I am a british citizen living in Germany and as we all know, Brexit is looming around the corner. Because of this I have been researching this topic on how to get to a German citizenship and passport. Luckily for me it isn’t too hard as my mother is German, but I thought I would write a post incase anyone else is interested!

Please note there may be some differences in the rules depending on which country you come from, as far as I know the rules below apply to the UK and to the USA.

Requirements:

If you were not born in Germany or both parents are not German, then you will need:

– To be living in Germany for at least 8 years (or only 7 years if you have completed an intergration course)
– You have to pass the german test to prove you can speak the language (or if you went to school in Germany you can also show them your school certificate)
– You have to pass the citizenship test
– You have to be living off your own money
– You have to have no criminal record
And also note you cannot have a dual citizenship, so you would have to give up the citizenship you currently have.

If you were born in Germany after the 02.02.1990 and one or both of your parents lived in Germany for 8 years or longer before you were born, you could also apply for a German citizenship. As far as I know you wouldn’t need to take the citizenship test or prove your German language. There is also a possibility of a dual citizenship, depending on which country you are from and your circumstances.

If one of your parents is German (like mine) then you can also apply for a German citizenship. It doesn’t matter if you were born in Germany but I believe that the one of your parents have to still be a German citizen and still be registered in Germany. I read online that if your parents have different nationalities, then between the age of 18 and 23 you have to decide which nationality you want to keep. However this never happened to me and I was told I get a dual citizenship – so perhaps that depends on which nationality your parents have.

My own experience
As I said before, because my mother is German it is easier for me to apply for a German citizenship. I do not have to take multiple tests. All I had to do was go to the Kreisverwaltungsreferat (regional administrative office) where they gave me a list of what to do and told me to come back when I have everything. I have to pay a 25€ fee, professionally translate my birth certificate and the marriage certificate of my parent’s into German and bring a copy my mother’s ID. I assume that once I do all of this I then need to apply for a German passport and then hopefully it is all finished.

Do you have any experiences with applying for a German citizenship or are you thinking about it? Post your thoughts below!
Thanks for reading,
Larissa