Being born in Germany does not automatically make you a German citizen. German citizenship law runs primarily on parentage, not birthplace, so the ordinary route to citizenship at birth is having at least one German parent. Children born on German soil to two foreign parents can qualify too, but only when a parent meets specific residency and permit conditions at the time of birth. A reform that took effect on June 27, 2024, loosened several of the surrounding rules, including the old requirement that dual-national children choose one citizenship by age 23.
If At Least One Parent Is German
Under the principle of descent (jus sanguinis), a child born to at least one German parent acquires German citizenship automatically, wherever the birth takes place. Berlin, Boston, Bangkok. The location does not change the outcome.
For children born in wedlock after January 1, 1975, either parent being German is enough. For children born out of wedlock, the rules split. If the mother is German, the child is German automatically. If only the father is German, paternity must be legally established under German law before the child turns 23 for citizenship to pass through.
Older rules were less even-handed. Children born in wedlock before 1975 to a German mother and a foreign father did not receive German citizenship, and children born out of wedlock before July 1, 1993, to a German father and a foreign mother were also excluded. A declaration process now exists for people affected by those historical rules, described further below.
Establishing Paternity When Parents Are Unmarried
When unmarried parents have a child and the father is the German parent, a formal paternity acknowledgment is essential. Without it, the child does not acquire German citizenship through the father. The acknowledgment must be publicly registered and requires the mother’s consent.1Federal Foreign Office. Acknowledgement of Paternity
Inside Germany, paternity can be registered at a local registry office (Standesamt), the Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt), a notary’s office, or the local court, usually free of charge. For families abroad, a German embassy or consulate can handle the registration, though fees apply. Required documents typically include the child’s birth certificate, both parents’ passports, and proof that the mother was unmarried at the time of birth.1Federal Foreign Office. Acknowledgement of Paternity Handle this well before the child turns 23; the acknowledgment must be recognized by that age for citizenship to follow.
If Both Parents Are Foreign: Birth on German Soil
Since January 1, 2000, children born in Germany to two non-German parents can acquire German citizenship at birth under a birthplace rule (jus soli), but only when specific conditions are met.2Federal Ministry of the Interior. Nationality Law At least one parent must satisfy two requirements at the time of the child’s birth:
- Five years of lawful residency in Germany. Before the June 27, 2024 reform, this threshold was eight years.3Federal Foreign Office. Law on Nationality
- A permanent right of residence: a settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis), or citizenship of another EU member state or Switzerland with a comparable permanent residence right.3Federal Foreign Office. Law on Nationality
When both conditions are met, the child’s German citizenship arises automatically at birth. No citizenship application is needed, though the birth still has to be registered with the local Standesamt.
One trap: time spent in Germany on a student residence permit only counts at half its actual length toward the five-year residency threshold for settlement permit purposes.4Migration and Home Affairs – European Commission. Student in Germany A parent who spent four years on a student visa and then two years on a work permit has four countable years, not six. Families are often surprised by this.
Born in Germany Before 2000 to Foreign Parents
The jus soli rule did not exist before January 1, 2000. Anyone born in Germany before that date to two non-German parents did not receive German citizenship at birth. The German government puts it plainly: if you were born in Germany before 2000 and neither parent was German or applied for your German citizenship, you are not German.5Federal Foreign Office. German Citizenship
For people in that position, the main path forward is naturalization. The 2024 reform reduced the standard residency requirement from eight years to five, and applicants who show exceptional integration (strong German language skills, professional achievement, or volunteer involvement) can qualify after three.6Federal Ministry of the Interior. New Law on Nationality Takes Effect Naturalization also requires the ability to support yourself without public benefits, a clean criminal record, and passing a citizenship test on Germany’s legal and social order.
Declaring Citizenship Where Old Laws Excluded You
A law that took effect on August 20, 2021, created a ten-year window for certain people to acquire German citizenship by filing a declaration, correcting historical gender-based exclusions. The eligible groups are:7Federal Foreign Office. Declaration or Application for German Citizenship
- Children born in wedlock before January 1, 1975, to a German mother and a foreign father, who did not receive citizenship because the old law only passed it through the father.
- Children born out of wedlock before July 1, 1993, to a German father and a foreign mother, who were excluded because the old law did not automatically recognize the father’s citizenship in those cases.
- Children whose German mother lost her citizenship by marrying a foreigner before April 1, 1953, under the old Reich and Nationality Act.
- Descendants of any of the above groups.
Because the right extends to descendants, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of affected individuals can claim citizenship this way. With a ten-year window opening in August 2021, the deadline falls in 2031.
What the 2024 Reform Changed for Dual Citizenship
Germany historically discouraged dual nationality. Before June 27, 2024, German citizens who voluntarily acquired a foreign citizenship lost their German citizenship unless they had obtained advance permission to retain it (a Beibehaltungsgenehmigung). That requirement is gone. German nationals can now acquire any foreign citizenship without affecting their German nationality.8Federal Foreign Office. Germany’s Nationality Law – Significant Changes
The reform also eliminated the Optionspflicht. Under the old system, children who acquired both German and a foreign citizenship through jus soli at birth had to choose one citizenship between ages 18 and 23. A 2014 amendment had already exempted people “raised in Germany” (defined by factors like eight years of residency or schooling), but the 2024 law scrapped the requirement altogether. Anyone who was under 23 on June 27, 2024, is also released from the old obligation, even if they had already been notified to choose.3Federal Foreign Office. Law on Nationality
Registering the Birth and Getting a Passport
Every birth in Germany (outside foreign military bases) must be registered with the Standesamt in the area where it occurred.9Federal Foreign Office. Obtaining a Birth Certificate if Born in Germany The Standesamt processes the registration and issues the birth certificate, which is the foundational document for proving both the birth and, where applicable, German citizenship. Fees vary across Germany’s federal states; in some states the fee is around 20 euros for the first copy, with additional copies at a reduced rate.
Parents typically need to bring their passports, their own birth certificates, a marriage certificate if married, and a paternity acknowledgment if unmarried. Citizenship may arise automatically by operation of law, but the birth certificate is what makes it usable in practice, from passport applications to school enrollment.
A child’s first German passport requires both parents’ involvement. The application includes a completed form, two biometric passport photos, the child’s birth certificate (the long version showing both parents’ names), both parents’ passports, and proof of current name usage. If one parent cannot attend in person, a notarized statement of consent from the absent parent is required. Processing takes roughly six to eight weeks, though cases requiring a name declaration can take significantly longer.10Federal Foreign Office. Passport for Applicants Under 18 Years of Age