Art. 116, Para. 1 of the Basic Law: Who is a „German“ within the meaning of the Basic Law?

Their grandparents came to Germany from Kazakhstan in the 1990s. They themselves came along at that time, attended school here and have a German passport. Or you still live in Russia, Ukraine or Kyrgyzstan and wonder if your family's German ancestry still means something today. In both cases, sooner or later you end up with a provision that was crucial for many families: Article 116, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law.

This article explains what the provision says, who it covers, and how to become a German citizen from a „German without German citizenship“. It also shows where the legal situation is clear – and where authorities and courts currently interpret it differently.

The wording: What does Article 116, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law say?

The instruction is a single, long sentence:

„In accordance with this Basic Law, a person who holds German citizenship or who, as a refugee or displaced person, has German citizenship or who is a spouse or descendant of a German citizen in the territory of the German Reich as of December 31, 1937, is considered a German within the meaning of this Basic Law.“

If we break this sentence down, we get two groups of Germans:

1. German citizens. Anyone who holds German citizenship, for example through birth or naturalization, is a German citizen within the meaning of the Basic Law. Whether someone actually holds the citizenship depends on the Nationality Act (StAG) – and can in individual cases be a very difficult question, for example when Ancestry over several generations.
2. Germans without German citizenship – the so-called status Germans. These are refugees and displaced persons of German nationality, as well as their spouses and descendants, provided that they have found refuge in Germany.

Briefly explained: What is a „Statusdeutscher“?

A status of German citizen is a German citizen within the meaning of the Basic Law who (yet) does not hold the German citizenship. This legal status is not obtained through an application for naturalization, but through admission to Germany as a refugee, displaced person, or late emigrant of German ethnicity – or as an included spouse or descendant of such persons. Status German citizens are treated in many areas as nationals. Today, this status is usually only a short transitional phase: between admission to Germany and the acquisition of citizenship.

Why are there „Germans without citizenship“?

The Basic Law came into force in 1949. At that time, millions of people lived in West Germany who had fled or been expelled from the former German East Territories in the years before. Their legal status regarding citizenship was highly diverse: some were German citizens, others had been naturalized during the war through assimilation – with sometimes unclear effectiveness –, and others had never possessed German citizenship. However, many had lost their homeland precisely because they were Germans.

The constitutional author did not want to treat these people as foreigners as long as their citizenship was not clear. Therefore, he equated them with the citizens. Status German citizens can, for example, invoke the fundamental rights that the Basic Law explicitly guarantees to Germans, such as freedom of movement (Art. 11 GG) or freedom of profession (Art. 12 GG).

Brief explanation: What does „German citizenship“ mean?

Citizenship is different from nationality. Nationality is a legal bond to a state – it is indicated on a passport. Citizenship, on the other hand, describes whether a person is of German descent and identifies with the German people. A person can therefore be a Russian or Kazakh national and at the same time a German citizen. What is required in detail today is governed by § 6 of the Federal Displaced Persons Act (BVFG).

What does the „date of December 31, 1937“ mean?

This date regularly causes misunderstandings. It refers to not it describes the area where the recording must have taken place – the German Reich within its borders before the territorial changes of 1938.

For today’s procedures, this means: The decisive factor is admission to the Federal Republic of Germany. Those who live as descendants of Volga Germans in Siberia do not fall outside the provision because Siberia was never part of the German Reich. What matters is whether they are admitted to the legal process in Germany.

„Subject to any other legal regulation“: The details are set out in the BVFG and StAG

Article 116, paragraph 1 of the Basic Law is deliberately phrased in an open manner. Who exactly qualifies as a migrant or late-arriver and how the admission process works is left to the legislature by the Basic Law. The most important laws are:

• The Federal Displaced Persons Act (BVFG). It defines who is an expat (§ 1 BVFG) and who is a late-immigrant (§ 4 BVFG), what German citizenship means (§ 6 BVFG), how the admission procedure works (§§ 26 ff. BVFG) and when family members are included (§ 27 Abs. 2 BVFG). The Federal Administrative Office (BVA) in Cologne is responsible.
• The Nationality Act (StAG). It regulates how recent immigrants and their eligible relatives acquire German citizenship (§ 7 StAG) and how you can have your citizenship officially confirmed (§ 30 StAG). For former German nationals, a transitional provision from 1999 also applied: § 40a StAG in its then-current version (amended).

