but did not undo losses that had already happened.

  • UNLIKELY
    If you don’t know whether anyone in the line naturalized elsewhere before the next birth

    Any voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship before 2024 ended the line at that point. Nationality Act (StAG) §25 (pre-2024)

  • LIKELY
    If your ancestor fled Nazi persecutionRestoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

    Descendants of people who lost or were denied German citizenship under Nazi persecution are restored or naturalised by right, in any generation, and keep their other citizenships.

  • UNLIKELY
    If someone in the line naturalized elsewhere while their child was still a minor

    A minor who became a foreign citizen automatically through a parent's naturalization did not, as a rule, lose German citizenship; the loss rule reached only acquisitions made on the person's own application or one made for them. German Missions in the United States: loss of German citizenship (children naturalized with their parents)

If your ancestor fled Nazi persecution, 2 more cases
  • POSSIBLE
    If someone in the line became a citizen of another country before the next person in the line was born

    Descendants of people persecuted 1933–1945 are usually restored by right, but where the ancestor later voluntarily took another nationality (or held German status only through the Anschluss), the authorities and courts have refused; the chain needs a document review.

  • POSSIBLE
    If you have a criminal conviction or charges pending

    Restoration under Article 116(2) has no character condition, but naturalisation under §15 is barred for anyone sentenced for intentional offences to two years or more of imprisonment or youth custody, or placed in preventive detention. Nationality Act (StAG) §15: naturalisation for descendants of persecuted persons who lost or were denied citizenship, §15 sentence 1, last clause

02Dates that matter

The dates that matter

  1. 1933

    Former German citizens deprived of citizenship on political, racial or religious grounds between 1933 and 1945, and their descendants, shall on application have their citizenship restored. Basic Law (Grundgesetz), Article 116(2): restoration for those deprived of citizenship 1933–1945 and their descendants

  2. 1975
    1 January 1975

    Children born before 1 January 1975 to a German mother and a foreign father acquire citizenship by declaration, until 19 August 2031. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)

  3. 1975

    Before 1975 citizenship generally did not pass from a German mother; the §5 declaration repairs many such lines. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)

  4. 2024

    Until 2024, a German who voluntarily acquired a foreign citizenship lost German citizenship; a child born afterwards did not acquire it by descent. Nationality Act (StAG) former §25 (repealed 27 June 2024; the repeal is not retroactive)

  5. 2024

    Any voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship before 2024 ended the line at that point. Nationality Act (StAG) §25 (pre-2024)

  6. 2024
    June 2024

    Since June 2024, German law permits holding another citizenship. Act to Modernise Nationality Law (StARModG), Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 104

03Mothers’ lines

How mothers’ lines were treated

In Germany’s rule, the answer changes when the line runs through a woman:

In the law’s words

04Keeping your citizenship

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

05The routes

Every route, and the law behind it

Citizen by descent

Open through a parent or a grandparent

  • LIKELY
    Through a parent
  • POSSIBLE
    Through a grandparent

The law

What would settle an unsure case

  • The naturalization date against the next birth date in your line.
  • Whether each person in the line was still German when the next was born.

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

Open through a parent, a grandparent or a great-grandparent

  • LIKELY
    Through a parent, if your ancestor fled Nazi persecution

The law

What would settle an unsure case

  • How and when the ancestor lost German citizenship: deprivation under the Nazi decrees qualifies; a later voluntary acquisition of another nationality, or Anschluss-derived status, can defeat the claim (VG Köln, 10 K 5602/15).
  • Whether your ancestor was deprived of citizenship by the Nazi decrees (Article 116(2), no character bar) or emigrated and lost it otherwise (§15, barred by a sentence of two years or more), and the length of any sentence.

06The documents

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Through a parent

  • Your parent's German birth certificate or citizenship certificate
  • Your parents' marriage certificate
  • Your birth certificate

Through a grandparent

  • German civil records for your ancestor
  • Each generation's birth, marriage and naturalization records

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

Through a parent or grandparent or great-grandparent

  • Evidence your ancestor was a German citizen or lived in Germany before persecution (registration, passport, birth or marriage record)
  • Evidence of persecution or emigration (emigration records, expatriation lists, restitution files)
  • Birth and marriage records for each generation to you

Declaration under §5 StAG

Through a parent, if the parent is your mother and you were born before 1975

  • Your parent's German birth certificate or citizenship certificate
  • Your parents' marriage certificate
  • Your birth certificate

Most countries also want proof that no one in the line became a citizen elsewhere before the next birth: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter that none exists.

