- Germany's Fourth Act Amending the Nationality Act created a ten-year right for certain groups to claim citizenship by declaration
- The law targets children and descendants who were excluded from German citizenship due to gender-discriminatory rules under older nationality laws
- Eligible persons living abroad can submit their declaration directly to the Federal Office of Administration or a German mission abroad
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Germany allows four groups of people affected by older gender-discriminatory nationality rules to claim citizenship through a formal declaration, without going through standard naturalization.
Source: Getty Images
The route was introduced under the Fourth Act Amending the Nationality Act, which took effect on 20 August 2021. Section 5 of the law provides a 10-year period for eligible people to submit a declaration.
The provision applies to people who were denied German citizenship at birth under earlier rules, as well as their descendants.
Who may qualify
The Federal Foreign Office identifies four eligible groups:
1. Children born after May 23, 1949, to a German parent who did not pass on German nationality at birth — specifically, children born in wedlock before January 1, 1975, to a German mother and a foreign father, or children born out of wedlock before July 1, 1993, to a German father and a foreign mother.
2. Children born after May 23, 1949, to a mother who lost her German citizenship by marrying a foreigner under Section 17 (6) of the old Reich and Nationality Act, where that marriage took place before the child's birth and before April 1, 1953.
3. Children born after May 23, 1949, who lost German nationality they had acquired at birth through a legitimisation by a foreigner that was valid under German law, under Section 17 (5) of the old Reich and Nationality Act, before April 1, 1953.
4. Descendants of those falling under groups one to three.
The rules address differences in how older nationality laws treated children according to whether their German parent was their mother or father, and the circumstances of their parents’ relationship. The reform is based on Germany’s Basic Law, which came into force on 23 May 1949.
How to submit a declaration
Applicants do not need to complete the standard naturalization process.
They must instead submit a declaration to the competent citizenship authority. It takes effect once the authority receives it, provided all the required conditions are met.
Applicants living outside Germany can send their declaration directly to the Federal Office of Administration or submit it through a German diplomatic mission abroad.
The Federal Office of Administration is the competent authority for people residing outside Germany.
Source: Legit.ng