{"id":14346,"date":"2026-07-24T02:25:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T02:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/?page_id=14346"},"modified":"2026-07-27T07:45:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T07:45:48","slug":"section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/section-14-staging-catch-all-provision-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 14 StAG as a fallback provision for US citizens: when Section 5, Section 13 and Article 116 (2) of the Basic Law do not apply"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"14346\" class=\"elementor elementor-14346\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f86190b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f86190b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div 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data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-6eed52e{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c4ffe33 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"c4ffe33\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget. Hide Elementor's default page title. -->\n<header class=\"mth14-hero\" id=\"ueberblick\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-hero-grid\">\n    <div>\n      <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Naturalization from the United States<\/span>\n      <h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Section_14_StAG_for_Americans_The_Fallback_German_Citizenship_Path\"><\/span>Section 14 StAG for Americans: The Fallback German Citizenship Path<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n      <p class=\"mth14-hero-lead\">When Section 5, Section 13, Section 15 StAG and Article 116(2) GG do not apply, Section 14 may remain as a discretionary route. The decisive issues are present-day ties to Germany and a demonstrable public interest.<\/p>\n      <div class=\"mth14-actions\">\n        <a class=\"mth14-btn mth14-btn-primary\" href=\"#online-check\">Start the free preliminary check<\/a>\n        <a class=\"mth14-btn mth14-btn-secondary\" href=\"#triage\">Identify the right legal path<\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <aside class=\"mth14-hero-box\">\n      <p>What matters before you apply<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>No automatic entitlement: the BVA exercises discretion<\/li>\n        <li>Ancestry alone is not a present-day tie to Germany<\/li>\n        <li>Stronger claim-based routes must be ruled out first<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/aside>\n  <\/div>\n<\/header>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-185aea8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"185aea8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-195c831 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"195c831\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-195c831{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e9bdef6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"e9bdef6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget directly below Hero.\nThe anchor IDs intentionally match the German page so the same CSS can be reused. -->\n<nav class=\"mth14-nav\" aria-label=\"Page navigation\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-nav-scroll\">\n    <a href=\"#ueberblick\">Overview<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#online-check\">Online check<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#fallgruppen\">Typical cases<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#bindungen\">Close ties<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#rechtswege\">Legal paths<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#voraussetzungen\">Requirements<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#verfahren\">Procedure<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#triage\">Quick triage<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#faq\">FAQ<\/a>\n    <a href=\"#kontakt\">Contact<\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<\/nav>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f2ddcc elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"9f2ddcc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-9f2ddcc{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-acd34db elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"acd34db\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget -->\n<section class=\"mth14-facts\" aria-label=\"Key information\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-facts-grid\">\n    <div class=\"mth14-fact\">\n      <small>Target group<\/small>\n      <strong>Americans habitually resident outside Germany<\/strong>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"mth14-fact\">\n      <small>Two hurdles<\/small>\n      <strong>Close ties to Germany and public interest<\/strong>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"mth14-fact\">\n      <small>Decision-maker<\/small>\n      <strong>Individual assessment by the Federal Office of Administration<\/strong>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7012e3b elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"7012e3b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-7012e3b{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6b47ef0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"6b47ef0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"einleitung\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Starting point<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_the_established_pathways_do_not_fit\"><\/span>When the established pathways do not fit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>You started with a family story. A German great-grandmother. A great-uncle from Bavaria. Baptism records from Baden. Somewhere along the way, someone told you Germany reopened citizenship to descendants, and you started reading.<\/p>\n<p>Then the pathways started to close.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/naturalisation-5-day-acquisition-of-german-citizenship-by-declaration\/\">Section 5 StAG<\/a> \u2014 the declaration route \u2014 turned out to cover only four narrow categories, and yours doesn't match. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/deutsche-staatsangehoerigkeit-zurueckholen-wiedereinbuergerung-ehemaliger-deutscher-nach-%C2%A7-13-stag-aus-dem-ausland\/\">Section 13 StAG<\/a> requires that you or your ancestor was once a German citizen, and the loss happened at the wrong time. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/art-116-abs-2-gg-oder-%C2%A7-15-stag\/\">Section 15 StAG and Article 116(2) of the Basic Law<\/a> both require a Nazi-era loss, and your family left Germany decades before 1933.<\/p>\n<p>You're not out of options. But the option you have left is a different kind of instrument, and it works on different rules.<\/p>\n<p>That instrument is <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-nationality-after-14-days\/\">Section 14 of the Nationality Act (Staatsangeh\u00f6rigkeitsgesetz, StAG)<\/a><\/strong>. It's discretionary. It's slower. It's harder. And for a very specific group of Americans, it's the only remaining door to a German passport without moving to Germany.<\/p>\n<p>This article is written for the reader who has already done the first round of research and needs to know whether \u00a714 fits \u2014 and, if it does, how to give the case the best possible shape before it reaches Cologne.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Important:<\/strong> This article is written for general information. It is not legal advice, and every citizenship case turns on facts we cannot see from a webpage. If your situation is close to any of the scenarios below, have it reviewed by a lawyer before you file anything. A rejected application costs money, generates a paper trail the authority remembers, and can complicate a later attempt.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f19ed8e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f19ed8e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" id=\"online-check\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3c4e41 fluent-form-widget-step-header-yes fluent-form-widget-step-progressbar-yes fluentform-widget-submit-button-custom elementor-widget elementor-widget-fluent-form-widget\" data-id=\"b3c4e41\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"fluent-form-widget.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-b3c4e41{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d1d5310 fluent-form-widget-step-header-yes fluent-form-widget-step-progressbar-yes fluentform-widget-submit-button-custom elementor-widget elementor-widget-fluent-form-widget\" data-id=\"d1d5310\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"fluent-form-widget.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n            <div class=\"fluentform-widget-wrapper fluentform-widget-align-default\">\n\n            \n            <div class='fluentform ff-default fluentform_wrapper_43 ffs_default_wrap'><form data-form_id=\"43\" id=\"fluentform_43\" class=\"frm-fluent-form fluent_form_43 ff-el-form-top ff_form_instance_43_2 ff-form-loading ff-form-has-steps ffs_default\" data-form_instance=\"ff_form_instance_43_2\" method=\"POST\" ><fieldset  style=\"border: none!important;margin: 0!important;padding: 0!important;background-color: transparent!important;box-shadow: none!important;outline: none!important; min-inline-size: 100%;\">\n                    <legend class=\"ff_screen_reader_title\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0!important;padding: 0!important;height: 0!important;text-indent: -999999px;width: 0!important;overflow:hidden;\">[LEGAL\/DATA-PROTECTION REVIEW PENDING] \u00a7 14 StAG \u2013 Non-binding preliminary assessment | MTH Partner<\/legend><p style=\"display: none !important;\" class=\"akismet-fields-container\" data-prefix=\"ak_\"><label>&#916;<textarea name=\"ak_hp_textarea\" cols=\"45\" rows=\"8\" maxlength=\"100\"><\/textarea><\/label><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ak_js_2\" name=\"ak_js\" value=\"147\"\/><script>\ndocument.getElementById( \"ak_js_2\" ).setAttribute( \"value\", ( new Date() ).getTime() );\n<\/script>\n<\/p><input type='hidden' name='__fluent_form_embded_post_id' value='14346' \/><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"_fluentform_43_fluentformnonce\" name=\"_fluentform_43_fluentformnonce\" value=\"42ba146c66\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14346\" \/><div class='ff-step-container' data-name=\"step_start-43_15\" data-disable_auto_focus=\"no\" data-enable_auto_slider=\"yes\" data-enable_step_data_persistency=\"yes\" data-enable_step_page_resume=\"yes\" data-animation_type=\"slide\" data-progress_layout=\"top\" data-progress_indicator=\"progress-bar\" ><div class='ff-step-header ff-step-header--progress'><div class='ff-step-progress-wrap'><div class='ff-el-progress-status' aria-live='polite'><\/div><div class='ff-el-progress'><div role='progressbar' class='ff-el-progress-bar'><span><\/span><\/div><\/div><ul style='display: none' class='ff-el-progress-title'><li>Entry check<\/li><li>Your situation<\/li><li>Scenario details<\/li><li>Ties to Germany<\/li><li>Basic requirements<\/li><li>Contact<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><span class='ff_step_start'><\/span><div class='ff-step-body'><div class=\"fluentform-step active\" data-name=\"step_start-43_15\" data-disable_auto_focus=\"no\" data-enable_auto_slider=\"yes\" data-enable_step_data_persistency=\"yes\" data-enable_step_page_resume=\"yes\" data-animation_type=\"slide\" data-progress_layout=\"top\" data-progress_indicator=\"progress-bar\" ><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html mth-form-intro-wrap' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_1\" ><div class=\"mth-form-intro\"><h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Non-binding_preliminary_assessment_under_%C2%A7_14_StAG\"><\/span>Non-binding preliminary assessment under \u00a7 14 StAG<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><p>This form is intended for people who have already completed our general German citizenship eligibility check. Other statutory acquisition or determination routes are identified first; only after that is the case assessed internally for \u00a7 14 StAG.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Have you completed our general German citizenship eligibility check first?\">Have you completed our general German citizenship eligibility check first?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='entry_general_check_502a8e744d8a51f1ffe5ce9f25c80f01'><input  name=\"entry_general_check\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"entry_general_check\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='entry_general_check_502a8e744d8a51f1ffe5ce9f25c80f01' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='entry_general_check_4402623192e7a46e28b81f79534a46e9'><input  name=\"entry_general_check\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"entry_general_check\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='entry_general_check_4402623192e7a46e28b81f79534a46e9' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Did the eligibility check indicate that \u00a7 14 StAG may be the remaining route for your case?\">Did the eligibility check indicate that \u00a7 14 StAG may be the remaining route for your case?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='entry_routed_to_14_b14c4a4fe0ddfa6dbabbb2d3a2802385'><input  name=\"entry_routed_to_14\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"entry_routed_to_14\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='entry_routed_to_14_b14c4a4fe0ddfa6dbabbb2d3a2802385' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='entry_routed_to_14_ea3ba788d7d900fb54cd6c194e5567d7'><input  name=\"entry_routed_to_14\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"entry_routed_to_14\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='entry_routed_to_14_ea3ba788d7d900fb54cd6c194e5567d7' aria-label='No \/ I&#039;m not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No \/ I'm not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-redirect-wrapper' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_2\" ><div class=\"mth-redirect-notice\"><strong>Please begin with the general eligibility check.<\/strong><p>This form is intended for people who have already been routed to \u00a7 14 StAG. The general check is shorter and may identify a legally stronger route for your case.<\/p><p><a class=\"ff-btn ff-btn-primary\" href=\"\/en\/check-german-citizenship-from-abroad\/\">Open the general eligibility check<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><div class='step-nav ff_step_nav_last'><button style='float: left;'  type='button' data-action='prev' class='ff-btn ff-btn-prev ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Previous'>Previous<\/button><button style='float: right;'  type='button' data-action='next' class='ff-float-right ff-btn ff-btn-next ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Next'>Next<\/button><\/div><\/div><div style='display: none;' class=\" fluentform-step\" data-name=\"form_step-43_3\" ><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Which description most closely matches your situation?\">Which description most closely matches your situation?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='sub_scenario_748669ca8c714eeea9c2115fbe84c642'><input  name=\"sub_scenario\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"sub_scenario\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"A_pre1949_gender\"  id='sub_scenario_748669ca8c714eeea9c2115fbe84c642' aria-label='I, or a person in my direct line of descent, was affected by former gender-discriminatory descent rules\u2014for example, as the child of a German mother or as a child born out of wedlock to a German father.' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>I, or a person in my direct line of descent, was affected by former gender-discriminatory descent rules\u2014for example, as the child of a German mother or as a child born out of wedlock to a German father.<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='sub_scenario_61036f30db572b82d3ce33c9f9114438'><input  name=\"sub_scenario\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"sub_scenario\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"B_pre1904_emigration\"  id='sub_scenario_61036f30db572b82d3ce33c9f9114438' aria-label='My German ancestor emigrated to the United States before 1904 and lost German citizenship under the former ten-year rule.' