Acquisition of German citizenship by birth
Children with at least one German parent automatically acquire German citizenship at birth, regardless of their place of birth.
Description
Children born in Germany with two foreign parents, of whom at the time of birth
- at least one parent has been living legally and habitually in Germany for an uninterrupted period of five years
- and has an unlimited right of residence, a permanent right of residence for EU citizens or, as a Swiss national, a residence permit for the free movement of persons,
receive both the nationality of their parents (principle of descent) and German nationality (principle of place of birth) at birth. Foreign parents do not have to apply for German nationality for their children. It is registered by the civil registrar responsible for notarising the birth after the Foreigners Office has checked the parents' foreigner files. This takes around six to eight weeks. If the requirements are met, the child is automatically granted German citizenship.
In this case, the parents will receive a written notification from the birth office after receiving feedback from the Foreigners Office.
You can then apply for German identity documents for the child at the Citizens Office.
The child no longer has to choose between German citizenship and the citizenship(s) of the parents. German citizenship is permanent from birth.
Questions & Answers
German citizenship is acquired automatically and cannot be renounced.
It is possible to renounce German citizenship at a later date.
You can find more information on renouncingGerman citizenship on the page "Renouncing German citizenship".
The old law applies to children born before 26 June 2024. This means that one parent must have been resident for eight years on the day of birth. The new law cannot be applied retroactively.
For children born on or after 27 June 2024, the provisions of the new law apply. In this case, a five-year residence of one parent on the day of birth is sufficient.
Legal basis
§ Section 4 (3) of the Citizenship Act