Citizenship
The BVA is the competent authority with respect to naturalization as a German national and the establishment of German citizenship for people living abroad.
The BVA processes different procedures in consultation with the Federal Foreign Office's missions abroad. The individuals' often tragic backgrounds have to be treated individually and with respect.
The BVA carries out specific procedures to determine whether or not applicants with German ancestors, many of which live in Eastern Europe, are still German citizens.
Victims of the Nazi regime who were illegitimately deprived of their citizenship between 1933 and 1945 are entitled to ‘renaturalization’.
The Federal Expellees Act is the basis for the recognition of people as ethnic German resettlers. The BVA decides upon the admission of ethnic German resettlers and places them in the federal states.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via email - staatsangehoerigkeit@bva.bund.de
More information and forms are available on our German web pages. Please note that the whole application procedure must be conducted in German.
Application for the establishment of German citizenship
For applicants living abroad, the Federal Office of Administration is the competent authority to deal with citizenship matters. The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) carries out specific procedures to determine whether or not applicants are German citizens.
It ascertains when and by what means you have become a German national and whether or not you have lost your German citizenship. Many events in the applicants’ and their ancestors’ lives can be significant for the acquisition or loss of the German citizenship, including personal and family events (e.g. birth, marriage, or adoption) and/or political, legal developments (such as collective naturalizations during World War II or the acquisition of a foreign nationality). Applicants whose German citizenship has been established are issued a certificate of nationality. It can also be established, upon application, that you are not a German citizen. In such cases, a so-called negative certificate is issued.
More information and forms are available on our German web pages.
Please note that the whole application procedure must be conducted in German.
Naturalization / Acquisition by declaration
People can become naturalized citizens on the basis of either discretion or legal entitlement to German citizenship. When they are naturalized, they are granted citizenship through a decision of a public authority. The Federal Office of Administration still carries out numerous naturalizations of people whose citizenship was revoked during the National Socialist era and their descendants, restoring the German citizenship to which they are legally entitled.
When a person is naturalized, he or she is granted German citizenship through a decision of a public authority. The naturalization becomes effective when the certificate of naturalization is handed over. Usually, only persons are naturalized who have already been living in Germany for a longer period. Naturalizations of people living abroad on the basis of discretion are very rare and need to be of special interest for the Federal Republic of Germany. An exception is the naturalization of people whose citizenship was revoked under the National Socialist regime, thereby restoring the German citizenship to which they are legally entitled. If you want to become a citizen of another country and keep your German citizenship, please apply for a retention permit.
If your certificate of naturalization is lost, you will not be issued a new one. Always keep your certificate of naturalization in a safe place. Certificates of naturalization are issued only once. You are issued with the original document. If that document is lost, you will not be issued with a new one.
However, we can send you a certified copy from our records. The fee payable for this is 51.00 euros. To receive a certified copy, you may send us an informal request via e-mail to ‘staatsangehoerigkeit@bva.bund.de’.
Please note that this is only possible if your certificate of naturalization was issued by the Federal Office of Administration. If you received your certificate of naturalization from a German domestic authority, you must contact that authority.
Alternatively, a procedure can be carried out to confirm that you are (still) a German citizen.
Further information upon the distinction between naturalizations on grounds of restoration of German citizenship pursuant to Article 116 (2) of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz, GG) and naturalizations on grounds of restitution of German citizenship pursuant to Section 15 of the German Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, StAG) are available here (Link to information).
More information and forms are available on our German web pages.
Please note that the whole application procedure must be conducted in German.
Vordrucke zur Einbürgerung nach Artikel 116 Grundgesetz
Vordrucke Einbürgerung nach § 5 Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz
Vordrucke zur Einbürgerung § 13 Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz
Current information on Amendment to German citizenship law
Shortly before rising for the summer recess, the German Bundestag and Bundesrat adopted the Fourth Act Amending the Nationality Act. It entered into force on 20 August 2021 after having been signed by the Federal President and published in the Federal Law Gazette.