07What it takes

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

Time
1–3 years for the certificate of citizenship (Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis), then 4–8 weeks for a passport.
Cost
About $400–900: the €51 certificate fee, apostilles, translations and copies.
The hard part
Showing the chain was never broken: no one in the line took another citizenship before the next birth, and pre-1975 births through a German mother need the §5 declaration.
Who decides
The Bundesverwaltungsamt, through the German consulate for your address.
The first record
Your ancestor’s German birth record (Geburtsurkunde), from The Standesamt of the town where they were born. Write to the Standesamt with the name and approximate date; older records may be at the town or state archive. FamilySearch’s Germany Civil Registration wiki helps identify which Standesamt now covers a given town, since many merged after the 1970s. Many answer in 2–6 weeks; expect a €10–15 fee. familysearch.org

How it’s filed

Where
Posted directly to the Bundesverwaltungsamt, 50728 Köln, after the mission for your state has reviewed the Fragebogen; or handed to that mission, which forwards it office list
How
By post; no appearance needed
Fee
About $58
Decision
12–36 months
What goes in the file (9)
  1. Antrag F signed in original, plus one copy
  2. Anlage V for each ancestor generation, original plus copy
  3. Certified copy of your current passport (photo and data pages); a U.S. notary's copy certification is accepted
  4. Your birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate
  5. Birth and marriage records for each generation back to the ancestor born in or before 1914
  6. Proof of the ancestor's German citizenship: old German passport, Heimatschein, registration card, military papers, or naturalisation certificate
  7. Each generation's U.S. naturalisation certificate or proof of no naturalisation (loss under former §25 StAG before 27 June 2024 breaks the line)
  8. Divorce decrees and custody papers, with certified translation
  9. One set of certified copies and one set of plain copies of every document
What goes wrong (11)
  • Step zero from the U.S.: send the 'Fragebogen zur Staatsangehörigkeit' to the mission for your state; missions say a certificate of citizenship is usually needed only when there is doubt, and a parent-line case may go straight to a passport application.
  • Fee €51 on a positive decision, €25–51 on refusal, €38 if withdrawn after work began; pay only when the BVA asks, by bank transfer (no cards, checks or cash).
  • BVA online filing via the Bundesportal needs a German eID or eIDAS-level identity, which U.S. filers do not have; filing by post is the practical route, and filings by a representative are post-only.
  • Apostilles are not required for U.S. documents submitted through the U.S. missions; documents from third countries may need one.
  • Copies must be certified by a notary, the issuing registrar or a German authority; the U.S. missions certify copies for citizenship applications, and a U.S. notary public's copy certification is accepted.
  • Nine U.S. missions by state: Washington (DC, DE, MD, VA, WV); Atlanta (AL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN); Boston (CT except Fairfield County, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT); Chicago (IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI); Houston (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX); Los Angeles (southern California counties, AZ, CO, NV, UT); Miami (FL, PR, USVI); New York (NY, NJ, PA, Fairfield County CT); San Francisco (rest of CA, AK, HI, ID, MT, OR, WA, WY).
  • The 2024 dual-citizenship reform is not retroactive: an ancestor who naturalised abroad before 27 June 2024 without a retention permit lost German citizenship, and children born afterwards did not acquire it.
  • From CA: file through the German embassy in Ottawa or the consulates in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver; English and French documents follow those missions' own guidance.
  • From GB: through the embassy in London or the consulate general in Edinburgh; UK certificates need an apostille.
  • From AU/NZ: through the missions in Canberra/Sydney or Wellington; expect apostilles on home documents.
  • From BR/AR/ZA: documents in Portuguese or Spanish need sworn translation into German, and the BVA has a dedicated phone line for South America; Argentina has its own line.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

