How to Get Dual Citizenship in Germany: Pathways and Requirements

You can get dual citizenship in Germany by naturalizing, claiming citizenship by descent, or applying for restoration if your family lost German nationality under the Nazis, and since June 27, 2024, none of these routes require you to give up your current passport. The Act to Modernize Nationality Law removed the old choose-one rule for good. Which pathway fits you depends on where you live, who your parents were, and what happened to your ancestors.

What Changed in June 2024

Before June 27, 2024, most people naturalizing as Germans had to renounce their previous nationality, and Germans who took on a foreign citizenship generally lost their German one unless they had secured a Retention Permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) in advance. The 2024 law scrapped both restrictions. Multiple nationalities are now permitted across the board, and the Retention Permit no longer exists.¹

The same reform cut the residency requirement for naturalization from eight years to five, with a fast track to three years for applicants who show exceptional integration. It also tightened the rules around democratic values and financial self-sufficiency.²

Which Pathway Fits Your Situation

You Live in Germany: Naturalization

If you already live in Germany legally, naturalization (Einbürgerung) is the standard route. You need five years of legal residence. That drops to three years if you can show exceptional integration, such as C1-level German or outstanding achievements in academia, research, business, art, culture, media, sport, or the public sector.¹ The full requirements are covered in the next section.

You Have a German Parent: Citizenship by Descent

If you were born to at least one German parent, you likely acquired German citizenship automatically at birth under Section 4 of the Nationality Act, regardless of where you were born. This is the jus sanguinis principle, and it has allowed dual nationality from birth for generations, provided the other country’s laws also permit it.³

One limit matters. A child born abroad does not automatically receive German citizenship if the German parent was also born abroad after December 31, 1999, was living abroad when the child was born, and the child acquired another nationality at birth. This is the generational cut-off (Generationenschnitt). Parents in that situation can preserve the child’s German citizenship by registering the birth with a German embassy or consulate within one year.⁴

You Were Born in Germany to Foreign Parents

A child born in Germany to non-German parents acquires German citizenship at birth if at least one parent has been a legal resident for at least five years. Under the old law, these children eventually had to pick one nationality (the Optionspflicht). That obligation has been fully eliminated. Children born in Germany under these rules now keep both citizenships permanently.⁴

Your Family Lost Citizenship Under the Nazis

Article 116 of Germany’s Basic Law gives an unconditional right to naturalization to anyone stripped of German citizenship between January 30, 1933, and May 8, 1945, on political, racial, or religious grounds. The same right extends to all descendants of those victims, and this pathway has always permitted dual citizenship.⁵

A second pathway, Section 15 of the Nationality Act, has been available since August 20, 2021. It covers people and their descendants who lost or were denied German citizenship because of Nazi persecution but whose cases don’t fit Article 116. That includes people who lost nationality not through direct deprivation but through the general legal consequences of fleeing Germany, such as automatically losing citizenship on becoming a citizen elsewhere or through marriage to a foreign national.⁶ Under either pathway, you need to document that your ancestor was persecuted or belonged to a persecuted group.

You Are a Former German

If you lost German citizenship under the old law because you acquired a foreign nationality without first getting a Retention Permit, Section 13 of the Nationality Act now offers a way back. The requirements depend on when you lost citizenship. If it was before January 1, 2000, you need to show your renaturalization would serve a particular public interest. If it was on or after that date, authorities look at whether you would have received a Retention Permit had you applied, and whether you still maintain close ties to Germany. Every applicant also has to show self-sufficiency, adequate German language ability, no criminal record, and close ties to Germany. The Federal Office of Administration handles these applications on a discretionary basis.⁴

Naturalization Requirements in Detail

Hitting the five-year residency mark is only the starting point. The 2024 law kept most existing requirements and tightened several. Here is what you actually need.

Language

B1-level German is the baseline: intermediate conversational ability. The usual proof is a certificate from the German Test for Immigrants (DTZ); passing at B1 also earns you the integration course certificate.⁷ For the three-year fast track you need C1, which is advanced and roughly the ability to follow complex arguments and express yourself fluently in professional settings.

Civic Knowledge

You have to pass a naturalization test on life in a democracy, German history, and the structure of German society. The test has 33 multiple-choice questions, you get 60 minutes, and you need at least 17 correct to pass. If you fail, you can retake it.⁸

Financial Self-Sufficiency

You must be able to support yourself and your family without public welfare or social assistance. For self-employed applicants, authorities look at both current income and long-term retirement provisions. The 2024 reform removed a previous exception that had allowed people receiving benefits through no fault of their own (chronic illness, for example) to naturalize. People who are permanently unable to work and rely on public funds generally do not qualify now.

There is one important carve-out. If you have worked full-time for at least 20 of the last 24 months, you meet the self-sufficiency requirement regardless of the broader picture. A similar exception can cover a spouse where one partner meets the full-time employment threshold, particularly when a minor child lives in the household. Former guest workers who entered West Germany before 1974 or East Germany before 1990 may also be exempt under certain conditions.¹

Criminal Record

You need a clean criminal record, but minor offenses do not automatically disqualify you. Fines up to 90 daily rates and suspended sentences up to a certain threshold are generally overlooked.⁹

Commitment to Democratic Values

This is where the 2024 law bit hardest. Anyone who expresses racism, antisemitism, or other forms of hatred based on contempt for human dignity cannot become a German citizen. The law also bars anyone whose conduct shows they reject equal rights for men and women, including anyone currently in a polygamous marriage. The naturalization test was expanded to include questions probing these attitudes.¹

Documents to Gather

The exact list varies by pathway, but naturalization applicants should expect to assemble at least:

A valid passport or national ID card.
Civil status records: birth certificate, and where applicable marriage certificate or divorce decree.
Your residence permit or other proof of lawful residence in Germany.
A B1 language certificate from the DTZ or an equivalent recognized exam.
Proof you passed the 33-question naturalization test.
Financial documentation: pay stubs, employment contracts, tax returns, or other evidence you support yourself without public assistance.

