German nationality

The ‘declaration’ is, among other things, an option for acquiring German citizenship for persons who were born after the Basic Law came into force on 23 May 1949 and who, for various reasons, have not received or will not receive German citizenship from their German parents.

The right to acquire German citizenship by declaration was extended by the Fourth Act Amending the Citizenship Act (SAtG), which came into force on 20 August 2021, and Section 5 of the SAtG was amended with regard to citizenship by declaration (Section 5 (3) SAtG).

The reform consists of creating a right to acquire German citizenship through the declaration procedure for sons and daughters of German parents and their descendants who were unable to acquire German citizenship by birth. This includes, for example, children born after 23 May 1949 and before 1975 in a marriage between a German mother and a foreign father, or children born after 23 May 1949 and before 1 July 1993 as illegitimate children between a German father and a foreign mother,

This reform gives all these people the opportunity to acquire German citizenship for 10 years, from 20 August 2021 to 19 August 2031, by means of the declaration procedure.

These people and their descendants were excluded due to the regulations in force at the time of their birth, which prevented them from acquiring German citizenship by birth in a discriminatory and often gender-discriminatory manner. This means that with the new reform, many people who were denied citizenship can now acquire it through a ‘simple’ declaration.