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>My German ancestor emigrated to the United States before 1904 and lost German citizenship under the former ten-year rule.<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='sub_scenario_d6c023c8ba16a309e546e899f90e8e26'><input  name=\"sub_scenario\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"sub_scenario\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"C_voluntary_pre1949_naturalization\"  id='sub_scenario_d6c023c8ba16a309e546e899f90e8e26' aria-label='My German ancestor became a US citizen before 1949 and, to the best of my knowledge, this was not connected with persecution by the Nazi regime.' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>My German ancestor became a US citizen before 1949 and, to the best of my knowledge, this was not connected with persecution by the Nazi regime.<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='sub_scenario_31bfa94737018f0e44d65fa89b3b74ba'><input  name=\"sub_scenario\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"sub_scenario\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"D_gen_cutoff\"  id='sub_scenario_31bfa94737018f0e44d65fa89b3b74ba' aria-label='The generational cut-off under \u00a7 4(4) StAG may be relevant to a child born abroad.' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>The generational cut-off under \u00a7 4(4) StAG may be relevant to a child born abroad.<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='sub_scenario_7d04b91f64c159074c6630413878b8d3'><input  name=\"sub_scenario\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"sub_scenario\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"F_spouse_secondment\"  id='sub_scenario_7d04b91f64c159074c6630413878b8d3' aria-label='My spouse is a German citizen and has been formally posted abroad in the public interest.' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>My spouse is a German citizen and has been formally posted abroad in the public interest.<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='sub_scenario_4fe993a353777919c40217610e70a85b'><input  name=\"sub_scenario\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"sub_scenario\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"G_close_ties_only\"  id='sub_scenario_4fe993a353777919c40217610e70a85b' aria-label='None of the above\u2014I have close ties to Germany but no specific historical circumstances.' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>None of the above\u2014I have close ties to Germany but no specific historical circumstances.<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='sub_scenario_3bc6c860c85ef6a665bd93e349698eb8'><input  name=\"sub_scenario\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"sub_scenario\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"H_unsure\"  id='sub_scenario_3bc6c860c85ef6a665bd93e349698eb8' aria-label='I&#039;m not sure which situation applies to me.' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>I'm not sure which situation applies to me.<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Did you personally previously hold German citizenship and later lose it?\">Did you personally previously hold German citizenship and later lose it?<\/label><div class=\"ff-el-tooltip\" data-content=\"If you personally previously held German citizenship, re-naturalisation under \u00a7 13 StAG may need to be examined first.\"><svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewbox=\"0 0 25 25\"><path d=\"m329 393l0-46c0-2-1-4-2-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-27 0 0-146c0-3-1-5-3-7-2-1-4-2-7-2l-91 0c-3 0-5 1-7 2-1 2-2 4-2 7l0 46c0 2 1 5 2 6 2 2 4 3 7 3l27 0 0 91-27 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-1 2-2 4-2 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 2 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l128 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 1-2 2-4 2-7z m-36-256l0-46c0-2-1-4-3-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-54 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-2 2-3 4-3 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 3 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l54 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 2-2 3-4 3-7z m182 119c0 40-9 77-29 110-20 34-46 60-80 80-33 20-70 29-110 29-40 0-77-9-110-29-34-20-60-46-80-80-20-33-29-70-29-110 0-40 9-77 29-110 20-34 46-60 80-80 33-20 70-29 110-29 40 0 77 9 110 29 34 20 60 46 80 80 20 33 29 70 29 110z\" transform=\"scale(0.046875 0.046875)\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='route_former_german_661af8091d599107fb5ffd21a7edbdde'><input  name=\"route_former_german\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"route_former_german\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='route_former_german_661af8091d599107fb5ffd21a7edbdde' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='route_former_german_74cc50fe7d0ac475663ae5e70bfa2a85'><input  name=\"route_former_german\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"route_former_german\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='route_former_german_74cc50fe7d0ac475663ae5e70bfa2a85' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='route_former_german_2f7cbe72d43123cd1eca0a97054e92c7'><input  name=\"route_former_german\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"route_former_german\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='route_former_german_2f7cbe72d43123cd1eca0a97054e92c7' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"sub_scenario_score\" value=\"0\" data-name=\"sub_scenario_score\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"sub_scenario_phrase\" data-name=\"sub_scenario_phrase\" ><div class='step-nav ff_step_nav_last'><button style='float: left;'  type='button' data-action='prev' class='ff-btn ff-btn-prev ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Previous'>Previous<\/button><button style='float: right;'  type='button' data-action='next' class='ff-float-right ff-btn ff-btn-next ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Next'>Next<\/button><\/div><\/div><div style='display: none;' class=\" fluentform-step\" data-name=\"form_step-43_4\" ><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_a_relationship' id='label_ff_43_2_a_relationship' aria-label=\"How are you related to the person directly affected by the former rule?\">How are you related to the person directly affected by the former rule?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><select name=\"a_relationship\" id=\"ff_43_2_a_relationship\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"a_relationship\" data-calc_value=\"0\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=\"false\" aria-labelledby=\"label_ff_43_2_a_relationship\"><option value=\"\">\u2013 Please select \u2013<\/option><option value=\"self\"  >I am the person directly affected<\/option><option value=\"child\"  >Child<\/option><option value=\"grandchild\"  >Grandchild<\/option><option value=\"great_grandchild\"  >Great-grandchild<\/option><option value=\"remote_descendant\"  >More remote descendant<\/option><option value=\"unknown\"  >Not sure<\/option><\/select><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Which former disadvantage best describes the original case?\">Which former disadvantage best describes the original case?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_discrimination_type_554b8a0869b536545e4148b49fbbda49'><input  name=\"a_discrimination_type\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_discrimination_type\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"german_mother\"  id='a_discrimination_type_554b8a0869b536545e4148b49fbbda49' aria-label='The German mother could not transmit German citizenship to her child' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>The German mother could not transmit German citizenship to her child<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_discrimination_type_4e3055da48a1147e70cfcefea6ea9412'><input  name=\"a_discrimination_type\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_discrimination_type\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unmarried_german_father\"  id='a_discrimination_type_4e3055da48a1147e70cfcefea6ea9412' aria-label='The child born out of wedlock could not acquire German citizenship from the German father' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>The child born out of wedlock could not acquire German citizenship from the German father<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_discrimination_type_f204d3b2d867e11bdc7b0d2323373580'><input  name=\"a_discrimination_type\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_discrimination_type\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"other_unknown\"  id='a_discrimination_type_f204d3b2d867e11bdc7b0d2323373580' aria-label='Other \/ not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Other \/ not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"When was the directly affected person born?\">When was the directly affected person born?<\/label><div class=\"ff-el-tooltip\" data-content=\"For births on or after 24 May 1949, \u00a7 5 StAG may need to be examined first.\"><svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewbox=\"0 0 25 25\"><path d=\"m329 393l0-46c0-2-1-4-2-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-27 0 0-146c0-3-1-5-3-7-2-1-4-2-7-2l-91 0c-3 0-5 1-7 2-1 2-2 4-2 7l0 46c0 2 1 5 2 6 2 2 4 3 7 3l27 0 0 91-27 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-1 2-2 4-2 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 2 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l128 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 1-2 2-4 2-7z m-36-256l0-46c0-2-1-4-3-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-54 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-2 2-3 4-3 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 3 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l54 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 2-2 3-4 3-7z m182 119c0 40-9 77-29 110-20 34-46 60-80 80-33 20-70 29-110 29-40 0-77-9-110-29-34-20-60-46-80-80-20-33-29-70-29-110 0-40 9-77 29-110 20-34 46-60 80-80 33-20 70-29 110-29 40 0 77 9 110 29 34 20 60 46 80 80 20 33 29 70 29 110z\" transform=\"scale(0.046875 0.046875)\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_affected_period_5d59c999bfaf826c6f1dfafda31f1d1d'><input  name=\"a_affected_period\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_affected_period\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"before_1949_05_24\"  id='a_affected_period_5d59c999bfaf826c6f1dfafda31f1d1d' aria-label='Before 24 May 1949' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Before 24 May 1949<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_affected_period_44cfe70403071da23a86bdd801efbb2d'><input  name=\"a_affected_period\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_affected_period\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"on_after_1949_05_24\"  id='a_affected_period_44cfe70403071da23a86bdd801efbb2d' aria-label='On or after 24 May 1949' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>On or after 24 May 1949<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_affected_period_dac6a5acc275671011d3c84456628d13'><input  name=\"a_affected_period\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_affected_period\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='a_affected_period_dac6a5acc275671011d3c84456628d13' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_a_affected_birth_year' id='label_ff_43_2_a_affected_birth_year' aria-label=\"Year of birth of the directly affected person, if known\">Year of birth of the directly affected person, if known<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"number\" name=\"a_affected_birth_year\" id=\"ff_43_2_a_affected_birth_year\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"a_affected_birth_year\" inputmode=\"numeric\" step=\"1\" min=\"1800\" aria-valuemin=\"1800\" max=\"2026\" aria-valuemax=\"2026\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=false><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Was the relevant parent a German citizen when the directly affected person was born?\">Was the relevant parent a German citizen when the directly affected person was born?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_parent_german_0319d1a1dacfff38d31800a02441e6eb'><input  name=\"a_parent_german\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_parent_german\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='a_parent_german_0319d1a1dacfff38d31800a02441e6eb' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_parent_german_3220fd1cb4b85c8f68d52cca33d4f23b'><input  name=\"a_parent_german\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_parent_german\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='a_parent_german_3220fd1cb4b85c8f68d52cca33d4f23b' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_parent_german_4312a2a584110954bbee3fec24bcefc9'><input  name=\"a_parent_german\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_parent_german\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='a_parent_german_4312a2a584110954bbee3fec24bcefc9' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"What evidence is available of the relevant parent&#039;s German citizenship?\">What evidence is available of the relevant parent's German citizenship?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_parent_docs_bd5d96a7638e41dbfb8a7653d6f653bf'><input  name=\"a_parent_docs\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_parent_docs\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"full\"  id='a_parent_docs_bd5d96a7638e41dbfb8a7653d6f653bf' aria-label='Complete or largely complete evidence' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Complete or largely complete evidence<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_parent_docs_1bbcd5513c94b6bc0411c27a12cecd61'><input  name=\"a_parent_docs\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_parent_docs\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"partial\"  id='a_parent_docs_1bbcd5513c94b6bc0411c27a12cecd61' aria-label='Partial evidence' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Partial evidence<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='a_parent_docs_4b46cf4f02503bde8f1fcea21bf732d1'><input  name=\"a_parent_docs\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"a_parent_docs\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"missing\"  id='a_parent_docs_4b46cf4f02503bde8f1fcea21bf732d1' aria-label='No evidence yet; research is required' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No evidence yet; research is required<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_b_emigration_year' id='label_ff_43_2_b_emigration_year' aria-label=\"Approximately what year did your ancestor emigrate to the United States?\">Approximately what year did your ancestor emigrate to the United States?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"number\" name=\"b_emigration_year\" id=\"ff_43_2_b_emigration_year\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"b_emigration_year\" inputmode=\"numeric\" step=\"1\" min=\"1800\" aria-valuemin=\"1800\" max=\"1904\" aria-valuemax=\"1904\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=false><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Do you have evidence that your ancestor registered with a German consulate in the United States to retain German citizenship?\">Do you have evidence that your ancestor registered with a German consulate in the United States to retain German citizenship?