§ 30 StAG: Determination of Nationality

What does this section regulate?

This section says how the citizenship authority determines whether you have German citizenship. This is called "determination of citizenship" (Feststellung der Staatsangehörigkeit).

Determination on your application

You can submit an application to the citizenship authority. To do this, you must credibly show that you have a legitimate interest. This means: you must show why you need the determination.

If you do this, the authority must determine whether you have German citizenship or do not have it.

This determination is then binding. This means: in all matters where it is important whether you are German, exactly this determination applies.

Determination without your application

The authority can also make the determination ex officio (of its own accord). This means: the authority does this itself. You do not need to do anything extra for this.

The authority may only do this if there is a public interest in it.

If German citizenship would otherwise be lost

Sometimes German citizenship would automatically be lost by operation of law. If this loss would at the same time also result in the loss of your Union citizenship, a special rule applies.

In that case, the authority may only determine that you do not have German citizenship if the loss of Union citizenship is also proportionate. This means: the loss of Union citizenship must be appropriate.

If the loss of Union citizenship is not proportionate, the authority may not determine that German citizenship does not exist.

However, this special rule does not apply in two cases:

• You did not submit an application to prevent the statutory loss of German citizenship.
• You submitted such an application, but the authority did not grant it.

In these two cases, the authority may determine that German citizenship does not exist even if the loss of Union citizenship would not be proportionate.

What you can use to prove that you have German citizenship

For the determination that you have German citizenship, the following is enough:

You show with documents, extracts from the registration register, or other written evidence that it is true with sufficient probability. You have acquired German citizenship. And you have not lost it again since then.

This is necessary. And it is also enough. You do not need to prove more.

Note: Section 3(2) of the Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) continues to apply unchanged alongside this.

Which documents you receive

If the authority determines, on your application, that you have German citizenship, it must issue you a certificate of citizenship (Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis).

If you apply for it, the authority must also issue you a certificate that you do not have German citizenship — if that is the case.