Citizenship Through Parent (Jure Sanguinis)

Eligibility for German citizenship by descent through a parent depends on when you were born, whether your parents were married, and which parent was German. German law has changed significantly over time, creating distinct eligibility categories.

Children Born to Married Parents

Born January 1, 1914 – December 31, 1963

You became a German citizen by birth only if your father was German. If only your mother was German, you could not acquire citizenship through her. A retrospective declaration was possible until 1978; if you missed that deadline, you may now apply under Section 5 StAG (deadline: August 19, 2031).

Born January 1, 1964 – December 31, 1974

You became a German citizen by birth if your father was German. If only your mother was German, you became a German citizen only if you would otherwise have been stateless. If you acquired another citizenship at birth and only your mother was German, you could not acquire German citizenship. A retrospective declaration was possible until July 31, 1977; if you missed that deadline, you may now apply under Section 5 StAG (deadline: August 19, 2031).

Born January 1, 1975 – December 31, 1999

You became a German citizen by birth if either your father or your mother was a German citizen. Gender of the German parent is irrelevant.

Born January 1, 2000 – Present

You become a German citizen by birth if either your father or your mother is a German citizen. However, if the German parent was born abroad after December 31, 1999 and is ordinarily resident abroad, you do not acquire citizenship unless you would otherwise become stateless. Your birth must be registered with a German registry office (Standesamt) within one year of birth to preserve citizenship.

Children Born to Unmarried Parents

Mother German – All Dates (Before July 1, 1993)

You acquired German citizenship at birth if your mother was German, regardless of your father's nationality.

Father German – Before July 1, 1993

You did not automatically acquire German citizenship. You could acquire citizenship by declaration if paternity was legally established, you lived in Germany for three years, and the declaration was made before your 23rd birthday. If you missed this deadline, you may now apply under Section 5 StAG (deadline: August 19, 2031).

Father German – July 1, 1993 – December 31, 1999

You acquired German citizenship if paternity was legally established under German law. Legal acknowledgment of paternity or court determination of paternity had to be made or initiated before your 23rd birthday.

Father German – January 1, 2000 – Present

You acquire German citizenship if paternity is legally established under German law. Legal acknowledgment or court determination must be made or initiated before your 23rd birthday.

Citizenship Through Grandparents

Germany does not allow you to "skip" a generation. Citizenship must be transmitted through each generation individually. If a grandparent was German, you can claim citizenship only if the intermediate parent also acquired German citizenship under the applicable rules at the time of that parent's birth, and the chain remained unbroken (i.e., the parent did not naturalize in another country before your birth).

Unbroken Chain Requirement

The core principle is that citizenship must have been transmitted legally from one generation to the next. The citizenship chain is broken if:

• An ancestor naturalized in another country before the birth of the next generation
• An ancestor lost citizenship through other legal means (e.g., marriage before 1953 for women)
• Gender-discriminatory rules prevented transmission (addressed by Section 5 StAG)

The 2024 dual citizenship reform does not apply retroactively. If an ancestor naturalized before June 27, 2024, the resulting loss of German citizenship remains in effect. The reform protects only future acquisitions of foreign citizenship.

Disqualifiers and Edge Cases

Criminal record: For standard descent cases under Section 4 StAG, there are no criminal record requirements. However, for declaration cases under Section 5 StAG, you must not have been sentenced to a prison term or youth custody of at least two years for intentional offences, or have preventive detention ordered.

Naturalization of ancestor: If a German ancestor naturalized in another country before your parent was born, the chain is broken and you cannot claim citizenship through that line.

Emigration before 1914: Section 21 of the old RuStAG (1913) stipulated that Germans who lived abroad for more than ten years without registering with a German consulate could automatically lose citizenship. Whether this applied in individual cases depends on exact dates of emigration, consular registration, and naturalization in the destination country.

Gender discrimination (pre-1975 maternal line, pre-1993 unmarried paternal line): These cases are addressed by Section 5 StAG, which allows affected individuals and their descendants to declare citizenship by August 19, 2031.

Nazi persecution: Article 116(2) of the German Basic Law grants descendants of individuals who lost citizenship between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945 due to political, racial, or religious persecution a constitutional right to re-naturalization, with no deadline and no fee.