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='b_consular_records_46009b992ce4c634877cdf579429009e'><input  name=\"b_consular_records\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"b_consular_records\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='b_consular_records_46009b992ce4c634877cdf579429009e' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='b_consular_records_c54f1ede60f7a3aadba9b0af798f63f3'><input  name=\"b_consular_records\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"b_consular_records\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"possibly\"  id='b_consular_records_c54f1ede60f7a3aadba9b0af798f63f3' aria-label='Possibly' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Possibly<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='b_consular_records_59591162955d87ec4bbe95821f8211f3'><input  name=\"b_consular_records\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"b_consular_records\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='b_consular_records_59591162955d87ec4bbe95821f8211f3' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='b_consular_records_05e56630fa5fa359bcac53f6bb3dd093'><input  name=\"b_consular_records\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"b_consular_records\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='b_consular_records_05e56630fa5fa359bcac53f6bb3dd093' aria-label='I don&#039;t know' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>I don't know<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-legal-note' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_5\" ><p><strong>Important:<\/strong> Under the former ten-year rule, most people who emigrated before 1904 automatically lost German citizenship. In such cases, an application under \u00a7 14 StAG normally requires substantial present-day ties to Germany; ancestry alone is generally insufficient.<\/p><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_c_naturalization_year' id='label_ff_43_2_c_naturalization_year' aria-label=\"In what year did your ancestor become a US citizen?\">In what year did your ancestor become a US citizen?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"number\" name=\"c_naturalization_year\" id=\"ff_43_2_c_naturalization_year\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"c_naturalization_year\" inputmode=\"numeric\" step=\"1\" min=\"1850\" aria-valuemin=\"1850\" max=\"1949\" aria-valuemax=\"1949\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=false><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_c_relationship' id='label_ff_43_2_c_relationship' aria-label=\"How are you related to this person?\">How are you related to this person?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><select name=\"c_relationship\" id=\"ff_43_2_c_relationship\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"c_relationship\" data-calc_value=\"0\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=\"false\" aria-labelledby=\"label_ff_43_2_c_relationship\"><option value=\"\">\u2013 Please select \u2013<\/option><option value=\"Parent\"  >Parent<\/option><option value=\"Grandparent\"  >Grandparent<\/option><option value=\"Great-grandparent\"  >Great-grandparent<\/option><option value=\"Great-great-grandparent\"  >Great-great-grandparent<\/option><option value=\"Other\"  >Other<\/option><\/select><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Was the emigration or naturalisation connected in any way with persecution by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945?\">Was the emigration or naturalisation connected in any way with persecution by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='c_persecution_check_b927a92c24907f83013579b69fb645ac'><input  name=\"c_persecution_check\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"c_persecution_check\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='c_persecution_check_b927a92c24907f83013579b69fb645ac' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='c_persecution_check_ca39e3259136597a33d0848543b1546a'><input  name=\"c_persecution_check\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"c_persecution_check\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='c_persecution_check_ca39e3259136597a33d0848543b1546a' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='c_persecution_check_447992e46103db8a6596f3c61552517f'><input  name=\"c_persecution_check\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"c_persecution_check\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"explore\"  id='c_persecution_check_447992e46103db8a6596f3c61552517f' aria-label='I don&#039;t know, but I would like this to be examined' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>I don't know, but I would like this to be examined<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-legal-note' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_6\" ><p><strong>Possible alternative legal route:<\/strong> If persecution by the Nazi regime played a role, \u00a7 15 StAG or Article 116(2) of the Basic Law may apply. These routes may provide a statutory entitlement and may take priority over \u00a7 14 StAG. We will flag this for further review.<\/p><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Was the child born outside Germany?\">Was the child born outside Germany?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_child_born_abroad_1694075f15032a54360c2150d2a7c992'><input  name=\"d_child_born_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_child_born_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='d_child_born_abroad_1694075f15032a54360c2150d2a7c992' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_child_born_abroad_7c2af90bef38629f3293b118e79b04c7'><input  name=\"d_child_born_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_child_born_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='d_child_born_abroad_7c2af90bef38629f3293b118e79b04c7' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_child_born_abroad_500efffd209acb9a758a4ee81c6ae3ae'><input  name=\"d_child_born_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_child_born_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='d_child_born_abroad_500efffd209acb9a758a4ee81c6ae3ae' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_d_child_birth_year' id='label_ff_43_2_d_child_birth_year' aria-label=\"In what year was the child born?\">In what year was the child born?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"number\" name=\"d_child_birth_year\" id=\"ff_43_2_d_child_birth_year\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"d_child_birth_year\" inputmode=\"numeric\" step=\"1\" min=\"2000\" aria-valuemin=\"2000\" max=\"2026\" aria-valuemax=\"2026\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=false><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Was the German parent also born outside Germany?\">Was the German parent also born outside Germany?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_born_abroad_46c367f70afc1501712c4d5bf9863719'><input  name=\"d_parent_born_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_born_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='d_parent_born_abroad_46c367f70afc1501712c4d5bf9863719' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_born_abroad_27220ea7904d8aebc3eb6f42dccd61fd'><input  name=\"d_parent_born_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_born_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='d_parent_born_abroad_27220ea7904d8aebc3eb6f42dccd61fd' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_born_abroad_d7c4ee22f7a1935ae6c20e909492c993'><input  name=\"d_parent_born_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_born_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='d_parent_born_abroad_d7c4ee22f7a1935ae6c20e909492c993' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Was the German parent born after 31 December 1999?\">Was the German parent born after 31 December 1999?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_after_1999_7803c7058395a1d334e80637c66adb7e'><input  name=\"d_parent_after_1999\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_after_1999\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='d_parent_after_1999_7803c7058395a1d334e80637c66adb7e' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_after_1999_319962df415a6f9c70380d37f69f2199'><input  name=\"d_parent_after_1999\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_after_1999\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='d_parent_after_1999_319962df415a6f9c70380d37f69f2199' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_after_1999_08c5702f35f4cbe4d1ee2753a6b980e7'><input  name=\"d_parent_after_1999\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_after_1999\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='d_parent_after_1999_08c5702f35f4cbe4d1ee2753a6b980e7' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_d_parent_birth_year' id='label_ff_43_2_d_parent_birth_year' aria-label=\"In what year was the German parent born?\">In what year was the German parent born?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"number\" name=\"d_parent_birth_year\" id=\"ff_43_2_d_parent_birth_year\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"d_parent_birth_year\" inputmode=\"numeric\" step=\"1\" min=\"1900\" aria-valuemin=\"1900\" max=\"2026\" aria-valuemax=\"2026\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=false><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Was the German parent ordinarily resident abroad when the child was born?\">Was the German parent ordinarily resident abroad when the child was born?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_living_abroad_a81b96fc4032f7b4baee754441db2b40'><input  name=\"d_parent_living_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_living_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='d_parent_living_abroad_a81b96fc4032f7b4baee754441db2b40' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_living_abroad_b30933e033a8e07a56d09baafa57e209'><input  name=\"d_parent_living_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_living_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='d_parent_living_abroad_b30933e033a8e07a56d09baafa57e209' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_parent_living_abroad_8a8a43042ddf264d4fe713d88cb57190'><input  name=\"d_parent_living_abroad\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_parent_living_abroad\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='d_parent_living_abroad_8a8a43042ddf264d4fe713d88cb57190' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Was the child&#039;s birth registered within one year with the competent German diplomatic mission or registry office?\">Was the child's birth registered within one year with the competent German diplomatic mission or registry office?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_registered_dc0324e8a8b4f0587c1920aed04c7d39'><input  name=\"d_registered\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_registered\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='d_registered_dc0324e8a8b4f0587c1920aed04c7d39' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_registered_97fc7b0c899507dda65855b30fe880d6'><input  name=\"d_registered\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_registered\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='d_registered_97fc7b0c899507dda65855b30fe880d6' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='d_registered_9747680e23fc0979c95b4ba291a95112'><input  name=\"d_registered\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"d_registered\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"unknown\"  id='d_registered_9747680e23fc0979c95b4ba291a95112' aria-label='Not sure' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not sure<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-legal-note' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_7\" ><p><strong>Existing citizenship should be examined first:<\/strong> The generational cut-off under \u00a7 4(4) StAG applies only when several cumulative requirements are met. If any requirement is not met or remains unclear, or if the birth was registered within the one-year period, it should first be examined whether German citizenship was already acquired and whether a determination procedure under \u00a7 30 StAG is appropriate.<\/p><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_f_employer_type' id='label_ff_43_2_f_employer_type' aria-label=\"What type of employer does your German spouse work for?\">What type of employer does your German spouse work for?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><select name=\"f_employer_type\" id=\"ff_43_2_f_employer_type\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"f_employer_type\" data-calc_value=\"0\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=\"false\" aria-labelledby=\"label_ff_43_2_f_employer_type\"><option value=\"\">\u2013 Please select \u2013<\/option><option value=\"diplomatic\"  >German diplomatic or consular service<\/option><option value=\"gov\"  >German federal or state authority or other public body<\/option><option value=\"secondment\"  >Company headquartered in Germany\u2014formal secondment<\/option><option value=\"local_hire\"  >Company headquartered in Germany\u2014local employment at a foreign subsidiary<\/option><option value=\"freelance\"  >Freelance or self-employed work for German clients<\/option><option value=\"none\"  >Not employed by a German public body or German company<\/option><\/select><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Can you document the formal posting with a secondment agreement or equivalent evidence?\">Can you document the formal posting with a secondment agreement or equivalent evidence?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='f_secondment_docs_59fe33572e2ee1ec3abe14e2bef9f7c4'><input  name=\"f_secondment_docs\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"f_secondment_docs\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"yes\"  id='f_secondment_docs_59fe33572e2ee1ec3abe14e2bef9f7c4' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='f_secondment_docs_e870d0329984ebe5ad983b93621fb338'><input  name=\"f_secondment_docs\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"f_secondment_docs\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"partial\"  id='f_secondment_docs_e870d0329984ebe5ad983b93621fb338' aria-label='Partial evidence' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Partial evidence<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='f_secondment_docs_a6b34be3b57fb4dd28c980f902da584d'><input  name=\"f_secondment_docs\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"f_secondment_docs\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"no\"  id='f_secondment_docs_a6b34be3b57fb4dd28c980f902da584d' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='f_secondment_docs_b8e9df9e5248f37960240d7dd354c1f6'><input  name=\"f_secondment_docs\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"f_secondment_docs\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"not_applicable\"  id='f_secondment_docs_b8e9df9e5248f37960240d7dd354c1f6' aria-label='Not applicable' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=false> <span>Not applicable<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_f_marriage_year' id='label_ff_43_2_f_marriage_year' aria-label=\"In what year was the marriage or registered partnership entered into?\">In what year was the marriage or registered partnership entered into?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"number\" name=\"f_marriage_year\" id=\"ff_43_2_f_marriage_year\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"f_marriage_year\" inputmode=\"numeric\" step=\"1\" min=\"1970\" aria-valuemin=\"1970\" max=\"2026\" aria-valuemax=\"2026\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=false><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-legal-note' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_8\" ><p><strong>Higher threshold for close ties:<\/strong> The route under \u00a7 14 sentence 2 StAG requires the stay abroad to be in the public interest. Local employment at a foreign subsidiary or freelance work is generally insufficient. The application would then normally be assessed under \u00a7 14 sentence 1 StAG.<\/p><\/div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"f_score_adjustment\" value=\"0\" data-name=\"f_score_adjustment\" ><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-legal-note' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_9\" ><p><strong>Close ties only, without a specific historical case:<\/strong> This is generally the most demanding configuration under \u00a7 14 StAG. The next section asks which present-day ties to Germany you can document.<\/p><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-legal-note' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_10\" ><p>That is fine. Please answer the following questions as accurately as possible. Our intake team will then examine whether one of the described categories may apply and will consider the family history you provide at the end.