Eligibility quiz
Did you or an ancestor miss out on German citizenship at birth because mothers and fathers were treated differently?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
German passport and ID
German citizens can use a passport and identity card for travel and identification.
If documents are lost abroad, a German mission can issue a travel document for the return to Germany and, in suitable cases, a temporary passport.
Passports and identity cards expire and must be replaced.
Live in Germany for life
German citizens have an unconditional right to enter, live in and return to Germany.
Citizenship does not expire because of time spent abroad.
Study in Germany
German citizens can study in Germany and use public education.
Work in Germany
German citizens can work in Germany without restriction or run a business.
Get help abroad
German missions can help abroad after arrest, serious illness, an accident, death, or the loss of money or documents, and refer you to lawyers, doctors or interpreters.
Where Germany has no mission, you can seek urgent help from another EU country's mission.
Vote and run for office
German citizens can vote in German federal elections from age 18 if they meet the residence and eligibility rules.
Citizens abroad can vote by post if registered and sufficiently connected to Germany.
In other EU countries, citizens can vote and run in local and European Parliament elections on the same terms as that country's citizens.
Use public healthcare
German citizens can use public healthcare in Germany.
Access depends on the relevant rules, such as where you live and your contributions.
Use public support
German citizens can use public services and support, including pensions, unemployment support, housing support and child benefit.
These are not automatic payments; eligibility depends on rules such as residence, contributions, income and family circumstances.
How to apply
Applying at a local officeApplying at a local office
Find your local office
Find the citizenship office responsible for the town or district where you live in Germany.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which German citizenship office is responsible for your city?”
Get the application form
Ask your local citizenship office for the form it uses. For citizenship by declaration, the federal form is Vordruck_EER; for citizenship after persecution, the forms are E15 for people aged 16 or over and E15_K for children under 16.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I get German citizenship by declaration or restitution application forms from the citizenship office in your city?”
Fill in the form
Complete the form in German and sign it, or have your child's legal representative complete it. For E15_K, everyone with parental custody must sign.
Find form instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I fill in German citizenship by declaration or restitution application forms?”
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for your local citizenship office.
See required documentsBook an appointment
If your local citizenship office requires an appointment, book one using its instructions.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I book an appointment at the German citizenship office in your city for a declaration or restitution application?”
Hand in your application
Give your signed form and documents to your local citizenship office, following its submission instructions. If you are making a citizenship declaration, it must reach the Federal Office of Administration by 19 August 2031.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit a German citizenship declaration or restitution application to the citizenship office in your city?”
Wait for the decision
Wait for the decision and respond to requests from the office for more information or documents.
See how long it takesSearches DuckDuckGo for “How long does a German citizenship declaration or restitution application take at a local citizenship office?”
Get your citizenship certificate
Receive or collect your certificate as your citizenship office instructs you. You can then get a German passport.
Find certificate instructionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I receive my German citizenship certificate after a declaration or restitution application?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates
Provide your birth certificate and the birth certificates of your parent, grandparent and German great-grandparent, covering every generation between you and the person whose circumstances qualify you. Other descent records or family books can also help show how you are related. Provide officially or notarially certified copies; if you were adopted, add the adoption decision.
Great-grandparent's citizenship records
Provide officially or notarially certified copies of records showing your German great-grandparent’s citizenship, such as a German citizenship certificate, passport, identity document or nationality record. Include records showing any loss of German citizenship or acquisition of another citizenship, and, where relevant, records showing why your great-grandparent or another relative between you and them did not acquire German citizenship. For a declaration, provide records showing the relevant loss or failure to acquire citizenship under the rules that treated men and women differently.
Marriage certificates *
Provide the marriage certificates needed to connect you to your German great-grandparent, including your parents’ and grandparents’ certificates where relevant. Include official name-change records and, if relevant, divorce records to explain changes in names or family ties. Provide officially or notarially certified copies.
* Only if you or a relative in your family line married or changed names.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationGreat-grandparent's residence record *
Provide records showing your great-grandparent’s or other qualifying relative’s residence in Germany and its loss. Provide officially or notarially certified copies.
* Only if your claim is based on your great-grandparent or another relative losing their home in Germany because of persecution.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationPersecution records *
Provide records showing why your German great-grandparent or other qualifying relative was persecuted and what happened to them. Provide officially or notarially certified copies.
* Only if you apply because your great-grandparent or another relative was persecuted.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationConsiderations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Military checks for men
German men born in 2008 or later must answer the military questionnaire truthfully and undergo a medical assessment.
Military service is not generally compulsory unless the system is activated or changed.
Citizenship can be lost
Giving up citizenship needs approval and another citizenship.
Adults can lose it for actively fighting for terrorists abroad or joining their other country's forces or similar armed group without German defence consent, if not left stateless.
Citizenship gained by application can be withdrawn for deceit, threats, bribery or deliberate false or incomplete key information, normally within ten years of notification.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
r/GermanCitizenship
English Reddit group for people interested in German citizenship
Join on RedditGerman Citizenship Discussion Group
English Facebook group for people interested in German citizenship
Request to joinHolocaust Descendants with restored citizenship to Austria and Germany
English Facebook group for people interested in German citizenship
Request to joinConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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