The path to citizenship in four steps

For late-immigrants and their families, the process typically proceeds as follows today:

1. Admission notice from the BVA. You must submit an application for admission from the country of origin. The BVA examines the requirements of § 4 of the BVFG and, if successful, issues the admission decision. Spouses and descendants may be included in this decision in accordance with § 27, paragraph 2 of the BVFG.
2. Entry and admission to Germany. With the admission decision you travel and are admitted. From this point on, if all requirements are met, you are a German citizen within the meaning of Article 116(1) of the Basic Law, i.e., you have the status of a German citizen.
3. Certificate under § 15 of the BVFG. The BVA will review the case again and issue you with a certificate of late arrival of the dependents, along with a corresponding certificate.
4. Obtaining citizenship pursuant to § 7 StAG. By presenting this certificate, you acquire German citizenship by law. There is no separate application for naturalization.

From German citizen to national citizen: the transition from 1999

Today, there are only a few people with the original status of Deutsche in the original sense. The main reason is a transition rule from the reform of the citizenship law of 1999.

1 August 1999: statutory acquisition pursuant to § 40a StAG a.F.

According to § 40a StAG in its then-current version, Germans who did not hold German citizenship on August 1, 1999 acquired German citizenship by law on that day – without applying for it and without naturalization. This only applied to late-immigrants and their spouses and descendants included in the admission certificate if they had already received the certificate under § 15 BVFG before that date.

Important for the research: The current provision under § 40a StAG no longer has anything to do with this transition. Since the 2024 Citizenship Reform, it contains a transitional provision for ongoing naturalization procedures. Therefore, anyone citing the 1999 transition must cite the previous version (a.F.).

What does this mean in practice? For example, if your family came to Germany as late immigrants in 1995 and received the certificate before August 1999, you will usually have German citizenship at the latest since August 1, 1999 – even if you have never applied for naturalization.

Cases after 1999: Acquisition under § 7 StAG

For all subsequent cases, § 7 StAG is the applicable provision. It is not a continuation of the 1999 transition rule; it is an independent, permanent acquisition rule: late-incomers and family members included in the admission order become German citizens as soon as the certificate under § 15, Paragraph 1 or 2 of the BVFG is issued to them.

Who can still become a German citizen under Article 116(1) of the German Constitution today?

Since January 1, 1993, the procedure generally involves admitting the applicant as a late emigrant under § 4 of the BVFG, including the inclusion of spouses and descendants. The regular procedure requires that the admission decision be issued before departure. In cases of special hardship, it can exceptionally also be issued after relocation to Germany (§ 27, paragraph 1, sentence 2 of the BVFG).

The most important prerequisites for the late-immigrant themselves:

• Born before January 1, 1993. Those who were born later cannot become late migrants themselves, but may in some cases be included as descendants in the admission certificate of one of the parents.
• Residence in the resettlement areas. These include primarily the former Soviet Union countries. Applicants from other areas of resettlement, such as Poland, Romania, or the Czech Republic, must additionally prove that they were subjected to disadvantages or their consequences due to their German citizenship (§ 4, paragraph 2 of the BVFG).
• German ancestry. They must be descended from a German citizen or native-born German (§ 6, section 2 of the German Civil Code). As a rule, birth and marriage certificates spanning several generations prove this descent.
• Affirmation of the German folk culture. Typically, this is indicated by a declaration of nationality stating „German“ in official documents, such as the national passport or birth certificates. The law also allows a declaration „in other ways“ – in particular, proof of sufficient German language skills at the B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference. A B1 certificate is therefore a possible Evidence of the confession.
• Confirmation through language skills. Separating these two is a separate prerequisite: the declaration must be confirmed by the fact that at the time of the decision on the application for admission, you are able to hold at least a simple conversation in German (§ 6, section 2 of the BVFG). The BVA usually examines this in a language test at a German foreign representation. For people who are unable to possess this ability due to illness or disability, the law provides for an exception.
• No grounds for exclusion under § 5 of the BVFG. The law excludes certain groups of people, for example because of elevated activities for totalitarian systems or because of serious crimes.

Spouses and descendants who are included in the family must not themselves be German citizens. According to § 27, paragraph 2, of the BVFG, spouses and adult Descendants possess basic knowledge of the German language (at the A1 level in practice); this requirement does not apply to minor descendants. Those who are unable to possess basic knowledge due to illness or disability are also exempt. In the case of spouses, the marriage must have lasted for at least three years at the time of the decision.