<\/p><\/div><div class='step-nav ff_step_nav_last'><button style='float: left;'  type='button' data-action='prev' class='ff-btn ff-btn-prev ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Previous'>Previous<\/button><button style='float: right;'  type='button' data-action='next' class='ff-float-right ff-btn ff-btn-next ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Next'>Next<\/button><\/div><\/div><div style='display: none;' class=\" fluentform-step\" data-name=\"form_step-43_11\" ><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Which of the following ties to Germany can you support with documents or other credible evidence? Select all that apply.\">Which of the following ties to Germany can you support with documents or other credible evidence? Select all that apply.<\/label><div class=\"ff-el-tooltip\" data-content=\"Select only ties for which you can provide documents or other credible evidence.\"><svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewbox=\"0 0 25 25\"><path d=\"m329 393l0-46c0-2-1-4-2-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-27 0 0-146c0-3-1-5-3-7-2-1-4-2-7-2l-91 0c-3 0-5 1-7 2-1 2-2 4-2 7l0 46c0 2 1 5 2 6 2 2 4 3 7 3l27 0 0 91-27 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-1 2-2 4-2 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 2 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l128 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 1-2 2-4 2-7z m-36-256l0-46c0-2-1-4-3-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-54 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-2 2-3 4-3 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 3 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l54 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 2-2 3-4 3-7z m182 119c0 40-9 77-29 110-20 34-46 60-80 80-33 20-70 29-110 29-40 0-77-9-110-29-34-20-60-46-80-80-20-33-29-70-29-110 0-40 9-77 29-110 20-34 46-60 80-80 33-20 70-29 110-29 40 0 77 9 110 29 34 20 60 46 80 80 20 33 29 70 29 110z\" transform=\"scale(0.046875 0.046875)\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_5eb2aba9ba05319128155c9b8e41e9ca'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_family\"  id='close_ties_5eb2aba9ba05319128155c9b8e41e9ca' aria-label='Close German family member (parent, sibling, adult child or spouse)' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Close German family member (parent, sibling, adult child or spouse)<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_61eba61c169af9426ae0a4d46c74bbbd'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_residence\"  id='close_ties_61eba61c169af9426ae0a4d46c74bbbd' aria-label='Previous residence in Germany for at least one full year, such as school, university or employment' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Previous residence in Germany for at least one full year, such as school, university or employment<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_1f1d523be75ff1351050bc3b00dee133'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_employment\"  id='close_ties_1f1d523be75ff1351050bc3b00dee133' aria-label='Current employment with a German company, university or public institution' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Current employment with a German company, university or public institution<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_8251aa46deb7144317e7c11d33c53b2d'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_property\"  id='close_ties_8251aa46deb7144317e7c11d33c53b2d' aria-label='Property ownership or a business interest in Germany' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Property ownership or a business interest in Germany<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_d8bd246d4377f2b3e49fc0c86738bd16'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_language_cert\"  id='close_ties_d8bd246d4377f2b3e49fc0c86738bd16' aria-label='German language certificate at B1 level or higher, such as Goethe, telc or TestDaF' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>German language certificate at B1 level or higher, such as Goethe, telc or TestDaF<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_f65abeb64df25e36040702135fdd63fc'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_school_cert\"  id='close_ties_f65abeb64df25e36040702135fdd63fc' aria-label='German school-leaving certificate, such as Abitur or Fachabitur, or a German vocational qualification' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>German school-leaving certificate, such as Abitur or Fachabitur, or a German vocational qualification<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_f23dc1e33739b9254bc27e48d6eb1c1d'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_association\"  id='close_ties_f23dc1e33739b9254bc27e48d6eb1c1d' aria-label='Active membership in a German expatriate association, church or cultural organisation' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Active membership in a German expatriate association, church or cultural organisation<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_9b70c49d17a24dcccb2301ed894d5f0c'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_professional\"  id='close_ties_9b70c49d17a24dcccb2301ed894d5f0c' aria-label='Professional activity with a substantial German dimension, such as German studies, cultural work or German-language publishing' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Professional activity with a substantial German dimension, such as German studies, cultural work or German-language publishing<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_0d6811e677896e09fabbe3d690681704'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_pension\"  id='close_ties_0d6811e677896e09fabbe3d690681704' aria-label='Contributions to the German pension or social security system' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Contributions to the German pension or social security system<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='close_ties_1982bc9c06688b3307a9e05024059dad'><input  name=\"close_ties[]\" type=\"checkbox\" data-name=\"close_ties\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-checkbox\" value=\"tie_visits\"  id='close_ties_1982bc9c06688b3307a9e05024059dad' aria-label='Regular documented visits to Germany over a period of at least five years' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Regular documented visits to Germany over a period of at least five years<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"close_ties_score\" value=\"0\" data-name=\"close_ties_score\" ><div class='step-nav ff_step_nav_last'><button style='float: left;'  type='button' data-action='prev' class='ff-btn ff-btn-prev ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Previous'>Previous<\/button><button style='float: right;'  type='button' data-action='next' class='ff-float-right ff-btn ff-btn-next ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Next'>Next<\/button><\/div><\/div><div style='display: none;' class=\" fluentform-step\" data-name=\"form_step-43_12\" ><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"How old is the applicant?\">How old is the applicant?<\/label><div class=\"ff-el-tooltip\" data-content=\"Applicants aged 16 or older may generally act independently in citizenship proceedings. Applicants under 16 may act through their legal representative.\"><svg width=\"16\" height=\"16\" viewbox=\"0 0 25 25\"><path d=\"m329 393l0-46c0-2-1-4-2-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-27 0 0-146c0-3-1-5-3-7-2-1-4-2-7-2l-91 0c-3 0-5 1-7 2-1 2-2 4-2 7l0 46c0 2 1 5 2 6 2 2 4 3 7 3l27 0 0 91-27 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-1 2-2 4-2 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 2 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l128 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 1-2 2-4 2-7z m-36-256l0-46c0-2-1-4-3-6-2-2-4-3-7-3l-54 0c-3 0-5 1-7 3-2 2-3 4-3 6l0 46c0 3 1 5 3 7 2 1 4 2 7 2l54 0c3 0 5-1 7-2 2-2 3-4 3-7z m182 119c0 40-9 77-29 110-20 34-46 60-80 80-33 20-70 29-110 29-40 0-77-9-110-29-34-20-60-46-80-80-20-33-29-70-29-110 0-40 9-77 29-110 20-34 46-60 80-80 33-20 70-29 110-29 40 0 77 9 110 29 34 20 60 46 80 80 20 33 29 70 29 110z\" transform=\"scale(0.046875 0.046875)\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_adult_775678f0f5ebc350fa8e8f523ac0c780'><input  name=\"req_adult\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_adult\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"age_18_plus\"  id='req_adult_775678f0f5ebc350fa8e8f523ac0c780' aria-label='18 or older' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>18 or older<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_adult_6a6b2a845830a8538e816c832e6ff703'><input  name=\"req_adult\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_adult\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"age_16_17\"  id='req_adult_6a6b2a845830a8538e816c832e6ff703' aria-label='16 or 17' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>16 or 17<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_adult_c8647dd413a8841215e0032199cadfc7'><input  name=\"req_adult\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_adult\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"under_16_represented\"  id='req_adult_c8647dd413a8841215e0032199cadfc7' aria-label='Under 16; a legal representative is available' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Under 16; a legal representative is available<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_adult_808bc16e365ef81f6dfdce626bb07fff'><input  name=\"req_adult\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_adult\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"under_16_open\"  id='req_adult_808bc16e365ef81f6dfdce626bb07fff' aria-label='Under 16; legal representation still needs to be clarified' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Under 16; legal representation still needs to be clarified<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Have you been convicted of an offence resulting in more than 90 daily fines or a suspended custodial sentence of more than three months?\">Have you been convicted of an offence resulting in more than 90 daily fines or a suspended custodial sentence of more than three months?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_criminal_4833de876965382cb7009cc0978f4de2'><input  name=\"req_criminal\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_criminal\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"0\"  id='req_criminal_4833de876965382cb7009cc0978f4de2' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_criminal_a4ed16aa0c3f1b9955e77ea1821285bc'><input  name=\"req_criminal\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_criminal\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-100\"  id='req_criminal_a4ed16aa0c3f1b9955e77ea1821285bc' aria-label='Yes' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Yes<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_criminal_7908d67b4307068a7094888cf3eedad4'><input  name=\"req_criminal\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_criminal\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"0\"  id='req_criminal_7908d67b4307068a7094888cf3eedad4' aria-label='Only minor convictions below this threshold' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Only minor convictions below this threshold<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_criminal_104e07f22c86ca283f213e134613e1a2'><input  name=\"req_criminal\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_criminal\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-3\"  id='req_criminal_104e07f22c86ca283f213e134613e1a2' aria-label='I don&#039;t know' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>I don't know<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Can you support yourself and your dependants in your country of residence without state assistance?\">Can you support yourself and your dependants in your country of residence without state assistance?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_financial_3811b3ecc9b8d5379e206946a3abcedb'><input  name=\"req_financial\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_financial\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"0\"  id='req_financial_3811b3ecc9b8d5379e206946a3abcedb' aria-label='Yes, including adequate health insurance and pension provision' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Yes, including adequate health insurance and pension provision<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_financial_d5d671619e5016d3519f212b730f6434'><input  name=\"req_financial\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_financial\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-2\"  id='req_financial_d5d671619e5016d3519f212b730f6434' aria-label='Partially\u2014I have income but do not have adequate pension provision' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Partially\u2014I have income but do not have adequate pension provision<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_financial_9b0c7d4d41fcba2fe9d6cce5b285b739'><input  name=\"req_financial\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_financial\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-1\"  id='req_financial_9b0c7d4d41fcba2fe9d6cce5b285b739' aria-label='No, but a hardship exception under \u00a7 8(2) StAG may apply, for example because of retirement or disability' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No, but a hardship exception under \u00a7 8(2) StAG may apply, for example because of retirement or disability<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_financial_048cc25a1ccfab6ff377a3303b97a7ad'><input  name=\"req_financial\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_financial\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-4\"  id='req_financial_048cc25a1ccfab6ff377a3303b97a7ad' aria-label='No' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions  stacked'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label   aria-label=\"Do you have German at B1 level or higher, or a documented reason for an exception under \u00a7 8(2) StAG?\">Do you have German at B1 level or higher, or a documented reason for an exception under \u00a7 8(2) StAG?