You can hold dual citizenship in the US and Germany. Since June 27, 2024, Germany allows its citizens to naturalize abroad without losing their German nationality, and the United States has long permitted Americans to acquire a foreign citizenship without giving up their U.S. status. The practical rules differ depending on how you got each citizenship and where you live.
What Germany’s 2024 Law Changed
For decades, German nationality law treated dual citizenship as the exception. A German who naturalized in the United States automatically lost German citizenship unless they had obtained a retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) in advance. Foreigners naturalizing as Germans generally had to renounce their prior citizenship first.
The Act to Modernize Nationality Law (StARModG) took effect on June 27, 2024 and dropped that requirement across the board.1Federal Ministry of the Interior. New Law on Nationality Takes Effect Germans can now naturalize in the United States without needing a retention permit, and Americans naturalizing as Germans no longer have to give up their U.S. citizenship.2Federal Foreign Office. Retention Permit to Keep German Citizenship When Naturalizing in the US / Dual Citizenship
One boundary matters: the reform does not apply retroactively. If you already lost your German citizenship under the old rules before June 27, 2024, that loss stands. Getting it back means going through restoration or re-naturalization.
Where the U.S. Stands
Federal law does not require American citizens to choose between U.S. nationality and another citizenship.3U.S. Department of State. Dual Nationality The Supreme Court held in Afroyim v. Rusk (1967) that Congress cannot strip citizenship without the person’s voluntary consent.4Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967) The statute that lists acts causing loss of nationality, including formal renunciation before a consular officer, requires that the act be performed voluntarily and with the specific intent of giving up U.S. citizenship.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1481 – Loss of Nationality by Native-Born or Naturalized Citizen Becoming a German citizen, on its own, will not cost you your American one.
Children Born With Both
Children often get both citizenships automatically. Both countries recognize citizenship by descent, so a child of one German parent and one American parent is a citizen of both at birth, wherever the birth takes place.6Travel.State.Gov. Dual Nationality Germany has also eliminated the old option requirement (Optionspflicht) that once forced some dual-national children to choose one nationality by age 23.7Federal Foreign Office. Germany’s Nationality Law – Significant Changes Register the birth with both countries promptly so passports and documentation are in order.
A child born in the United States to German parents is American under the Fourteenth Amendment and German by descent. A child born in Germany to American parents acquires German citizenship at birth only if at least one parent has lawfully lived in Germany for at least five years and holds an unlimited right of residence.8Federal Ministry of the Interior. German Citizenship Acquired Through Birth in Germany
Becoming a German Citizen as an American
The standard residency requirement is now five years of lawful residence in Germany, down from eight.9Federal Government. Modernisation of Citizenship Law A fast track of three years is available if you show especially strong integration, C1-level German, and the ability to support yourself without public benefits.10Federal Ministry of the Interior. Nationality Law The standard path requires B1-level German. Both tracks include a naturalization test on German law, history, and society.11Federal Ministry of the Interior. Naturalisation
You must also demonstrate that you can support yourself and your dependents without drawing benefits like Bürgergeld or Sozialhilfe.12Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration. My Path to a German Passport – Key Facts on Naturalisation The fee is €255 per adult; a minor child included in a parent’s application pays €51.13Make it in Germany. Naturalisation – Germany
If you live in Germany, apply through your local citizenship authority (Staatsangehörigkeitsbehörde). If you live in the U.S., apply through your nearest German consulate or the embassy in Washington, D.C., which forwards the file to the Federal Office of Administration (Bundesverwaltungsamt).14Federal Office of Administration. Information Sheet – Acquisition of German Citizenship by Declaration Applications trigger security inquiries with several German agencies, and applicants living in the United States also need an FBI background check. Processing runs anywhere from about six months to several years depending on the office. Once approved, you make a formal declaration of loyalty to Germany’s free democratic order before receiving the naturalization certificate, which is issued only once and cannot be replaced if lost.15Federal Office of Administration. Citizenship
Becoming a U.S. Citizen as a German
The route runs through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. You need a green card held for at least five years, or three years if you’re married to a U.S. citizen, plus at least 30 months of physical presence in the U.S. during that period.16USCIS. I Am a Lawful Permanent Resident of 5 Years You also need basic English and must pass a civics test, followed by the oath of allegiance at a naturalization ceremony.
The oath contains language about renouncing foreign allegiances. In practice, the United States does not enforce it as an actual requirement to surrender another nationality, and since the 2024 German reform, taking the U.S. oath no longer triggers loss of German citizenship either.7Federal Foreign Office. Germany’s Nationality Law – Significant Changes
Restoring German Citizenship Lost to Nazi Persecution
A separate path exists for descendants of people who lost German citizenship on political, racial, or religious grounds between 1933 and 1945. Article 116(2) of the Basic Law guarantees restoration for those who were deprived of citizenship during that period and for their descendants.17Federal Foreign Office. Article 116 II of the Basic Law Section 15 of the Nationality Act, added in 2021, extends eligibility to persecuted people and their descendants who fell outside the technical boundaries of Article 116, including those who had already taken a foreign citizenship before being deprived of their German one. Great-grandchildren and more distant descendants can apply, and each person’s claim stands on its own.18Federal Foreign Office. Naturalization for Victims of National Socialist Persecution Pursuant to Section 15 StAG Applications go through the nearest German consulate or embassy.
Passports and Border Crossings
Once you hold both, each country expects you to use its own passport at its border. U.S. law requires American citizens to enter and leave the United States on a U.S. passport.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1185 – Travel Control of Citizens and Aliens You cannot enter the U.S. on your German passport, even with an ESTA.6Travel.State.Gov. Dual Nationality Germany likewise expects its citizens to present German travel documents. Carry both passports when flying between the two countries and present each at the matching border.
U.S. Taxes and Foreign Account Reporting
This is where dual citizens most often run into trouble. The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income no matter where they live.20Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad A dual U.S.-German citizen working in Berlin still owes the IRS a return every year. Germany also taxes its residents on worldwide income, so someone living in Germany may be filing on both sides.
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets qualifying U.S. citizens abroad exclude up to $130,000 of foreign earned income for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), and the U.S.-Germany tax treaty helps prevent outright double taxation. The filing obligation, though, does not go away. Failing to file, even when no tax is owed, can trigger penalties.
If your combined foreign account balances exceed $10,000 at any point in the year, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) using FinCEN Form 114.21Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) The FBAR is due April 15 with an automatic extension to October 15 and is filed electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System, separately from your tax return. Whether the accounts earned income does not matter; the trigger is the balance. Penalties reach $10,000 or more per violation for non-willful failures and considerably higher for willful ones. Dual citizens who grew up in Germany and do not think of themselves as American taxpayers are especially exposed.
Selective Service for Male Dual Citizens
Male U.S. citizens must register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of their 18th birthday, whether they live in the United States or abroad. The requirement applies to men ages 18 through 25.22Selective Service System. Who Needs to Register Failing to register can affect eligibility for federal student aid, government employment, and later naturalization benefits. It is easy to overlook if you grew up in Germany, and it still applies.