Time
1–3 years at the Federal Office of Administration once filed, plus 6–18 months to gather the historical documents first; no fee.
Cost
About $300–800: certified copies, apostilles and translations. The application itself is free.
The hard part
Documenting that your ancestor lost German citizenship through persecution: the 1941 decree, an emigration record, or a restitution file.
Who decides
The Bundesverwaltungsamt in Cologne, through the nearest German consulate.
The first record
Proof of your ancestor’s German citizenship or residence and their persecution, from The Arolsen Archives (free, online) and the German Federal Archives. Search Arolsen by name and birth date; it holds emigration, deportation and displaced-persons records. Then ask the Bundesarchiv for the citizenship file. collections.arolsen-archives.org

How it’s filed

Where
The German mission for your U.S. state, which forwards to the Bundesverwaltungsamt in Cologne (by post in duplicate, or at a citizenship-matters appointment where copies are certified free) office list
How
By post; you appear in person
Appointments
RK-Termin (Federal Foreign Office appointment system), category 'Citizenship matters'. Each calendar view is behind an image captcha. New York's categories include 'Submitting a new application' and 'Picking up citizenship certificates'; the mission certifies copies free for Art. 116(2)/§15 forms brought to the appointment. Some missions accept postal filing without an appointment. The Auswärtiges Amt's own terms require the system be used only 'bestimmungsgemäß' (as intended); misuse or false data can get a booking deleted and the user permanently excluded, a further basis for treating RK-Termin as not automatable.
Fee
No fee
Decision
12–36 months
What goes in the file (8)
  1. Antrag A (or E15) in duplicate, completed in German
  2. Anlage VA (or AV) for each generation back to the persecuted ancestor
  3. Certified copy of your current passport (photo and data pages)
  4. Your birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate
  5. Birth and marriage records linking each generation to the persecuted ancestor, with adoption, divorce and name-change papers where they apply
  6. Evidence of the ancestor's former German citizenship or residence: old passport, registration card, birth or marriage record
  7. Evidence of persecution and loss: expatriation list entry, emigration record, restitution file, or acquisition of Palestinian Mandate or other citizenship
  8. §15 only: FBI Identity History Summary, apostilled, not older than 6 months
What goes wrong (6)
  • Free of charge. The naturalisation certificate only takes effect when handed over, so at least one personal appearance at the mission is required even if filed by post.
  • U.S. missions: English documents generally need no translation and U.S. documents need no apostille for Art. 116(2).
  • Art. 116(2) covers people deprived of citizenship 30 Jan 1933–8 May 1945 and descendants; after the Constitutional Court's 2020 decision this includes children born before 1 April 1953 to expatriated German mothers and before 1 July 1993 to expatriated unmarried German fathers.
  • §15 covers those who lost or gave up citizenship before 26 February 1955 in connection with persecution (including by naturalising abroad), were excluded from acquiring it, or lost residence in Germany; excluded if convicted to 2+ years or under §11 StAG.
  • Earlier refused Art. 116(2) cases may be re-raised with the mission at any time.
  • From GB/CA/AU/NZ/ZA/BR/AR: file through the German mission for your residence; translation and apostille rules follow that mission's guidance, and non-English documents need sworn German translation.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Declaration under §5 StAG

Time
1–3 years; the declaration route has a queue.
Cost
About $300–700 in copies, apostilles and translations. The declaration is free.
The hard part
Assembling the German mother’s or grandmother’s citizenship proof and each birth in the line. The declaration must physically arrive at the Bundesverwaltungsamt in Cologne by 19 August 2031; mailing it in the final weeks risks missing the deadline in transit.
Who decides
The Bundesverwaltungsamt, through the German consulate.
The first record
Your German ancestor’s birth record, from The Standesamt of their birthplace. Write with the name and approximate date; expect 2–6 weeks. familysearch.org