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_language_23bef438014aea692469e1c41d9db65f'><input  name=\"req_language\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_language\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"0\"  id='req_language_23bef438014aea692469e1c41d9db65f' aria-label='Yes, B1 level' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Yes, B1 level<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_language_85dfcfa6b77ab874ec833b5d3f40c649'><input  name=\"req_language\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_language\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"1\"  id='req_language_85dfcfa6b77ab874ec833b5d3f40c649' aria-label='Yes, above B1, such as B2, C1 or C2' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>Yes, above B1, such as B2, C1 or C2<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_language_e2ffb5835ed41289b5d1997adcb06600'><input  name=\"req_language\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_language\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-2\"  id='req_language_e2ffb5835ed41289b5d1997adcb06600' aria-label='I am currently working towards it' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>I am currently working towards it<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_language_ff994d7180ceaa3bb87adcfa693f0d44'><input  name=\"req_language\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_language\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-1\"  id='req_language_ff994d7180ceaa3bb87adcfa693f0d44' aria-label='No, but an exception under \u00a7 8(2) StAG may apply, for example because of documented illness or advanced age' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No, but an exception under \u00a7 8(2) StAG may apply, for example because of documented illness or advanced age<\/span><\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-form-check'><label class='ff-el-form-check-label' for='req_language_7de56a7ce48cd4201960d94a3d3d2e9d'><input  name=\"req_language\" type=\"radio\" data-name=\"req_language\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input ff-el-form-check-radio\" value=\"-4\"  id='req_language_7de56a7ce48cd4201960d94a3d3d2e9d' aria-label='No, and there are no apparent grounds for an exception' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true> <span>No, and there are no apparent grounds for an exception<\/span><\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class='step-nav ff_step_nav_last'><button style='float: left;'  type='button' data-action='prev' class='ff-btn ff-btn-prev ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Previous'>Previous<\/button><button style='float: right;'  type='button' data-action='next' class='ff-float-right ff-btn ff-btn-next ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Next'>Next<\/button><\/div><\/div><div style='display: none;' class=\" fluentform-step\" data-name=\"form_step-43_13\" ><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_applicant_name' id='label_ff_43_2_applicant_name' >Your full name<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"text\" name=\"applicant_name\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" placeholder=\"Full name as shown on your identity document\" data-name=\"applicant_name\" id=\"ff_43_2_applicant_name\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=true><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_applicant_email' id='label_ff_43_2_applicant_email' aria-label=\"Email address\">Email address<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input type=\"email\" name=\"applicant_email\" id=\"ff_43_2_applicant_email\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" placeholder=\"name@beispiel.de\" data-name=\"applicant_email\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=true><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_applicant_phone' id='label_ff_43_2_applicant_phone' aria-label=\"Phone number, including country code\">Phone number, including country code<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><input name=\"applicant_phone\" class=\"ff-el-form-control ff-el-phone\" type=\"tel\" placeholder=\"+49 221 1234567\" data-name=\"applicant_phone\" id=\"ff_43_2_applicant_phone\" inputmode=\"tel\"  aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label ff-el-is-required asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_applicant_country' id='label_ff_43_2_applicant_country' aria-label=\"Country of residence\">Country of residence<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><select name=\"applicant_country\" id=\"ff_43_2_applicant_country\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"applicant_country\" data-calc_value=\"0\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-labelledby=\"label_ff_43_2_applicant_country\"><option value=\"\">\u2013 Please select \u2013<\/option><option value=\"US\"  selected>United States<\/option><option value=\"other\"  >Other country<\/option><\/select><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_applicant_state' id='label_ff_43_2_applicant_state' aria-label=\"US state\">US state<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><select name=\"applicant_state\" id=\"ff_43_2_applicant_state\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" data-name=\"applicant_state\" data-calc_value=\"0\"  aria-invalid=\"false\" aria-required=\"false\" aria-labelledby=\"label_ff_43_2_applicant_state\"><option value=\"\">\u2013 Select a state \u2013<\/option><option value=\"AL\"  >Alabama<\/option><option value=\"AK\"  >Alaska<\/option><option value=\"AZ\"  >Arizona<\/option><option value=\"AR\"  >Arkansas<\/option><option value=\"CA\"  >California<\/option><option value=\"CO\"  >Colorado<\/option><option value=\"CT\"  >Connecticut<\/option><option value=\"DE\"  >Delaware<\/option><option value=\"DC\"  >District of Columbia<\/option><option value=\"FL\"  >Florida<\/option><option value=\"GA\"  >Georgia<\/option><option value=\"HI\"  >Hawaii<\/option><option value=\"ID\"  >Idaho<\/option><option value=\"IL\"  >Illinois<\/option><option value=\"IN\"  >Indiana<\/option><option value=\"IA\"  >Iowa<\/option><option value=\"KS\"  >Kansas<\/option><option value=\"KY\"  >Kentucky<\/option><option value=\"LA\"  >Louisiana<\/option><option value=\"ME\"  >Maine<\/option><option value=\"MD\"  >Maryland<\/option><option value=\"MA\"  >Massachusetts<\/option><option value=\"MI\"  >Michigan<\/option><option value=\"MN\"  >Minnesota<\/option><option value=\"MS\"  >Mississippi<\/option><option value=\"MO\"  >Missouri<\/option><option value=\"MT\"  >Montana<\/option><option value=\"NE\"  >Nebraska<\/option><option value=\"NV\"  >Nevada<\/option><option value=\"NH\"  >New Hampshire<\/option><option value=\"NJ\"  >New Jersey<\/option><option value=\"NM\"  >New Mexico<\/option><option value=\"NY\"  >New York<\/option><option value=\"NC\"  >North Carolina<\/option><option value=\"ND\"  >North Dakota<\/option><option value=\"OH\"  >Ohio<\/option><option value=\"OK\"  >Oklahoma<\/option><option value=\"OR\"  >Oregon<\/option><option value=\"PA\"  >Pennsylvania<\/option><option value=\"RI\"  >Rhode Island<\/option><option value=\"SC\"  >South Carolina<\/option><option value=\"SD\"  >South Dakota<\/option><option value=\"TN\"  >Tennessee<\/option><option value=\"TX\"  >Texas<\/option><option value=\"UT\"  >Utah<\/option><option value=\"VT\"  >Vermont<\/option><option value=\"VA\"  >Virginia<\/option><option value=\"WA\"  >Washington<\/option><option value=\"WV\"  >West Virginia<\/option><option value=\"WI\"  >Wisconsin<\/option><option value=\"WY\"  >Wyoming<\/option><\/select><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group  ff-custom_html has-conditions mth-data-minimisation-wrap' tabindex='-1' data-name=\"custom_html-43_14\" ><div class=\"mth-data-minimisation\"><strong>Data protection:<\/strong><p>Please do not enter passport or identity-document numbers, complete certificate details, detailed health information or extensive information about criminal proceedings in the free-text field. Any required documents can be requested after the initial contact through an appropriate secure transmission method.<\/p><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group has-conditions'><div class=\"ff-el-input--label asterisk-right\"><label for='ff_43_2_applicant_situation' id='label_ff_43_2_applicant_situation' aria-label=\"What else should we know before an initial consultation?\">What else should we know before an initial consultation?<\/label><\/div><div class='ff-el-input--content'><textarea aria-required=\"false\" aria-labelledby=\"label_ff_43_2_applicant_situation\" name=\"applicant_situation\" id=\"ff_43_2_applicant_situation\" class=\"ff-el-form-control\" placeholder=\"Enter relevant family-history details, dates, available documents or special circumstances.\" rows=\"6\" cols=\"2\" data-name=\"applicant_situation\" ><\/textarea><\/div><\/div><div class='ff-el-group    ff-el-input--content'><div class='ff-el-form-check ff-el-tc'><label aria-label='Terms and Conditions: I have read the data protection notice. I understand that my information will be processed to respond to my enquiry and prepare an initial case review. Submitting this form does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Contains 1 link. Use tab navigation to review.' class='ff-el-form-check-label ff_tc_label' for=applicant_consent_6baf4a0f7a6a604283b95cc623fc1300><span class='ff_tc_checkbox'><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"applicant_consent\" class=\"ff-el-form-check-input\" data-name=\"applicant_consent\" id=\"applicant_consent_6baf4a0f7a6a604283b95cc623fc1300\"  value='on' aria-invalid='false' aria-required=true><\/span> <div class='ff_t_c'>I have read the <a href=\"\/en\/contact\/data-protection\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">data protection notice<\/a>. I understand that my information will be processed to respond to my enquiry and prepare an initial case review. Submitting this form does not create a lawyer-client relationship.<\/div><\/label><\/div><\/div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"case_score\" value=\"0\" data-name=\"case_score\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"internal_score_band\" data-name=\"internal_score_band\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"primary_route\" data-name=\"primary_route\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"primary_route_label\" data-name=\"primary_route_label\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"outcome_band\" data-name=\"outcome_band\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"outcome_band_label\" data-name=\"outcome_band_label\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"outcome_message\" data-name=\"outcome_message\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"representation_note\" data-name=\"representation_note\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"review_version\" value=\"2026-07-27-v2\" data-name=\"review_version\" >        <div class=\"ff-step-t-container ff-inner_submit_container ff-column-container ff_columns_total_2\">\n            <div class=\"ff-t-cell ff-t-column-1\"><div class='step-nav ff_step_nav_last'><button style='float: left;'  type='button' data-action='prev' class='ff-btn ff-btn-prev ff-btn-secondary' aria-label='Previous'>Previous<\/button><\/div><\/div>\n            <div class=\"ff-t-cell ff-t-column-2\">\n                <div class='ff-el-group ff-text-left ff_submit_btn_wrapper'><button type=\"submit\" class=\"ff-btn ff-btn-submit ff-btn-md ff_btn_style\"  aria-label=\"Submit preliminary assessment\">Submit preliminary assessment<\/button><\/div>            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div><\/div><\/div>\n        <\/fieldset><\/form><div id='fluentform_43_errors' class='ff-errors-in-stack ff_form_instance_43_2 ff-form-loading_errors ff_form_instance_43_2_errors'><\/div><\/div>            <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n                window.fluent_form_ff_form_instance_43_2 = {\"id\":\"43\",\"ajaxUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.mth-partner.de\\\/wp-admin\\\/admin-ajax.php\",\"settings\":{\"layout\":{\"labelPlacement\":\"top\",\"helpMessagePlacement\":\"with_label\",\"errorMessagePlacement\":\"inline\",\"asteriskPlacement\":\"asterisk-right\"},\"restrictions\":{\"denyEmptySubmission\":{\"enabled\":false}}},\"form_instance\":\"ff_form_instance_43_2\",\"form_id_selector\":\"fluentform_43\",\"rules\":{\"entry_general_check\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"entry_routed_to_14\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"sub_scenario\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"route_former_german\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"a_relationship\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"a_discrimination_type\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"a_affected_period\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"a_affected_birth_year\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"numeric\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field must contain numeric value\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a number.\",\"global\":true},\"min\":{\"value\":\"1800\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for minimum value\",\"global_message\":\"The minimum value is 1800.\",\"global\":true},\"max\":{\"value\":\"2026\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for maximum value\",\"global_message\":\"The maximum value is 2026.\",\"global\":true}},\"a_parent_german\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"a_parent_docs\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"b_emigration_year\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"numeric\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field must contain numeric value\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a number.\",\"global\":true},\"min\":{\"value\":\"1800\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for minimum value\",\"global_message\":\"The minimum value is 1800.\",\"global\":true},\"max\":{\"value\":\"1904\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for maximum value\",\"global_message\":\"The maximum value is 1904.\",\"global\":true}},\"b_consular_records\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"c_naturalization_year\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"numeric\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field must contain numeric value\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a number.\",\"global\":true},\"min\":{\"value\":\"1850\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for minimum value\",\"global_message\":\"The minimum value is 1850.\",\"global\":true},\"max\":{\"value\":\"1949\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for maximum value\",\"global_message\":\"The maximum value is 1949.\",\"global\":true}},\"c_relationship\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"c_persecution_check\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"d_child_born_abroad\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"d_child_birth_year\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"numeric\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field must contain numeric value\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a number.\",\"global\":true},\"min\":{\"value\":\"2000\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for minimum value\",\"global_message\":\"The minimum value is 2000.\",\"global\":true},\"max\":{\"value\":\"2026\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for maximum value\",\"global_message\":\"The maximum value is 2026.\",\"global\":true}},\"d_parent_born_abroad\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"d_parent_after_1999\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"d_parent_birth_year\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"numeric\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field must contain numeric value\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a number.\",\"global\":true},\"min\":{\"value\":\"1900\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for minimum value\",\"global_message\":\"The minimum value is 1900.\",\"global\":true},\"max\":{\"value\":\"2026\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for maximum value\",\"global_message\":\"The maximum value is 2026.\",\"global\":true}},\"d_parent_living_abroad\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"d_registered\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"f_employer_type\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"f_secondment_docs\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"f_marriage_year\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"numeric\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field must contain numeric value\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a number.\",\"global\":true},\"min\":{\"value\":\"1970\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for minimum value\",\"global_message\":\"The minimum value is 1970.\",\"global\":true},\"max\":{\"value\":\"2026\",\"message\":\"Validation fails for maximum value\",\"global_message\":\"The maximum value is 2026.\",\"global\":true}},\"close_ties\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"req_adult\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"req_criminal\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"req_financial\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"req_language\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"applicant_name\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"applicant_email\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"email\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field must contain a valid email\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a valid email address.\",\"global\":true}},\"applicant_phone\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true},\"valid_phone_number\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"Phone number is not valid\",\"global_message\":\"Please enter a valid phone number.\",\"global\":true}},\"applicant_country\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"applicant_state\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"applicant_situation\":{\"required\":{\"value\":false,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is required.