The „Declaration of Opposition“: Reform 2023 and inconsistent jurisprudence

For years, many applications failed on a single detail: In an earlier document – such as the first domestic passport – the nationality was recorded as „Russian“ or „Ukrainian“. Authorities and courts interpreted this as a „declaration of opposition“ to another ethnic group. To overcome this, applicants had to demonstrate, in accordance with current jurisprudence, an internal change in consciousness and its external implementation – a very high hurdle.

The Bundestag amended § 6, section 2 of the BVFG in November 2023 (Act of 20 December 2023). Since then, nationality declarations that were changed before leaving the settlement area to become German ethnicity have taken precedence over earlier statements of non-German ethnicity. Even serious efforts to make such a change are sufficient. According to a notification from state interior ministries, procedures that were previously rejected due to a lack of knowledge can also be reopened.

However, the courts interpret this relief differently:

• Higher Regional Court of NRW, judgment of 23 May 2025 – 11 A 2449/24: A modified declaration of nationality supersedes a previous declaration without further requirements. According to the court, the complex process of determining whether the change was „real“ is no longer required under the reform.
• VG Cologne, Judgment of 7 July 2025 – 10 K 3795/22: The Administrative Court of Cologne – which regularly serves as the first instance for appeals against decisions of the BVA – continues to require that a serious commitment to German culture be reflected in the change of nationality declaration, thereby explicitly separating itself from the OVG NRW.
• Higher Regional Court of NRW, Judgment of 11 June 2026 – 11 A 2817/24: If a change in the declaration of nationality in the country of origin is legally impossible – for example because no nationality is any longer recorded in personal identity documents – futile attempts to achieve such a change are not „serious efforts“ within the meaning of § 6, paragraph 2, sentence 3 of the BVFG. Because it was from the outset clear that they could not succeed.
• Federal Administrative Court: There has not yet been a published decision of the Federal Administrative Court that conclusively clarifies the new provision.

What does this mean for you? A previous entry „Russian“ or „Ukrainian“ is no longer an automatic disqualification today. However, whether the subsequent change to your national identification document is sufficient depends on the individual case – and how the case law develops. And if your country of origin does not allow any change at all, formal attempts at change alone are of no use. If your application was previously rejected due to a lack of knowledge, a detailed examination of the decision is worthwhile.

Who belongs to which group? An overview

Group of people	Legal basis	Status as a German?	Obtaining citizenship
Displaced persons and refugees from the post-war period	Section 1 of the BVFG	Yes, with the recording	Unless already present: no later than 1.8.1999 (§ 40a StAG a.F.)
Emigrants (departure by the end of 1992)	Section 1, paragraph 2, no. 3 of the BVFG	Yes, with the recording	Usually by naturalization or at the latest on 1.8.1999 (§ 40a StAG a.F.)
Late Emigrants (since 1.1.1993)	Section 4 of the BVFG	Yes, with the recording	With the issuance of the certificate under § 15 of the BVFG (§ 7 of the StAG); cases before 1.8.1999: § 40a StAG a.F.
Spouse included in the admission order	§ 27, paragraph 2, BVFG (inclusion), § 4, paragraph 3, BVFG (status)	Yes, with the recording	With the issuance of the certificate (§ 7 StAG); requirements include at least three years of marriage and basic knowledge of the German language
Descendant (child, grandchild), included	§ 27, paragraph 2, BVFG (inclusion), § 4, paragraph 3, BVFG (status)	Yes, with the recording	With the issuance of the certificate (§ 7 StAG); adult descendants require, among other things, basic knowledge of the German language, minors do not
Other family members not included	Section 8 of the BVFG, Residence Act	No	No acquisition through the BVFG; later, if necessary, naturalization under the StAG

The last line is particularly important in practice. A son-in-law or a wife who were not included in the admission notice will indeed travel with the family – but German nationals will not be included in this way.

