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Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
(Post 10609146)
You're forgetting applying for a passport is not equal to applying for nationality or citizenship (since the concept seems a bit foreign to those who live in the U.K. who think you have to have a passport to prove your citizenship). BDL-FRA's U.S.-born German national friend just applied for a U.S. passport, not U.S. citizenship which he was entitled to due to birth. He would have lost German citizenship if he obtained U.S. (or most other) citizenship other than through birth (geographically or through descent).
And please don't make assumptions about me based on where I happen to be based at the moment... |
Originally Posted by Aviatrix
(Post 10609596)
It is my recollection that Germans born with dual nationality have to choose one or the other when they come of age... is that no longer the case?
And please don't make assumptions about me based on where I happen to be based at the moment... See: http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo...srecht.html#t2 Provisions for foreigners living in Germany Children born in Germany to foreign parents may acquire German nationality if certain conditions are met. They must however decide between the ages of 18 and 23 whether to retain their German nationality or the nationality of their parents. A child can attain German citizenship by being born in Germany even if neither parent is German. However this only applies to children born on or after 1 January 2000. A further condition is that one parent has been legally resident in Germany for eight years and has a right of unlimited residence or for three years an unlimited residence permit. Children who become German citizens in this way must however decide between the age of 18 and 23 whether they want to retain German citizenship or the citizenship of their parents. The Germans seem to have adopted something similar to the U.K. citizenship laws of the early '80s but with the provision of registering German citizenship if it mattered enough to them. At any rate this is what the German Federal Foreign Ministry has to say about Germans born abroad who hold another citizenship: As well as German nationality, our child has had a second nationality since birth. Does our child have to choose between the two in later life? No, as far as German law is concerned, if your child automatically had two nationalities at birth, he/she does not have to decide between the two at a later stage. Your child is therefore a permanent holder of dual nationality. In some cases, the law of the other country may however dictates a need to choose. |
Originally Posted by mangoMan
(Post 10609358)
Theoretically it seems my kids can now get German passports for their kids, ad infinitum. This seems like a loophole of sorts.
See: http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo...srecht.html#t3 Children born abroad to one or more German parents who themselves were born abroad on or after 1 January 2000 (entry into force of the revised Nationality Act), will in principle no longer acquire German nationality. The only exceptions to this rule are if the child would otherwise be stateless or if the German parent(s) register(s) the birth with the German mission responsible for where they live within one year of the birth of the child (section 4 (4) of the Nationality Act). |
YVR Cockroach explained the whole German citizenship rules it pretty well.
Two things to add besides the January 1st of 2000 rule. First: If only your mother is German you get the German citizenship. If only your father is German the authorities can demand a DNA test to prove the fatherhood. Second: Dual citizenship were both citizenships are of Member states of the European Union are legal and don't require any approval under German law any longer. |
Originally Posted by Aviatrix
(Post 10608787)
OK, so he has a US passport now. The question is, will he get to keep the German one?
If he applied for the US passport before 2000 he won't. If he applied for it after 2000, but without asking for permission from the German government, again - he won't. Unless, of course, he hides his US citizenship from the Germans - I know people who got away with this (and I also know someone who got away with it for many years but lost her German citizenship when they eventually found out) My case is the opposite: I was born in Germany, but my family emigrated to the US. In the US I was naturalized and obtained my US citizenship. When I did this, I gave up my German citzenship. If I were to re-apply for German citzenship now, which I could probably do, I would lose my US citzenship. |
Originally Posted by BDL-FRA
(Post 10622192)
If I were to re-apply for German citzenship now, which I could probably do, I would lose my US citzenship.
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Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
(Post 10609760)
Just hope your children were born before 2000 or if not, are less than a year old or you have already registered them with your local German consul.
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I just stumbled upon this thread. The details about children born after 2000 are very interesting, as is the rest of the thread.
Regarding the original post, if your ancestors lost their German citizenship through no fault of their own during the Nazi era, then you can quite likely file to reclaim it even if some of them regained it after the war. If, however, they voluntarily gave up their German citizenship to take on another citizenship such claims will be likely not be successful. |
Obtaining German Citizenship
My wife was born in Germany to a German mother (unknown who father is). When she was young she moved to US but did not get German citizenship until her 20's. I believe at that time she had to renounce her German Citizenship. Is there any way she can get a German passport without renouncing her US citizenship?
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There have been a variety of changes over the past few decades, so different rules may apply depending on date of birth. you should contact a German consulate or embassy. There is some citizenship info at http://www.germany.info
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Very interesting thread. I learned a lot. Thanks!
To the OP, from what I have read here, it would sound like you would have good chances at getting the German citizenship but bad chances at keeping any other than a European or Swiss citizenship at the same time for dual nationality. It seems there might be a loophole if you are Jewish. I think the new laws, as of 2000, are actually less strict and I like them better. I wonder if one could have a triple citizenship. Say Swiss, German and US. That would be the tri-fecta. Till |
I should perhaps just mention that the "loopholes" that some people have referred to don't just apply to Jewish people. They apply to anybody who is classed as a victim of the Nazi regime including members of other persecuted ethnic groups and those persecuted because of religious or political beliefs.
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Originally Posted by tfar
(Post 12068499)
I wonder if one could have a triple citizenship. Say Swiss, German and US. That would be the tri-fecta. Till |
Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
(Post 10609760)
Unfortunately not. Your children, broadly speaking, if born before 2000, can pass it on to their children, but if born after 2000, they are not eligible unless you register them with the German consulate within a year of their birth.
See: http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo...srecht.html#t3 Just hope your children were born before 2000 or if not, are less than a year old or you have already registered them with your local German consul. |
Passing on citizenship of more than two countries to children and then grandchildren is something that often requires some deliberate planning.
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