\",\"global\":true}},\"applicant_consent\":{\"required\":{\"value\":true,\"message\":\"This field is required\",\"global_message\":\"This field is 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                           <\/script>\n                        <\/div>\n\n            \t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fa5eb17 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"fa5eb17\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-303acaf elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"303acaf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-303acaf{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9d10596 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"9d10596\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: warum-paragraph-14 -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"warum-paragraph-14\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_%C2%A714_exists_%E2%80%94_and_why_it_exists_last\"><\/span>Why \u00a714 exists \u2014 and why it exists last<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>The StAG is built like a decision tree. At the top of the tree are the paths with the highest chance of success: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-citizenship-by-descent\/\">acquisition by birth (\u00a74)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/naturalisation-5-day-acquisition-of-german-citizenship-by-declaration\/\">declaration under \u00a75<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/art-116-abs-2-gg-oder-%C2%A7-15-stag\/\">restitution under \u00a715 and Art. 116(2) GG<\/a>. These give you a <strong>legal claim<\/strong> \u2014 if you meet the requirements, the Federal Office of Administration (BVA) in Cologne must naturalize you.<\/p>\n<p>Farther down the tree are the <strong>discretionary<\/strong> paths: \u00a713 for former Germans, and \u00a714 for foreigners abroad who have never held German citizenship. Here, meeting the requirements doesn't guarantee anything. The BVA weighs your case and decides. The word the statute uses is <em>kann<\/em> \u2014 \"may.\" Not <em>muss<\/em> \u2014 \"must.\"<\/p>\n<p>Section 14 sits at the very bottom of the ladder deliberately. It is Germany's <strong>residual naturalization power<\/strong> for people who live abroad, cannot use any specialized pathway, but have a life so entangled with Germany that citizenship is defensible. When German lawyers describe \u00a714 as an <em>Auffangtatbestand<\/em> \u2014 a \"catch-all provision\" \u2014 that's what they mean.<\/p>\n<p>For most Americans, the story of \u00a714 is the story of what closed first.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28664cd elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"28664cd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-28664cd{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b9633e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"b9633e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: fallgruppen -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"fallgruppen\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_Americans_fall_through_the_specialized_paths\"><\/span>When Americans fall through the specialized paths<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>Six eligibility failures come up repeatedly in American citizenship cases. If you recognize your family in any of them, \u00a714 becomes a serious question.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Your ancestor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-citizenship-by-descent\/\">emigrated before 1904<\/a> and lost German citizenship automatically.<\/strong> Under the Reichs- und Staatsangeh\u00f6rigkeitsgesetz of 1913 (and its 1871 predecessor), a German who lived abroad for more than ten years without registering with a consulate lost citizenship <em>ipso jure<\/em> \u2014 by operation of law, without any personal decision. Most 19th-century German-American emigrants fall into this category. As the Federal Foreign Office puts it plainly, \"it is usually not possible to base a claim to German citizenship on ancestors who immigrated to the United States before 1904.\" That is a hard door. \u00a75 doesn't help \u2014 this isn't gender discrimination. \u00a715 doesn't help \u2014 this isn't Nazi persecution. \u00a713 doesn't help \u2014 you were never German. What remains, if you can show ties, is \u00a714.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Your ancestor became a US citizen before 1949 for reasons unrelated to persecution.<\/strong> A great-grandfather who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1907 and naturalized as an American in 1925 lost his German citizenship at that point. The loss was voluntary, personal, and had nothing to do with Nazi rule. Article 116(2) GG and \u00a715 StAG both require a persecution-related loss. Without that causal link, restitution is not available. Descendants below the break inherit nothing to reclaim.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. You were born before 24 May 1949 and were denied German citizenship because of your mother's sex.<\/strong> Section 5 StAG codifies the constitutional remedy for pre-1975 gender discrimination, but only for people <strong>born after 23 May 1949<\/strong> \u2014 the day the Basic Law entered into force. Applicants born before that date fall outside \u00a75 entirely. For this group, the Federal Ministry of the Interior issued a decree on 30 August 2019 authorizing simplified naturalization under <strong>\u00a714 StAG<\/strong>. Public interest is presumed. Language requirements are relaxed. This is one of the few situations in which a \u00a714 application starts with the wind at your back.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. You are a descendant born abroad after 31 December 1999 whose German parent didn't register your birth.<\/strong> Under \u00a74(4) StAG, children born abroad to a German parent who was also born abroad after 31 December 1999 acquire German citizenship only if the parent registers the birth with a German mission within one year. Miss the registration, and the citizenship isn't inherited. There is no declaration path for this specific failure. If the underlying family also has one of the earlier historical breaks, \u00a714 combined with the 2019 BMI decree can sometimes be threaded \u2014 but it is fact-heavy, and the generational cut-off is unforgiving.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/naturalisation-5-day-acquisition-of-german-citizenship-by-declaration\/\">\u00a75 declaration deadline of 19 August 2031<\/a> has passed.<\/strong> Section 5(3) StAG is a cut-off period. It cannot be extended by administrative discretion. After the deadline, the four categories close permanently, and only reinstatement of the deadline (<em>Wiedereinsetzung in den vorigen Stand<\/em> under \u00a732 VwVfG) is possible, and only where the delay was through no fault of your own. Most late applicants will not qualify for reinstatement. \u00a714 becomes the remaining route, with none of \u00a75's presumptions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6. You are the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-nationality-after-14-days\/\">American spouse of a German citizen<\/a> who was posted abroad in the public interest.<\/strong> This is the classic \u00a714 sentence 2 case, and the most common route to a positive discretionary decision. If your German spouse works for a German employer or the German state and their assignment abroad is in the public interest, sentence 2 lowers the \"close ties\" bar significantly. Corporate secondment counts. Diplomatic service counts. A local employment contract with a foreign subsidiary generally does not.<\/p>\n<p>Each of these paths through \u00a714 has different odds, different documentation, and different weights the BVA assigns to your ties. Confusing one for another is a common \u2014 and expensive \u2014 mistake.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4833e1c elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"4833e1c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-4833e1c{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36b99ed elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"36b99ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: bindungen -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"bindungen\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_two_hurdles_close_ties_and_public_interest\"><\/span>The two hurdles: close ties and public interest<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-nationality-after-14-days\/\">Section 14 sentence 1<\/a> says a foreigner living abroad \"may be naturalized under the conditions of \u00a78 if ties to Germany exist that justify the naturalization.\" Read literally, that is a one-condition statute. In practice, the BVA and the Federal Administrative Court have layered a second requirement on top: a demonstrable <strong>public interest<\/strong> in the naturalization.<\/p>\n<p>You must meet both.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Close ties (Bindungen an Deutschland).<\/strong> No single factor is enough. The BVA looks for a dense, plural, documentable connection to Germany across categories:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mth14-list\">\n<li><strong>Family.<\/strong> Living German relatives with whom you have regular, documented contact. Marriage to a German is the strongest single family tie but does not, by itself, carry an application.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prior residence in Germany.<\/strong> School years in Munich, a semester in Heidelberg, a two-year stint at a Berlin startup \u2014 anything that gave you a lived relationship with the country counts. Repeated shorter visits count for less but still count.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Professional connections.<\/strong> Employment with a German company, research affiliation with a German university, work for a Goethe-Institut or a German cultural body, or an assignment for a German-headquartered international organization.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Economic ties.<\/strong> Real estate in Germany, investments in German companies, ongoing German tax obligations, contributions to the German social insurance system.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Language.<\/strong> B1 is the floor. Higher levels \u2014 C1, C2, or a school-leaving certificate from a German school \u2014 materially strengthen the file.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cultural and civic engagement.<\/strong> Membership in a German expatriate association or German-American cultural body, work for a German political foundation abroad, published writing in German, work on German-cultural projects in your country of residence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The applicant who can document four or five of these categories has a real case. The applicant who has only marriage, or only ancestry, does not.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Public interest (\u00f6ffentliches Interesse).<\/strong> This is the harder hurdle for most Americans. Personal reasons \u2014 travel convenience, a fondness for German culture, wanting the same passport as your spouse \u2014 do not qualify. Germany has to have its own reason to want you as a national. Recognized public-interest categories include:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mth14-list\">\n<li>Family unity where a German is posted abroad in the public interest (the \u00a714 sentence 2 case)<\/li>\n<li>Correction of historical injustice in nationality law (the 2019 BMI decree cases)<\/li>\n<li>Professional value to Germany \u2014 scientific research, cultural transmission, economic ties that materially benefit German interests<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The BVA will not spell out a formula. Your application has to make the case.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c15b1a7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"c15b1a7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-c15b1a7{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-88f3a84 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"88f3a84\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: rechtswege -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"rechtswege\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_the_five_main_paths_compare\"><\/span>How the five main paths compare<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>Before you commit to \u00a714, make sure you're not missing a stronger path. The differences are consequential.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mth14-table-wrap\" tabindex=\"0\"><table class=\"mth14-table\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Legal basis<\/th>\n<th>Who qualifies<\/th>\n<th>Claim or discretion?<\/th>\n<th>Deadline<\/th>\n<th>Where you apply<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/naturalisation-5-day-acquisition-of-german-citizenship-by-declaration\/\">\u00a75 StAG (Declaration)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Four narrow categories of gender-discrimination remedy; born after 23 May 1949<\/td>\n<td>Claim on filing<\/td>\n<td>19 August 2031<\/td>\n<td>German mission \u2192 BVA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/deutsche-staatsangehoerigkeit-zurueckholen-wiedereinbuergerung-ehemaliger-deutscher-nach-%C2%A7-13-stag-aus-dem-ausland\/\">\u00a713 StAG (Reinstatement)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Former Germans who lost citizenship (typically by acquiring a foreign nationality without a retention permit)<\/td>\n<td>Discretion<\/td>\n<td>None<\/td>\n<td>BVA via German mission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-nationality-after-14-days\/\">\u00a714 StAG (Discretionary)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Foreigners abroad who were never German but have close ties + public interest<\/td>\n<td>Discretion<\/td>\n<td>None<\/td>\n<td>German mission \u2192 BVA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/art-116-abs-2-gg-oder-%C2%A7-15-stag\/\">\u00a715 StAG (Nazi restitution)<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants who could not acquire or lost German citizenship because of that persecution<\/td>\n<td>Claim<\/td>\n<td>None<\/td>\n<td>BVA via German mission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/art-116-abs-2-gg-oder-%C2%A7-15-stag\/\">Art. 116(2) GG<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Persons formally denaturalized between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 for political, racial, or religious reasons, and their descendants<\/td>\n<td>Constitutional claim<\/td>\n<td>None<\/td>\n<td>BVA via German mission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<p>Two things about this table matter more than they look. First, \"claim\" paths are almost always the right filing if they are available \u2014 the BVA has less room to say no. Second, some cases fit more than one path. If both a claim path and a discretionary path are open, the claim path is filed. \u00a714 is filed only after the others are ruled out or exhausted.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1395560 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"1395560\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-1395560{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f8777d8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"f8777d8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: voraussetzungen -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"voraussetzungen\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_%C2%A714_actually_requires\"><\/span>What \u00a714 actually requires<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>Section 14 sentence 1 imports the conditions of \u00a78 StAG, but waives the residence requirement. What's left is a substantive list:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mth14-list\">\n<li><strong>Legal capacity.<\/strong> You must be an adult or represented by a legal guardian. Minor children can be co-naturalized with a parent.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Verified identity and current nationality.<\/strong> A valid national passport is the standard proof.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A clean record.