Common Misconceptions about Article 116(1) of the Basic Law

1. „My grandfather was German, so I am German too.“ Having German ancestors alone does not make you a German within the meaning of Article 116(1) of the Basic Law – for that you need to be born in Germany. Whether you are descended from a German citizen Nationals Being a German is another matter. It is governed by § 4 StAG and the previous versions of the Nationality Act. More about this in our article on German citizenship by descent.
2. „The borders of 1937 affect the place where my family lives.“ No. The date describes the area where the recording had to take place, not the region of origin.
3. „Anyone who has arrived with their family is automatically a German.“ Only those who are included in the admission decision acquire citizenship through the BVFG. Persons under § 8 of the BVFG remain foreigners for the time being.
4. „Without a citizenship certificate, I am not a German.“ Recent immigrants and their dependents acquire citizenship by law. In these cases, there is no certificate of naturalization. Proof of citizenship is provided by the certificate under § 15 of the BVFG or a national identity card.
5. „Article 116, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Basic Law are the same.“ Paragraph 2 concerns the re-integration of people who were stripped of their citizenship for political, racial or religious reasons between 1933 and 1945, and their descendants. This has nothing to do with German ethnicity. For more information, read our article on Article 116(2) of the Basic Law and Section 15 of the State Act.

How do you prove that you are German?

Many families who came to Germany in the 1990s have long since acquired a German identity card. Nevertheless, the question can still arise – for example, when getting married, applying for a passport abroad, or when children are born abroad. Two documents are considered particularly suitable for proof of identity:

• The certificate under § 15 of the BVFG. They are registered as late-immigrants or as a spouse or descendant of an immigrant. Since the acquisition is linked to their issuance of the document under § 7 StAG, it is also an important proof of citizenship. Please keep the original carefully.
• The national identity card pursuant to § 30 StAG. He/She states explicitly that you possess German citizenship. The citizenship authority in your place of residence in Germany is responsible; those living abroad usually apply through the German representation at the Federal Administrative Office. Authorities and courts require a legitimate interest in establishing this – for example, when applying for a passport, when an authority has doubts about your citizenship, or when your children want to derive citizenship from you. A mere interest in a „further confirmation“ is generally not sufficient.

An example: Your parents were admitted as late-incomers in 1996; they were included in the admission decision at that time. Today, you live in Canada and are applying for a German passport for your newborn child. The embassy is asking for proof of your own citizenship. If the certificate under § 15 BVFG is no longer available, a verification procedure under § 30 StAG may be a safer way – a legitimate interest arises here from the passport application for your child. Our article explains which procedure applies in which situation. Section 5, Section 30 or Section 14 StAG: Which procedure is suitable? Our website also provides initial guidance. Free citizenship check.

When is legal assistance advisable?

Many admission procedures take place without a lawyer present – the Federal Administrative Office provides forms and leaflets. Things become more difficult at certain points:

• Your application was rejected, perhaps because of a previous „counter-declaration“ or because of insufficient language skills, and you are considering whether a challenge, a lawsuit, or an application for reinstatement is worth making. Especially in the case of a counter-declaration, it is currently very important how the new legal situation will be applied to your case.
• A family member was not included in the admission decision, and you want to know if it is possible to include them later in accordance with § 27, paragraph 2 of the BVFG.
• Documents from the Soviet era are incomplete, contradictory, or have disappeared from archives.
• You have to prove your citizenship decades after entering the country and don’t know which procedure is right for you.

Lawyer Helmer Tieben advises in Aliens and nationality law, The firm examines administrative decisions of the Federal Administrative Office and assists with appeals, complaints, and enforcement proceedings. The firm is based in Cologne – the same place where the BVA and the administrative court regularly responsible for BVA proceedings are located. If you would like to know how your documents are to be evaluated, you can contact us via the Contact form to describe.

The most important in a nutshell

• Article 116(1) of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz) recognizes two types of Germans: nationals and status Germans, that is, refugees, displaced persons, and late-immigrants of German ethnicity, including their spouses and descendants.
• Most former Statusdeutsche acquired German citizenship by law on August 1, 1999 (Section 40a StAG a.F.).
• Recent immigrants and their family members who are citizens of another country acquire German citizenship today by obtaining the certificate under § 15 of the BVFG (§ 7 StAG).
• The 2023 BVFG amendment significantly lowered the hurdle of „counter-affidavit“; how far exactly, the courts have so far interpreted differently.
• The proof of citizenship can be provided by a certificate under § 15 of the BVFG or a citizenship card under § 30 of the StAG, for which a legitimate interest is required.

Status: September 2026. The legal situation and the case law may change; the current version of the Basic Law, the BVFG, and the StAG is always decisive.