How it’s filed

Where
The German mission for your U.S. state (forwards without delay) or directly to the Bundesverwaltungsamt, 50728 Köln office list
How
By post; no appearance needed
Appointments
RK-Termin, category 'Citizenship matters' / 'Declaration for German citizenship'. Image captcha on the calendar. New York lists the eligibility tests on the booking page and asks for the EER form, the FBI check and your passport at the appointment; family members may file in one appointment.
Fee
No fee
Decision
12–36 months
What goes in the file (7)
  1. Signed declaration (Vordruck EER)
  2. Anlage_EER, and Anlage_AV for each further ancestor
  3. Certified copy of your current passport
  4. FBI Identity History Summary, original, not older than 6 months
  5. Your birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate
  6. The German parent's or ancestor's proof of German citizenship at the relevant birth
  7. Birth and marriage records for each generation, with adoption, divorce and name-change papers where they apply
What goes wrong (3)
  • Deadline: the declaration must reach the Bundesverwaltungsamt by 19 August 2031; the date it arrives in Cologne counts, not the date it reached a mission.
  • Free of charge; costs of documents, translations and certifications are not refunded.
  • Only for people born after 23 May 1949; the BVA can use documents from an earlier proceeding if you give its file number.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Estimates are honest ranges from official fee tables and what families report; where a fee or time could not be confirmed, it says so.

08Where the records live

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

  • birth1916–2026

    The Standesamt (municipal civil registry) of the place of birth, which keeps birth registers for 110 years

    The Standesamt is the one for the town of birth as it is organised today; many small Standesämter merged in the 1970s municipal reforms, so search the town name plus 'Standesamt' and confirm which office now holds the old registers. For births in former eastern territories (now Poland/Russia), Standesamt I in Berlin holds the surviving German-era registers.

    Ask
    By email, in German
    Fee
    12 EUR (about $14)
    Takes
    2–9 weeks
    Good to know (4)
    • Direct descendants are entitled to certificates without showing further interest (§ 62(1) PStG); include birth certificates linking you to the person.
    • Fees are set by each Land: Berlin charges €12 per certificate and €6 for each further copy ordered at the same time; expect €10–15 elsewhere. Payment is usually by bank transfer from abroad; some cities have online ordering with card payment.
    • Ask for a 'beglaubigte Abschrift aus dem Geburtenregister', which carries later annotations (legitimation, name changes); the BVA finds these more useful than a short Geburtsurkunde.
    • If the registering Standesamt is unknown, Berlin charges €20–80 for a search that can take up to 8 months.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • birth1874–1915

    The municipal (Stadtarchiv / Kreisarchiv) or state (Landesarchiv) archive that took over the Standesamt's registers after the 110-year period

    Civil registration began in Prussia on 1 October 1874 and in the rest of the Reich on 1 January 1876. After 110 years (births), 80 years (marriages) and 30 years (deaths) the registers are offered to the competent public archive (§§ 5(5), 7(3) PStG). Ask the town's Standesamt which archive received them; in Berlin it is the Landesarchiv Berlin.

    Ask
    By email, in German
    Fee
    15 EUR (about $17)
    Takes
    3–17 weeks
    Good to know (3)
    • Archive fees follow each archive's own schedule (research time plus copies); €10–40 per record is typical but unverified per archive.
    • Archives issue certified copies of the register entry rather than a modern Geburtsurkunde; the BVA accepts these.
    • Many archives' registers are digitised on FamilySearch or Ancestry; finding the entry there first makes the request precise.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • birth1500–1875

    Church books (Kirchenbücher): Protestant registers at the regional church archive (Landeskirchliches Archiv), Catholic registers at the diocesan archive (Bistumsarchiv) or still in the parish; Jewish registers mostly at state archives

    Find the parish that served the town, then the church body's archive. Matricula (free) carries many Catholic dioceses; Archion (paid) carries most Protestant regional churches.

    Ask
    By email, in German
    Takes
    3–17 weeks
    Good to know (3)
    • Only needed for a descent chain back to an ancestor born before civil registration; the BVA asks for proof back to an ancestor born in or before 1914, which normally falls inside civil registration.
    • Archion (Protestant registers) needs a paid login: €19.90 for a 1-month pass or €52.20 for 3 months, so treat it as index 'no' for automation.
    • Registers are in old German script (Kurrent/Sütterlin); reading them is a human step.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • marriage1946–2026

    The Standesamt of the place of marriage (marriage registers kept 80 years)

    The Standesamt for the town of the marriage as organised today; older entries (before about 1946) are in the municipal or state archive.

