§ 3 StAG: Acquisition of Nationality

How do you get German citizenship?

There are five ways to get German citizenship.

1. By birth. More about this is in § 4.
2. By declaration. More about this is in § 5.
3. By adoption, meaning being taken in as a child. More about this is in § 6.
4. By a certificate under § 15 paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of the Federal Expellees Act (Bundesvertriebenengesetz). More about this is in § 7.
5. By naturalisation. More about this is in §§ 8 to 16 and in § 40a.

There is one more way to get citizenship.

You also get German citizenship if two things are true at the same time. First: German authorities have treated you as a German citizen for twelve years. Second: This is not your own fault.

In this case, the law treats you as if you really were a German citizen. This means: after twelve years, this treatment turns into a genuine acquisition of citizenship.

How can you show that an authority has treated you as a German citizen? One example: you received a certificate of citizenship (Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis). Another example: you received a German passport. Another example: you received a German identity card.

From when do you have citizenship in this case? The acquisition has retroactive effect. This means: you already have citizenship from the point in time when it was assumed that you had acquired it.

This rule also applies to your descendants, for example your children. The requirement is: your descendants derive their citizenship from you from that point on. Then they too get German citizenship through this route.