German citizenship by descent — StAG, restoration, documents
Potential German (EU) citizenship by restoration for descendants of Nazi-era persecutees (Art. 116(2) / Sec. 15 StAG), and a time-limited Sec. 5 declaration route for those affected by past gender-discriminatory rules.
Confirmedbva.bund.dechecked Jul 2026
TL;DR — the rules in six bullets
- German citizenship by descent turns on your birth date and which parent was German: before 1 January 1975 (in wedlock), only the father transmitted; from 1975, either parent does (StAG § 4).
- Out of wedlock: a German mother always transmitted; a German father transmits from 1 July 1993 (with paternity established).
- If gender-discriminatory rules cut you (or a parent/grandparent) out, the § 5 declaration right (2021 amendment) can restore the line — free of charge, but the window closes 19 August 2031.
- Descendants of people stripped of citizenship by the Nazi regime (1933–1945) have a constitutional restoration route: Art. 116(2) GG, supplemented by StAG § 15.
- Since 27 June 2024 (StARModG), Germany generally permits dual citizenship — you no longer have to give up your existing passport.
- Watch the trap: children born abroad after 31 December 1999 to a German parent also born abroad after that date do not automatically acquire citizenship unless the birth is registered within one year (§ 4(4) StAG, § 36 PStG).
- pass2port does not check your eligibility. This page summarizes the statutes with sources; confirm your specific line with counsel.
Last verified 2026-07-28.
Deadline — 2031-08-19
The § 5 declaration right — the free repair route for lines broken by the old gender-discriminatory rules — expires on 19 August 2031. Declarations must reach the BVA by that date.
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Answer a few questions about your ancestor and each result shows the governing statute. Nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
What is your connection to Germany?
Germany rules, statute-cited. Not legal advice.
The legal timeline
Births before 1 Jan 1975 (in wedlock)
A child born in wedlock acquired German citizenship only from a German father. A German mother married to a foreign father did not transmit — the core historical injustice the § 5 declaration now corrects.
Births out of wedlock (any date)
A child born out of wedlock always acquired citizenship from a German mother. From a German father, transmission applies to births from 1 July 1993, provided paternity is established under German law.
Births from 1 Jan 1975
Either parent transmits: a child born in wedlock on or after 1 January 1975 acquires German citizenship if the mother or the father is German (StAG § 4(1)).
Foreign births after 31 Dec 1999 — the § 4(4) cutoff
A child born abroad does not acquire German citizenship automatically if the German parent was also born abroad after 31 December 1999 and habitually resides abroad — unless the parents register the birth with the German civil registry within one year (§ 4(4) StAG in conjunction with § 36 PStG). Emigrant families must register each foreign-born generation.
Nationality Act (StAG), § 4(4) — foreign-born generational cutoff
20 Aug 2021 – 19 Aug 2031 — § 5 declaration
The Fourth Act amending the StAG (in force 20 August 2021) created a declaration right: children (and their descendants) excluded by the old gender-discriminatory rules — e.g., born in wedlock before 1975 to a German mother and foreign father — can acquire citizenship by simple declaration to the BVA. The right expires 19 August 2031.
Nationality Act (StAG), § 5 — acquisition by declaration (amendment of 20 Aug 2021)
1933–1945 persecution — Art. 116(2) GG and § 15 StAG
Persons deprived of German citizenship on political, racial, or religious grounds between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 — and their descendants — are entitled to restoration under Art. 116(2) of the Basic Law. StAG § 15 (2021) extends a naturalization entitlement to persecution-era cases that fall outside Art. 116(2)'s wording, such as those who lost citizenship by persecution-driven emigration and foreign naturalization.
Basic Law (Grundgesetz), Art. 116(2) — restoration for those denaturalized 1933–1945
Discretionary route — § 14 StAG
Applicants abroad with special ties to Germany (often descent lines that fail the automatic rules) can seek discretionary naturalization from abroad under § 14 — a genuine but uncertain route requiring demonstrated ties such as language and family connection.
Nationality Act (StAG), § 14 — discretionary naturalization from abroad
From 27 Jun 2024 — dual citizenship
The Act to Modernize Nationality Law (StARModG, in force 27 June 2024) removed the general requirement to give up a prior citizenship. Descent, declaration, and naturalization applicants may generally keep their existing passports.
Ways your line breaks
- Wrong-parent line before the reforms
- In-wedlock birth before 1 January 1975 with only a German mother, or out-of-wedlock birth before 1 July 1993 with only a German father — the automatic line fails. The § 5 declaration is the repair route until 19 August 2031. (Nationality Act (StAG), § 5 — acquisition by declaration (amendment of 20 Aug 2021))
- Voluntary foreign naturalization before 27 Jun 2024
- An ancestor who voluntarily acquired a foreign citizenship without a German retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) generally lost German citizenship at that moment (former § 25 StAG) — and could not transmit afterwards. Since 27 June 2024 this loss ground is gone prospectively, but historic losses stand. (Nationality Act (StAG), § 25 (loss on foreign naturalization — historic effect))
- Missed § 4(4) registration for foreign-born generations
- For births abroad after 31 December 1999 to a German parent themselves born abroad after that date, failure to register the birth within one year (§ 36 PStG) means citizenship never arose for that child. (Nationality Act (StAG), § 4(4) — foreign-born generational cutoff)
- Nazi-era denaturalization (repairable)
- Collective and individual expatriations 1933–1945 stripped citizenship from Jews and other persecuted people. This break is repairable by entitlement: Art. 116(2) GG restoration for the denaturalized and their descendants, and § 15 StAG for adjacent persecution cases. (Nationality Act (StAG), § 15 — restitution naturalization (NS persecution))
Document checklist
Birth certificate chainGeburtsurkunden
Birth certificates for every generation from the German ancestor to you, showing parentage; German civil-registry (Standesamt) extracts where available.