<\/strong> Convictions above the \u00a712a StAG thresholds (roughly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/foreigners-law-no-exception-for-multiple-convictions-that-significantly-exceed-the-threshold-for-trivial-offenses\/\">over 90 daily-rate fines<\/a> or over three months' suspended sentence) generally disqualify. Foreign convictions are assessed for comparability with German criminal law.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Financial self-sufficiency in your country of residence.<\/strong> No reliance on public assistance. Adequate health insurance and old-age provision. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/naturalisation-from-abroad-due-to-advanced-age-or-serious-illness\/\">\u00a78(2) hardship cases<\/a> \u2014 for example, retirees on modest fixed incomes or applicants with documented disabilities \u2014 the BVA can waive this in the public interest.<\/li>\n<li><strong>German at B1.<\/strong> Certificates from the Goethe-Institut, telc, or the TestDaF-Institut are recognized. A German school-leaving qualification counts. Hardship exceptions under \u00a78(2) are possible but narrow \u2014 advanced age or documented learning disability are the typical grounds.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Basic knowledge of the German legal and social order.<\/strong> Usually shown by passing the <em>Einb\u00fcrgerungstest<\/em>, administered at the German mission.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commitment to the free and democratic basic order.<\/strong> Since the 2024 reform, this has been read more strictly. Racism, antisemitism, and other forms of contempt for humanity are express bars under \u00a711 sentence 1 no. 1 StAG.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you meet these requirements <em>and<\/em> you can show close ties <em>and<\/em> the BVA finds public interest, the file moves to the discretionary weighing. Even then, the BVA is not obliged to naturalize you.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-64e717a elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"64e717a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-64e717a{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e81aa63 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"e81aa63\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: reformen -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"reformen\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_the_2024_and_2025_reforms_changed_%E2%80%94_and_didnt\"><\/span>What the 2024 and 2025 reforms changed \u2014 and didn&#x27;t<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>The Fifth Amendment Act to the StAG (in force 27 June 2024) opened <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/dual-citizenship-in-germany\/\">dual citizenship<\/a> for all naturalizations, including under \u00a714. That was a real practical improvement for Americans: you no longer need to make renunciation promises you can't keep, and the awkwardness of a foreign-based naturalization with a still-active US passport is gone. Whether you keep your US citizenship on the German side is now settled. Whether you keep it on the US side depends on US law, which does not require renunciation to hold a second nationality.<\/p>\n<p>The Sixth Amendment Act to the StAG (in force 30 October 2025) rolled back the three-year \"turbo\" naturalization introduced in 2024. That change matters only for in-country naturalization under \u00a710. It <strong>does not affect \u00a714<\/strong>. The from-abroad requirements set out in this article are unchanged.<\/p>\n<p>If you see recent US-facing content suggesting Germany has \"closed\" or \"tightened\" citizenship from abroad, read it carefully \u2014 most of that reporting concerns \u00a710, not \u00a714. Section 14 is a stable statutory instrument that has been in place, in its current form, since 2007.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ee90513 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"ee90513\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-ee90513{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-88cd853 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"88cd853\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: nachweise -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"nachweise\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Close_ties_but_American_how_to_actually_document_them\"><\/span>Close ties, but American: how to actually document them<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>Because so many \u00a714 applications rely on the \"close ties\" showing, this is where an American file usually stands or falls. A few things worth naming:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mth14-list\">\n<li><strong>Ancestry alone is not close ties.<\/strong> A birth certificate from Baden in 1878 tells the BVA about your great-great-grandmother; it says nothing about your relationship with Germany today.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/why-archives-often-provide-the-crucial-evidence\/\">US-side documents<\/a> matter.<\/strong> A pattern of correspondence with German relatives, wire transfers to support them, plane tickets from JFK to Frankfurt over ten years, US-side tax returns showing German-source income \u2014 all of this reads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>German-side documents matter more.<\/strong> <em>Meldebescheinigungen<\/em> showing prior registration in Germany, <em>Rentenversicherung<\/em> contribution records, a <em>Grundbuch<\/em> extract for German property in the family, a <em>Vereinsregister<\/em> entry for a German association abroad you help run.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A B1 certificate from the Goethe-Institut is a minimum, not a talking point.<\/strong> If your German is at B2 or C1, take the exam and include the certificate. It's cheap evidence of engagement.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Frame the public interest deliberately.<\/strong> If your work has a plausible German dimension \u2014 a professor of Germanic studies at a US university, a curator of a German-collection at a major American museum, a founder of a US-based association promoting German-language education \u2014 say so in the application, with documentation. The BVA does not fill in these gaps for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You are, in effect, writing a legal brief for yourself. It should read like one.<\/p>\n<p>Where German and American records use different spellings, document the relevant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/variations-of-old-german-family-names\/\">historical surname variations<\/a> rather than treating them as unrelated people.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-428726d elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"428726d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-428726d{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d8cfcc0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"d8cfcc0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: verfahren -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"verfahren\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_procedure\"><\/span>The procedure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>Section 14 files are handled by the <strong>German mission abroad<\/strong> (embassy or consulate general responsible for your US state of residence), which forwards to the <strong>Bundesverwaltungsamt (BVA) in Cologne<\/strong>. You cannot apply to the BVA directly.<\/p>\n<p>The typical sequence:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"mth14-steps\">\n<li><strong>Initial contact with the mission.<\/strong> Ask for the current \u00a714 information sheet and application forms. Requirements vary slightly by mission.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/application-to-the-bva-from-abroad\/\">File preparation<\/a>.<\/strong> Every foreign-language document generally needs an apostille and a certified German translation by a sworn translator. This step is where most Americans lose the most time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Submission.<\/strong> The complete file goes to the mission. Incomplete files come back \u2014 sometimes months later.<\/li>\n<li><strong>BVA review.<\/strong> Expect follow-up questions, requests for additional documents, and a substantive back-and-forth. Response windows are set by the BVA, and missing one has consequences.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Einb\u00fcrgerungstest.<\/strong> Usually administered at the mission, currently 25 EUR. Some applicants are exempt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Decision.<\/strong> If positive, the mission schedules the ceremony. You make the declaration of commitment to the free and democratic basic order under \u00a716 sentence 2 StAG. German citizenship attaches at the moment the certificate is physically handed over \u2014 not on the date of the decision.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/why-do-naturalisation-applications-from-abroad-often-take-so-long\/\">Realistic timelines<\/a>: many months to more than a year for straightforward cases; longer for cases involving pre-1949 lineage or cross-border document searches. Naturalization fee under \u00a738(2) StAG is \u20ac255 per adult, \u20ac51 per co-naturalized minor child. If your application is refused, the fee is still charged.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1bb3977 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"1bb3977\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-1bb3977{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fed8f36 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"fed8f36\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: ablehnung -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"ablehnung\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_happens_if_the_BVA_says_no\"><\/span>What happens if the BVA says no<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>A refusal is not the end of the road, but it's a road with narrower shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>You can file an administrative objection (<em>Widerspruch<\/em>) and, if that fails, sue in the Administrative Court of Cologne (VG K\u00f6ln), the venue for actions against the BVA. Because \u00a714 is a discretionary decision, the court's review is limited. It doesn't ask \"would I have granted this?\" It asks whether the BVA's exercise of discretion was legally correct \u2014 whether all relevant factors were considered, whether irrelevant factors were kept out, whether the statutory framework was respected. Doctrinally, this is <em>Ermessensfehlerlehre<\/em> \u2014 the law of errors of discretion. If the BVA gave a factually defensible reason for finding your ties insufficient, a court will not disturb the call.<\/p>\n<p>The practical consequence is that most of the leverage in a \u00a714 case is at the <strong>application stage<\/strong>, not the appeal. This is where a lawyer's careful drafting typically pays off. For separate reasons \u2014 namely, a BVA that has gone silent for years without deciding \u2014 an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/citizenship-objection\/\">inaction lawsuit<\/a> (<em>Unt\u00e4tigkeitsklage<\/em>) is a different tool with different criteria, and worth reading about if your file has been sitting in Cologne for a long time.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4db3c05 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"4db3c05\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-4db3c05{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ffb72f elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"5ffb72f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget | Section ID: triage -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"triage\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Section 14 StAG \u00b7 United States<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Quick_triage_which_section_is_yours\"><\/span>Quick triage: which section is yours?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <p>If you've read this far, run through this list before doing anything else:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mth14-list\">\n<li>If your family has an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-citizenship-by-descent\/\">intact chain of descent<\/a><\/strong> and each ancestor was still German when the next was born, you may already be a citizen. What you need is a \u00a730 StAG <em>Feststellung<\/em> \u2014 a determination of citizenship \u2014 not a naturalization.<\/li>\n<li>If your break is a <strong>pre-1975 mother-side or pre-1993 unwed-father-side gender discrimination<\/strong> case and you were born after 23 May 1949, your path is <strong>\u00a75 StAG declaration<\/strong> \u2014 until 19 August 2031.<\/li>\n<li>If your break is a <strong>Nazi-era loss<\/strong> between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945, your path is <strong>Art. 116(2) GG<\/strong> for formal denaturalizations and <strong>\u00a715 StAG<\/strong> for the wider circle of persecution-caused losses. Both are claim-based. Neither has a deadline.<\/li>\n<li>If you or your parent <strong>was<\/strong> German and lost citizenship (typically by acquiring US nationality without a retention permit), your path is <strong>\u00a713 StAG reinstatement<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>If none of the above fits, and you can plausibly show close ties and public interest, your path is <strong>\u00a714 StAG<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>If you were born before 24 May 1949 and were affected by pre-1975 gender rules, you are outside \u00a75 but inside the 2019 BMI decree \u2014 file under \u00a714, but flag the decree.<\/li>\n<li>If you missed the 19 August 2031 deadline for \u00a75, or you sit beyond the \u00a74(4) generational cut-off, \u00a714 is where the case has to be built from the ground up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Getting this triage right at the beginning is worth more than any drafting trick later. The wrong filing wastes fees, generates a rejection the BVA files against you, and can push you closer to the \u00a75 cut-off before you notice.<\/p>\n\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e07295c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e07295c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" id=\"faq\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-987ae81 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"987ae81\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-987ae81{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a506393 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"a506393\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor option A: Paste this HTML widget.\nOption B: Create a Nested Accordion and copy the same questions and answers. -->\n<section class=\"mth14-section\" id=\"faq\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner mth14-prose\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">FAQ<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frequently_asked_questions_about_Section_14_StAG\"><\/span>Frequently asked questions about Section 14 StAG<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <div class=\"mth14-faq\">\n      <details open>\n  <summary>Can I get German citizenship as an American without ever living in Germany?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>Yes, in a narrow set of cases. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-nationality-after-14-days\/\">\u00a714 StAG<\/a> permits it when you have close ties to Germany <em>and<\/em> the BVA finds public interest in your naturalization. There is no legal entitlement \u2014 even a complete file can be refused.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details><details>\n  <summary>My great-grandfather emigrated from Bremen in 1888. Do I qualify?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>Almost certainly not by descent, because the 10-year rule caused an automatic loss before he could pass citizenship down. \u00a75, \u00a715, and Art. 116(2) don't fit either. What remains is \u00a714, and it will succeed only if you can show close, present-day ties to Germany \u2014 not just a lineage document.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details><details>\n  <summary>My grandmother was German, born 1930. She had a child in 1955 with a non-German father, and that child is my parent. Am I \u00a75-eligible?