German citizenship by descent: who qualifies, the law, and what it takes

Q: Can you claim German citizenship through a parent?

Likely. A child of a German citizen is German by birth. You may only need to document it. If someone in your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family was born: unlikely. If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1975: possible.

Q: Can you claim German citizenship through a grandparent?

Possible. 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. If someone in your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family was born: unlikely. If your ancestor fled Nazi persecution: likely.

Q: Can you claim German citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Unlikely. Chains this long rarely survive Germany’s old loss rules, but a document review can tell you for sure. If your ancestor fled Nazi persecution: likely.

Through a parentLIKELYCitizen by descent Through a grandparentPOSSIBLECitizen by descent Through a great-grandparentUNLIKELYCitizen by descentLikely if your ancestor fled Nazi persecution

Ways to apply: Restoration (Art. 116(2) GG / §15 StAG) · Citizen by descent (§4 StAG) · Declaration (§5 StAG)
Dual citizenship: Kept, however you apply
Comes with: EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.

On this page

01Who qualifies
02Dates that matter
03Through your mother
04Keeping your citizenship
05Ways to apply
06The documents
07What it takes
08Where the records live
09Places that changed countries
10Law changes
11Other options
12Sources

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.

A child acquires German citizenship by birth if one parent is a German citizen. Nationality Act (StAG) §4: acquisition by birth

What changes the answer

UNLIKELY
If someone in your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family 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 your family 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 your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family 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; each case 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 your family was still German when the next was born.

Citizenship by descent must pass down unbroken: each parent must have been German at the child’s birth. Nationality Act (StAG) §4: acquisition by birth

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 fixes many such cases. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)
UNLIKELY
If someone in your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family 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 your family naturalized elsewhere before the next birth
Any voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship before 2024 stopped citizenship passing down 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 your family 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 your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family 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; each case 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 your family was still German when the next was born.

Citizenship by descent must pass down unbroken: each parent must have been German at the child’s birth. Nationality Act (StAG) §4: acquisition by birth

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 fixes many such cases. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)
UNLIKELY
If someone in your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family 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 your family naturalized elsewhere before the next birth
Any voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship before 2024 stopped citizenship passing down 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 your family 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 your family became a citizen of another country before the next person in your family 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; each case 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

The dates that matter

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
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)
1975
Before 1975 citizenship generally did not pass from a German mother; the §5 declaration fixes many such cases. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)
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)
2024
Any voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship before 2024 stopped citizenship passing down at that point. Nationality Act (StAG) §25 (pre-2024)
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

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

In Germany’s rule, the answer changes when the ancestor you descend through is a woman:

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.
POSSIBLE
If the grandparent is your grandmother
Before 1975 citizenship generally did not pass from a German mother; the §5 declaration fixes many such cases. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)
UNLIKELY
If the great-grandparent is your great-grandmother
Before 1975 citizenship generally did not pass from a German mother; the §5 declaration fixes many such cases. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)

In the law’s words

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

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.

Since June 2024, German law permits holding another citizenship. Act to Modernise Nationality Law (StARModG), Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 104
Descendants of persons who gave up or lost German citizenship in connection with persecution, or were excluded from acquiring it, are entitled to naturalisation without giving up other citizenships. Nationality Act (StAG) §15: naturalisation for descendants of persecuted persons who lost or were denied citizenship

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

Citizen by descent

Open to you through a parent or a grandparent

LIKELY
Through a parent
POSSIBLE
Through a grandparent

The law

A child acquires German citizenship by birth if one parent is a German citizen. Nationality Act (StAG) §4: acquisition by birth
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)
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)
Citizenship by descent must pass down unbroken: each parent must have been German at the child’s birth. Nationality Act (StAG) §4: acquisition by birth
Before 1975 citizenship generally did not pass from a German mother; the §5 declaration fixes many such cases. Nationality Act (StAG) §5: declaration for children born before 1975 to a German mother (and related cases)
Any voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship before 2024 stopped citizenship passing down at that point. Nationality Act (StAG) §25 (pre-2024)

What would settle an unsure case

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

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

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

LIKELY
Through a parent, if your ancestor fled Nazi persecution

The law

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
Descendants of persons who gave up or lost German citizenship in connection with persecution, or were excluded from acquiring it, are entitled to naturalisation without giving up other citizenships. Nationality Act (StAG) §15: naturalisation for descendants of persecuted persons who lost or were denied citizenship
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

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.

Declaration under §5 StAG

Open to you through a parent

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

The law

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)

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 your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.

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 citizenship passed down unbroken: no one in your family 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 (from abroad: Barbarastr. 1, 50735 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
Form: Antrag F (Feststellung der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit, 16 and over; F_K for children under 16) with one Anlage V per German ancestor generation
Fee: About $58
Decision: 12–36 months
Your records: No apostille, no translation. The U.S. missions ask for certified copies; only divorce decrees and custody agreements need translating. The BVA may still ask.

Your consulate

Every office in the United States (9)

Consulate General Atlanta

Serves Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

How: By post; no appearance needed
Address: Marquis Two Tower, Suite 901, 285 Peachtree Center Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30303-1221

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim German citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim German citizenship through a grandparent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim German citizenship through a great-grandparent?

What changes the answer

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

In the law’s words

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

Declaration under §5 StAG

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

Citizen by descent

How it’s filed

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

How it’s filed

Declaration under §5 StAG

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Places on old papers that lead to Germany

Recent and pending changes

Already in the rule

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Germany.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim German citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim German citizenship through a grandparent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim German citizenship through a great-grandparent?

What changes the answer

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

In the law’s words

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The law

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

Declaration under §5 StAG

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

Citizen by descent

How it’s filed

Restoration under Article 116(2) or §15 StAG

How it’s filed

Declaration under §5 StAG

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Places on old papers that lead to Germany

Recent and pending changes

Already in the rule

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Germany.