    Ask
    By email, in German
    Fee
    12 EUR (about $14)
    Takes
    2–9 weeks

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • marriage1874–1945

    The municipal or state archive that received the Standesamt's marriage registers after 80 years

    Ask
    By email, in German
    Fee
    15 EUR (about $17)
    Takes
    3–17 weeks

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • residence

    The municipal archive (Stadtarchiv) of the last German residence, which holds residence registration cards (Einwohnermeldekarten) and often Heimatschein / citizenship files

    Search the town name plus 'Stadtarchiv'. For Hamburg, the Staatsarchiv takes requests only through its online service, including residence and emigration evidence 'for citizenship applications'.

    Ask
    By email, in German
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (3)
    • Registration cards are the BVA's preferred proof of residence and nationality before emigration, and for §15 cases of residence in Germany before 30 January 1933.
    • Many cities' cards were lost in the war; a negative answer is itself useful and should be kept.
    • Hamburg: requests only via the Staatsarchiv online service; fees under the Staatsarchiv fee schedule.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • emigration1850–1934

    Staatsarchiv Hamburg (Bestand 373-7 I, Auswandereramt: passenger lists of emigrants via Hamburg, with a 1915–1919 gap)

    Hamburg lists cover departures via Hamburg only; Bremen's lists were largely destroyed. Arrival manifests at the U.S. National Archives are the other side of the same voyage.

    Ask
    Online, in German · request page ↗
    Takes
    4–17 weeks
    Good to know (2)
    • The Staatsarchiv's online service is the only accepted channel for requests; it explicitly offers emigration evidence for citizenship applications.
    • Fee depends on research time under the Staatsarchiv's fee schedule (unverified amount).

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • other

    Arolsen Archives (International Center on Nazi Persecution): camp, deportation, forced-labour and displaced-persons records

    Ask
    Online, in English or German · request page ↗
    Fee
    0 EUR (about $0)
    Takes
    1–13 months
    Good to know (3)
    • Search the free online archive first; the written inquiry averages 5 months and can take up to 13 (Arolsen's own figures).
    • Arolsen researches at most ten individuals per inquirer per quarter.
    • Arolsen does not hold records on emigrants who simply left before the war; for them, use municipal registration and restitution files.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • citizenship1933–1945

    Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives), Berlin: the list of Jewish residents of the German Reich 1933–1945 (Residentenliste), the 1939 census supplementary cards, and the Gedenkbuch

    Ask
    By email, in German or English
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (2)
    • The Bundesarchiv reports that citizenship-restoration cases are now the largest share of Residentenliste inquiries; expect a queue.
    • Collective expatriation of Jews living abroad (11th Ordinance, 25 November 1941) and individual expatriation lists published in the Reichsanzeiger are the usual proof of deprivation for Art. 116(2); the BVA itself checks its own records, so a family need not find the list entry before filing.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

  • other

    State archives and compensation offices holding restitution (Wiedergutmachung / Entschädigung) case files, which often contain the persecutee's German documents

    Ask
    By email, in German
    Takes
    1–6 months
    Good to know (1)
    • Files sit with the Land where the claim was made (often where the persecutee last lived); the portal indexes around 800,000 files across archives.

    Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

Translations

Into
German
Who may translate
A sworn translator in the country
About
$40–$100 a page

The BVA's own leaflets require a sworn translator for every foreign-language document. The German missions in the U.S. say otherwise for U.S. filers: for Art. 116(2) 'translation of English-language documents is generally not necessary', and for a certificate of citizenship only divorce decrees and custody agreements must be translated, the BVA reserving the right to ask for more. So: file U.S. records in English, translate divorce/custody papers and anything the BVA requests, using a translator sworn in Germany (vereidigter Übersetzer). Per-page prices are an estimate, not a verified tariff. The application forms themselves must be completed in German.

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

The passport

Where
In person at the German mission for your U.S. state (or some honorary consuls), by RK-Termin appointment; the Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis or naturalisation certificate is the proof of citizenship
Fee
About $120
Time
6–10 weeks

Checked 25 September 2026 · source ↗

09Former places

Places on old papers that lead to Germany

If your family’s records name one of these, Germany’s law may be the one that applies. The town decides.

  • Prussia · also Preussen, Preußen

    Most of Prussia is Germany or Poland today. The town decides which law applies.