Marriage certificates for each generationHeiratsurkunden
Establish wedlock status, which determines whether father-only, mother-only, or either-parent rules applied at each birth.
Proof of the ancestor's German citizenship
German passports, citizenship certificates (Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis), registration records, or expulsion/denaturalization records for Art. 116(2) cases.
BVA application or declaration forms
The Federal Office of Administration (Bundesverwaltungsamt) publishes the forms for § 5 declarations, Art. 116(2)/§ 15 restoration, § 14 naturalization, and citizenship determination (Feststellung).
Foreign naturalization records of the ancestor
Exact dates matter: a voluntary foreign naturalization before the relevant birth (and before 27 June 2024) may have broken the line under former § 25 StAG.
Persecution evidence (restitution cases)
For Art. 116(2)/§ 15: emigration records, Gestapo/denaturalization lists, restitution files, or other evidence of persecution-driven loss between 1933 and 1945.
Costs — official fees vs firm fees
Swipe sideways for all columns
| Item | Amount | Note | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| § 5 declaration | Free of charge | The BVA states the declaration procedure is free. Verify on the BVA page before relying on it. source | verifying |
| Naturalization certificate fee (§ 14, § 15 where charged) | €25 (restitution cases typically fee-free) | Certificate fee figure pending re-verification against the BVA fee schedule; Art. 116(2) restorations are free. source | verifying |
| Typical law-firm fees (optional) | US$1,500–5,000+ | Secondary-source range for full-service descent/restitution representation. The BVA routes are designed to be filed without a lawyer. source | verifying |
Rows marked verifying have not yet been re-confirmed against the primary source and may be out of date.
Realistic timeline
BVA processing commonly runs from many months to 2–3 years depending on route and backlog — § 5 declarations and Art. 116(2) cases have seen multi-year queues. Sourced ranges vary; the BVA publishes no binding deadline.
What a Germany passport unlocks
Visa-free or visa-on-arrival to 152 destinations
Ranked 3 of the 44 nationalities pass2port currently covers
View Germany Mobility IndexCommon questions
- Can I get German citizenship through a grandparent or great-grandparent?
- Yes, if citizenship passed automatically at every birth in between (StAG § 4), or if a break is repairable — by § 5 declaration (gender-rule exclusions, until 19 Aug 2031) or Art. 116(2) GG / § 15 StAG (Nazi-era persecution). There is no general grandparent shortcut: the chain is analyzed birth by birth.
- My German ancestor is my mother/grandmother — does that matter?
- For births in wedlock before 1 January 1975, only the father transmitted, so a German mother's line failed automatically. The 2021 § 5 amendment lets those children and their descendants acquire citizenship by declaration — free, but only until 19 August 2031.
- What if my ancestor was born out of wedlock?
- A German mother always transmitted to out-of-wedlock children. A German father transmits to out-of-wedlock children born from 1 July 1993, with paternity established under German law; earlier father-line cases may be covered by § 5 declaration.
- What is the 19 August 2031 deadline?
- The § 5 declaration right created by the 20 August 2021 amendment runs for ten years. Declarations to the BVA must be made by 19 August 2031; after that, affected lines fall back to discretionary § 14 naturalization.
- My family was stripped of citizenship by the Nazis — what's my route?
- Art. 116(2) of the Basic Law entitles persons denaturalized on political, racial, or religious grounds between 1933 and 1945 — and their descendants — to restoration. StAG § 15 (2021) covers adjacent cases, such as ancestors who fled and lost citizenship via foreign naturalization under persecution. Both are entitlement claims filed with the BVA and are not subject to the 2031 deadline.
- Do I have to give up my current citizenship?
- Generally no. Since 27 June 2024 (StARModG), German law permits multiple nationality across acquisition routes, and Art. 116(2)/§ 15 restitution cases never required renunciation. Whether your other country objects is a question of its own law.
- What breaks a German citizenship line?
- The most common breaks: in-wedlock birth before 1975 through a German mother (repairable via § 5); an ancestor's voluntary foreign naturalization without a retention permit before 27 June 2024 (former § 25 StAG — usually final); and, for recent emigrant families, the § 4(4) foreign-birth cutoff when a birth abroad was not registered within one year.
- What is the § 4(4) registration trap?
- If you are German, were born abroad after 31 December 1999, and your child is also born abroad, the child does not become German automatically unless you register the birth with the German civil registry (§ 36 PStG) within one year. Diaspora families must repeat this every generation.
- How much does German citizenship by descent cost?
- If citizenship passed automatically, you hold it already and only pay for a determination certificate or passport. The § 5 declaration is free of charge per the BVA (we are re-verifying), a naturalization certificate carries a €25 fee (verifying), and Art. 116(2) restorations are free. Firms charge roughly US$1,500–5,000+, but the BVA routes are designed for direct filing.
- How long does the BVA take?
- Route-dependent: passport-level cases with clear documents are fastest; § 5 declarations and Art. 116(2)/§ 15 restorations have run from many months to 2–3 years amid post-2021 application waves. There is no statutory deadline; sourced ranges vary.
Primary sources
- Nationality Act (StAG) — full text, gesetze-im-internet.de
- StAG § 4 — acquisition by birth
- StAG § 5 — acquisition by declaration
- StAG § 14 — naturalization from abroad
- StAG § 15 — restitution naturalization
- Basic Law Art. 116 — restoration of citizenship
- Federal Office of Administration (BVA) — citizenship services
Last verified 2026-07-28. Informational only — pass2port does not check your eligibility; confirm with counsel.
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