For citizenship by descent, the critical papers are those proving your ancestral link: historical birth certificates, marriage certificates, and immigration or emigration records that establish an unbroken chain of German nationality.

Documents not originally in German generally require official translation by a certified translator. Foreign public documents, such as U.S. birth or marriage certificates, usually need an apostille under the Hague Convention before German authorities will accept them.¹⁰ In the United States, apostilles come from the Secretary of State in the state that issued the document, and fees vary by state.

Where to Apply, What It Costs, and How Long It Takes

If you live in Germany, you apply at your local naturalization authority (Staatsangehörigkeitsbehörde), usually inside your city or district government office. If you live abroad, you go through the German embassy or consulate covering your area of residence. The process typically starts with an appointment to submit your completed application form and supporting documents; some authorities accept online submissions. Naturalization applications usually include an interview covering your integration, knowledge of German society, and commitment to democratic principles. Once you are approved, applicants aged 16 and older take a formal pledge of allegiance to the free and democratic order, and you receive your naturalization certificate.

Naturalization costs €255 per adult. Minor children who naturalize together with a parent pay €51 each, while minors who apply on their own pay the full €255. If you have very low income or are naturalizing several children at once, you can request a reduced fee or an installment plan.¹¹ Budget for extras: certified translations, apostilles, language course fees, the DTZ, and the naturalization test all carry their own costs.

Processing times vary a lot by city. Some places finish in six to nine months; others take two years or more. Frankfurt has reported waits of 26 to 30 months, and Berlin’s timelines are unpredictable. The rush of applications after the 2024 change made backlogs worse in many cities, with applications up roughly 46% in 2025 compared to the year before. The single biggest factor you can control is submitting a complete file. Missing documents almost guarantee delays.

What Holding Two Passports Means Afterward

Taxes

Two citizenships can create overlapping tax obligations. The United States is the most common source of complexity because it taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. A U.S.–German dual citizen living in Germany owes taxes to both countries. The U.S.–Germany tax treaty addresses this through credits and exemptions: Germany generally exempts income the treaty allocates to the United States, and the United States provides credits for German taxes paid. A special treaty provision covering U.S. citizens residing in Germany coordinates the credits so the same income is not taxed twice.¹² If you hold U.S. citizenship, working with a tax professional who knows both systems is not optional.

EU Freedom of Movement

German citizenship is EU citizenship. You gain the right to live and work in any of the 27 EU member states. You can stay in another EU country for up to three months on just your passport or ID card. Beyond that you need to meet conditions tied to employment, self-employment, or study, but you have a legal right to be there. After five continuous years of legal residence in another EU country, you qualify for permanent residence there.¹³

Military Service

Germany approved a new conscription-related law expected to take effect January 1, 2026. Under it, German men born in 2008 or later will have to complete an online questionnaire on turning 18 and then attend a physical inspection center for medical examinations. Actual military service remains voluntary for now, though parliament can activate compulsory service on a needs basis through a separate vote. Dual citizens are subject to these rules like any other German citizen.

Going the other direction, joining a foreign military can cost you your German citizenship. Since January 1, 2000, voluntarily entering the armed forces of another country where you also hold citizenship has been grounds for losing German nationality. The risk does not apply if the foreign country is an EU member state, a NATO ally, or an EFTA member. The United States falls under the NATO exception, so German-American dual citizens who serve in the U.S. military do not lose their German citizenship, provided their service began on or after July 6, 2011.¹⁴

Security Clearances and Consular Protection

If you work or plan to work in a field requiring a U.S. security clearance, dual citizenship raises flags. The Department of State evaluates dual nationality case by case using a “whole person” approach, and there is no blanket ban. But exercising the privileges of foreign citizenship, such as using a foreign passport, voting in foreign elections, or accepting foreign government benefits, can be treated as indicators of foreign preference. You must demonstrate unquestioned allegiance to the United States for a clearance to be granted. Expressing willingness to renounce the other citizenship is listed as a mitigating factor.¹⁵

Consular protection can also narrow. If you run into legal trouble in one of your countries of nationality, the other country’s embassy may have little or no ability to assist you. In third countries, both may theoretically offer help, but authorities often defer to the passport you used to enter.¹⁶

1
Federal Ministry of the Interior. New Law on Nationality Takes Effect
2
Federal Foreign Office. Germany’s Nationality Law – Significant Changes
3
Gesetze im Internet. German Nationality Act (StAG)
4
Federal Foreign Office. Law on Nationality
5
Federal Foreign Office. Naturalization for Individuals Whose Families Were Persecuted by the Nazi Regime
6
Federal Office of Administration. What Distinguishes Naturalizations on Grounds of Restoration of German Citizenship Pursuant to Article 116 (2) GG from Naturalizations on Grounds of Restitution Pursuant to Section 15 StAG
7
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge. The Final Examination
8
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge. Naturalisation in Germany
9
Federal Ministry of the Interior. Frequently Asked Questions: Reform of the Nationality Law
10
Federal Foreign Office. Foreign Public Documents for Use in Germany
11
Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge. Naturalisation in Germany
12
Internal Revenue Service. Convention Between the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany for the Avoidance of Double Taxation
13
European Commission. Free Movement and Residence
14
Federal Foreign Office. Loss of German Citizenship
15
U.S. Department of State. Dual Citizenship – Security Clearance Implications
16
U.S. Department of State. Dual Nationality