Path to citizenship
- Apply180-730 days
- Citizenshipgranted
Overview
- Country
- Germany
- Program
- German Citizenship by Descent
- Local name
- Deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit durch Abstammung
- Type
- Citizenship by Descent
- Status
- Active
- Processing time
- 180-730 days
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
- Visa-free countries
- 185 destinations
- Passport rank
- #4 (Henley Index)
German citizenship by descent through chain-of-transmission rules. Complex eligibility depends on birth date, parents' marital status, and gender of the German parent. Children generally acquire citizenship at birth if a parent is German, subject to historical gender- and marital-status rules and the foreign-birth generation cutoff in § 4(4) StAG. A distinct, time-limited declaration route under § 5 StAG addresses specified historical gender-discriminatory exclusions; it is covered in a separate record.
Fees and costs
- Application fee
- $25
- Passport fee
- $275
Eligibility and requirements
- Police clearance not required
- Medical exam not required
Ancestry requirements
- Generational limit
- No limit
- Ancestor citizenship
- Must have been citizen
- Naturalization breaks chain
- Yes — foreign naturalization may end eligibility
- Gender restriction
- complex
Family
- Dependents
- Allowed
- Spouse
- Not included
- Max child age
- 18
Passport and mobility
- Passport rank
- #4 (Henley Index)
- Visa-free access
- 185 countries
- Passport validity
- 10 years
- EU citizenship
- Yes
- Schengen access
- Yes
- US E-2 treaty
- Yes — eligible for US investor visa
How to apply
- Method
- Online, in person
- Apply from abroad
- Yes
- Application type
- Open
- Official website
- www.bva.bund.de
- Legal basis
- Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz (StAG), StARModG (2024 dual citizenship reform)
Notes and caveats
Chain-of-transmission rules depend on birth date, parents' marital status, and which parent was German. A child born abroad does not acquire citizenship at birth under § 4(4) StAG if the German parent was also born abroad after December 31, 1999 and ordinarily resides abroad, unless the child would otherwise be stateless; timely birth registration within one year avoids this result. Since June 27, 2024, voluntary acquisition of a foreign nationality no longer causes loss of German citizenship, but this change does not restore citizenship lost under earlier law. Certain historical exclusions are addressed separately by § 5 StAG declaration.
Also in Germany
Last verified Oct 9, 2026 Source