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>Your parent may be \u2014 this is the classic pre-1975 mother-side case. Your parent files a \u00a75 declaration, and the acquisition extends to descendants under \u00a75(1) category 4. Move quickly: the deadline is 19 August 2031, and US document turnaround times are longer than most applicants expect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details><details>\n  <summary>My father was German. He naturalized as an American in 1955 and lost German citizenship. Can I use \u00a713?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>Your father can use \u00a713 to be reinstated. Whether you inherit anything depends on whether you were born before or after his loss of citizenship. If you were born after the loss, you were never German and cannot be reinstated. Your route, if you have close ties, is \u00a714.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details><details>\n  <summary>Do I have to give up US citizenship to be naturalized under \u00a714?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>No. Since 27 June 2024, Germany has generally accepted multiple nationality on naturalization. US law does not require renunciation to hold a second citizenship. You can, in principle, hold both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details><details>\n  <summary>How long does a \u00a714 application take?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>Many months to more than a year in a straightforward case. Cases involving pre-1949 documentation searches, cross-border apostilles, or complex lineage typically take longer. The BVA does not publish binding timelines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details><details>\n  <summary>Do I need to travel to Germany to apply?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>No. The mission in your country of residence handles intake, testing, and the certificate ceremony. Travel to Germany is not required for the procedure itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details><details>\n  <summary>What&#x27;s the difference between \u00a713 and \u00a714?<\/summary>\n  <div class=\"mth14-faq-answer\"><p>Section 13 is for former Germans \u2014 you or your ancestor once held German citizenship and lost it. Section 14 is for people who were never German. Both are discretionary. Both are decided by the BVA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c0a10df elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"c0a10df\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-c0a10df{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e22ee86 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"e22ee86\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget. This block uses the same structure and classes as the German page. -->\n<section class=\"mth14-related\" id=\"weiterlesen\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner\">\n    <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Further guidance<\/span>\n    <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Explore_the_correct_German_citizenship_pathway\"><\/span>Explore the correct German citizenship pathway<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n    <div class=\"mth14-related-grid\">\n      <a class=\"mth14-related-card\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/german-citizenship-by-descent\/\">\n        <strong>German citizenship by descent<\/strong>\n        <span>Assess whether the citizenship chain remained intact under Section 4 StAG.<\/span>\n      <\/a>\n      <a class=\"mth14-related-card\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/naturalisation-5-day-acquisition-of-german-citizenship-by-declaration\/\">\n        <strong>Declaration under Section 5 StAG<\/strong>\n        <span>Eligible categories, historic discrimination and the 19 August 2031 deadline.<\/span>\n      <\/a>\n      <a class=\"mth14-related-card\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/deutsche-staatsangehoerigkeit-zurueckholen-wiedereinbuergerung-ehemaliger-deutscher-nach-%C2%A7-13-stag-aus-dem-ausland\/\">\n        <strong>Re-naturalization under Section 13 StAG<\/strong>\n        <span>The discretionary route for people who previously held German citizenship.<\/span>\n      <\/a>\n      <a class=\"mth14-related-card\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/art-116-abs-2-gg-oder-%C2%A7-15-stag\/\">\n        <strong>Article 116(2) GG or Section 15 StAG?<\/strong>\n        <span>Restitution routes for victims of Nazi persecution and their descendants.<\/span>\n      <\/a>\n      <a class=\"mth14-related-card\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/application-to-the-bva-from-abroad\/\">\n        <strong>12 common mistakes in BVA applications<\/strong>\n        <span>Documents, certification requirements and choosing the correct procedure.<\/span>\n      <\/a>\n      <a class=\"mth14-related-card\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/why-do-naturalisation-applications-from-abroad-often-take-so-long\/\">\n        <strong>Why applications from abroad take so long<\/strong>\n        <span>Processing times, document requests and available legal options.<\/span>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-de32e2d elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"de32e2d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<style>.elementor-element-de32e2d{display:none !important}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c82daa9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"c82daa9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-no-translation=\"\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<!-- Elementor: HTML widget -->\n<section class=\"mth14-cta\" id=\"kontakt\">\n  <div class=\"mth14-inner\">\n    <div class=\"mth14-cta-grid\">\n      <div>\n        <span class=\"mth14-kicker\">Individual legal review<\/span>\n        <h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Have_your_case_reviewed_before_you_file\"><\/span>Have your case reviewed before you file<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n        <p>Section 14 rewards preparation and punishes improvisation. The BVA reads thousands of these files a year, and a first-time American applicant is usually easy to identify from ten pages in \u2014 either because the file is thin on documentable ties, because the public-interest argument isn't articulated, or because a stronger path was missed.<\/p>\n<p>If your triage points to \u00a714 and you want a look at the file before it goes to the mission, call our office on <strong>0221 - 80187670<\/strong> or write to <strong>info@mth-partner.de<\/strong>. We handle citizenship files for clients across the United States and can tell you within a first consultation whether the case has a realistic shape.<\/p>\n\n\n        <p><small>Rechtsanwalt Helmer Tieben, Cologne \u2014 Immigration and Nationality Law<\/small><\/p>\n      <\/div>\n      <div class=\"mth14-contact\">\n        <a href=\"tel:+4922180187670\">0221 \u2013 80187670<\/a>\n        <a href=\"mailto:info@mth-partner.de\">info@mth-partner.de<\/a>\n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/appointment\/\">Book an appointment<\/a>\n        <a href=\"#online-check\">Open the online check<\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2987017d e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2987017d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1d6d8261 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1d6d8261\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-27c1247e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"27c1247e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ad2d12c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2ad2d12c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2fac9924 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"2fac9924\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"254\" height=\"52\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo.png\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-image-9861\" alt=\"logo\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-77da5f2a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"77da5f2a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Rechtsanwalt Helmer Tieben verf\u00fcgt seit dem Jahr 2005 \u00fcber eine Zulassung als Rechtsanwalt. Seine Arbeitsschwerpunkte liegen im Mietrecht, Arbeitsrecht und Ausl\u00e4nderrecht.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-129353a2 e-grid-align-left e-grid-align-mobile-center elementor-shape-rounded elementor-grid-0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-social-icons\" data-id=\"129353a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"social-icons.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-social-icons-wrapper elementor-grid\" role=\"list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-grid-item\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-icon elementor-social-icon elementor-social-icon-facebook-f elementor-repeater-item-320e991\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100054481000178\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Facebook-f<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" 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94.213-16.568 130.274-44.832-46.132-.975-84.792-31.188-98.112-72.772 6.498.974 12.995 1.624 19.818 1.624 9.421 0 18.843-1.3 27.614-3.573-48.081-9.747-84.143-51.98-84.143-102.985v-1.299c13.969 7.797 30.214 12.67 47.431 13.319-28.264-18.843-46.781-51.005-46.781-87.391 0-19.492 5.197-37.36 14.294-52.954 51.655 63.675 129.3 105.258 216.365 109.807-1.624-7.797-2.599-15.918-2.599-24.04 0-57.828 46.782-104.934 104.934-104.934 30.213 0 57.502 12.67 76.67 33.137 23.715-4.548 46.456-13.32 66.599-25.34-7.798 24.366-24.366 44.833-46.132 57.827 21.117-2.273 41.584-8.122 60.426-16.243-14.292 20.791-32.161 39.308-52.628 54.253z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-grid-item\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-icon elementor-social-icon elementor-social-icon-linkedin elementor-repeater-item-5cb7115\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/helmer-tieben-09570226\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Linkedin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fab-linkedin\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4311e598 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"4311e598\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b63ec5c 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elementor-element-6fb7a987 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6fb7a987\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h6 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Kontaktinformationen\"><\/span>Kontaktinformationen<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20afa766 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"20afa766\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/drCgGDRi3H3cgms86\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">Attorney Tieben, Sachsenring 34, 50677 Cologne<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-45f04e2d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"45f04e2d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Telefon: <a href=\"tel:022180187670\">0221 \u2013 80187670<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ce0b64 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5ce0b64\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Fax: <a href=\"tel:02212717110\">0221 \u2013 2717110<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db89b2d elementor-widget 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data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.trustindex.io\/loader.js?wp-widget\" data-template-id=\"trustindex-google-widget-html\" data-css-url=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/trustindex-google-widget.css?1782733583\"><\/div><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48f54784 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"48f54784\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2aea5329 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2aea5329\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-79269a3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"79269a3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\">\u00a9 2025 Attorney Tieben, Cologne. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/kontakt\/impressum\/\">Legal Notice<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/kontakt\/datenschutz\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home Profil Rechtsanwalt Helmer Tieben Wir suchen Sie Leistungen Arbeitsrecht Mietrecht Ausl\u00e4nderrecht Internetrecht Unternehmensgr\u00fcndung in Deutschland Blog Kontakt Kontakt Termin buchen Impressum Anfahrt Downloads Kooperationen X X Rechtsanwalt Helmer Tieben verf\u00fcgt seit dem Jahr 2005 \u00fcber eine Zulassung als Rechtsanwalt. Seine Arbeitsschwerpunkte liegen im Mietrecht, Arbeitsrecht und Ausl\u00e4nderrecht. Facebook-f Twitter Linkedin Schnelllinks \u00dcber uns Karriere [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_canvas","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14346","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u00a7 14 StAG f\u00fcr US-Amerikaner: Auffangtatbestand zur Einb\u00fcrgerung<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a7 14 StAG ist die Ermessens-Einb\u00fcrgerung, wenn \u00a7 5, \u00a7 13, \u00a7 15 und Art. 116 Abs. 2 GG nicht passen. Wann sie f\u00fcr US-Amerikaner realistisch ist \u2014 und wann nicht.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/section-14-staging-catch-all-provision-usa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00a7 14 StAG f\u00fcr US-Amerikaner: Auffangtatbestand zur Einb\u00fcrgerung\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a7 14 StAG ist die Ermessens-Einb\u00fcrgerung, wenn \u00a7 5, \u00a7 13, \u00a7 15 und Art. 116 Abs. 2 GG nicht passen. 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A discretionary route may still open.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/section-14-staging-catch-all-provision-usa\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u00a7 14 StAG f\u00fcr US-Amerikaner: Auffangtatbestand zur Einb\u00fcrgerung","og_description":"\u00a7 14 StAG ist die Ermessens-Einb\u00fcrgerung, wenn \u00a7 5, \u00a7 13, \u00a7 15 und Art. 116 Abs. 2 GG nicht passen. Wann sie f\u00fcr US-Amerikaner realistisch ist \u2014 und wann nicht.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/section-14-staging-catch-all-provision-usa\/","og_site_name":"Rechtsanwaltskanzlei\u00a0Tieben","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=100054481000178","article_modified_time":"2026-07-27T07:45:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1672,"height":941,"url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/Section-14-StAG-for-Americans-The-Fallback-Citizenship-Path.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@mth_Tieben","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"49 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/"},"author":{"name":"Rusudan Tsiskreli","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#\/schema\/person\/d2c459eabbef5b8fac48b56903a1352b"},"headline":"\u00a7 14 StAG als Auffangtatbestand f\u00fcr US-Amerikaner: Wenn \u00a7 5, \u00a7 13 und Art. 116 Abs. 2 GG nicht greifen","datePublished":"2026-07-24T02:25:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-27T07:45:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/"},"wordCount":106,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/plugins\/translatepress-multilingual\/assets\/images\/flags\/de_DE.png","inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/","name":"German Citizenship for Americans When Descent Doesn't Apply","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/section-14-stag-auffangtatbestand-usa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/wp-content\/plugins\/translatepress-multilingual\/assets\/images\/flags\/de_DE.png","datePublished":"2026-07-24T02:25:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-27T07:45:48+00:00","description":"Standard German citizenship by descent won't work if your ancestor emigrated too early or naturalized as American. 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