Persons born after the Basic Law came into force, i.e. after 23 May 1949, have been able to acquire German citizenship by declaration in accordance with Section 5 StAG since 20 August 2021.
This means that people who have been denied the opportunity to acquire German citizenship due to gender discrimination in nationality law will now also be able to do so.
According to § 5 StAG, these groups of people and their descendants can now acquire German citizenship by simply making a declaration to the competent authority.
Prerequisites for the acquisition of the declaration
In order to acquire German citizenship in accordance with § 5 StAG, the following requirements must be met:
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- The person must belong to the group of entitled persons born after 23 May 1949.
- Pursuant to Section 37 (1) sentence 1 StAG, the person must be capable of acting (16 years of age and legally competent) or legally represented.
- The person must not have been convicted of several intentional criminal offences and sentenced to two years' imprisonment or a juvenile sentence of two years or more. Furthermore, no preventive detention must have been ordered at the time of the last final conviction and there must be no grounds for exclusion under Section 11 StAG. According to § 11 StAG, naturalisation is excluded in particular if the foreigner has pursued or supported efforts that are directed against the free democratic basic order, the existence or security of the federal government or a country, or if there is a particularly serious interest in deportation.
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Furthermore, the declaration must have been submitted within 10 years of the entry into force of Section 5 StAG, i.e. from 20 August 2021.
Authorised group of persons
The authorised group of persons according to § 5 para. 1 StAG includes the following groups:
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- Children of a German parent who have not acquired German citizenship by birth,
- Children born to a mother who lost her German citizenship through marriage to a foreigner before the child was born,
- Children who have lost their German citizenship acquired by birth as a result of legitimisation by a foreigner and effective under German law (for example because their German mother married their non-German father after their birth),
- Descendants of the children under numbers 1 to 3.
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Exclusion of the acquisition of the declaration
An acquisition by declaration is excluded in accordance with Section 5 para. 2 StAG if the person acquired German citizenship after birth or reacquired it after losing their citizenship but then lost it again (e.g. by acquiring a foreign citizenship). The acquisition of German citizenship is also excluded for descendants of this person.
Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty. Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.
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