    Today: Germany, Poland, Lithuania, RU

  • Silesia · also Schlesien

    Mostly Poland today; the town decides.

    Today: Poland, Czechia, Germany

  • Pomerania · also Pommern

    Split between Poland and Germany.

    Today: Poland, Germany

  • Sudetenland

    Czechia today; Germany has a route for some families.

    Today: Czechia, Germany

  • Alsace-Lorraine · also Elsass

    France today; German between 1871 and 1918.

    Today: France, Germany

  • West Germany · also East Germany, GDR, DDR

    One Germany since 1990.

10Law changes

Recent and pending changes

The legislative watch has no pending bill or recent ruling recorded for Germany.

Already in the rule

The watch re-reads the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person re-checks the rule before anything here moves.

11Other doors

If descent doesn’t reach you

3 residence programs lead to Germany without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.

12Sources

Every source on this page

7 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing. Records and filing checked 25 September 2026.

  1. LawNationality Act (StAG) §4: acquisition by birth
  2. LawNationality Act (StAG) former §25 (repealed 27 June 2024; the repeal is not retroactive)
  3. LawBasic Law (Grundgesetz), Article 116(2): restoration for those deprived of citizenship 1933–1945 and their descendants
  4. LawNationality Act (StAG) §15: naturalisation for descendants of persecuted persons who lost or were denied citizenship · §15 sentence 1, last clause
  5. LawGerman Missions in the United States: loss of German citizenship (children naturalized with their parents)
  6. LawNationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)
  7. LawNationality Act (StAG) §25 (pre-2024)
  8. RecordsThe Standesamt of the town where they were born: Your ancestor’s German birth record (Geburtsurkunde)
  9. RecordsHow to file: Citizen by descent · checked 25 September 2026
  10. RecordsAntrag F (Feststellung der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit, 16 and over; F_K for children under 16) with one Anlage V per German ancestor generation · checked 25 September 2026
  11. RecordsThe Arolsen Archives (free, online) and the German Federal Archives: Proof of your ancestor’s German citizenship or residence and their persecution
  12. RecordsHow to file: Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG · checked 25 September 2026
  13. RecordsArt. 116(2) GG: Antrag A (16 and over; AK for children) with one Anlage VA per generation. §15 StAG: Antrag E15 (E15_K for children) with Anlage AV per earlier generation. · checked 25 September 2026
  14. RecordsRK-Termin (Federal Foreign Office appointment system), category 'Citizenship matters' · checked 25 September 2026
  15. RecordsHow to file: Declaration under §5 StAG · checked 25 September 2026
  16. RecordsErklärung zum Erwerb der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit (Vordruck EER), with Anlage_EER (if no other BVA case is pending) and Anlage_AV for further ancestors · checked 25 September 2026
  17. RecordsBirth records, 1916–2026: The Standesamt · checked 25 September 2026
  18. RecordsBirth records, 1874–1915: The municipal · checked 25 September 2026
  19. RecordsBirth records, 1500–1875: Church books · checked 25 September 2026
  20. RecordsMatricula Online (Catholic church books, free) · checked 25 September 2026
  21. RecordsMarriage records, 1946–2026: The Standesamt of the place of marriage · checked 25 September 2026
  22. RecordsResidence records: The municipal archive · checked 25 September 2026
  23. RecordsHamburg Passenger Lists 1850–1934 (index hosted by Ancestry, the archive's project partner; subscription) · checked 25 September 2026
  24. RecordsOther records: Arolsen Archives · checked 25 September 2026
  25. RecordsArolsen online archive · checked 25 September 2026
  26. RecordsCitizenship records, 1933–1945: Bundesarchiv · checked 25 September 2026
  27. RecordsGedenkbuch (memorial book of Jewish victims) · checked 25 September 2026
  28. RecordsOther records: State archives and compensation offices holding restitution · checked 25 September 2026
  29. RecordsTranslations into German · checked 25 September 2026
  30. RecordsThe passport: where, the fee and the wait · checked 25 September 2026

Not legal advice. Postern’s rulebook is written from the statutes and tested against documented cases; where the law is unsettled, the answer says “possible” or “unsure” rather than guess.

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