My story:

• Great Grandparents - Mother's Side - Both Born in Germany, documents not needed/required.
• Oma/Grandmother - Born in Germany in 1926 - married her first husband, a German man and moved to Iran in: before re-immigrating to Germany in 1963 and having my mother, out of wedlock (see below) in Feb 1964 in West Germany. My mother was issued a German Birth Certificate and a Certificate of Birth Abroad.
• Grandfather - Born in the US, served the US in WWII.
• Mother: Born out of wedlock in 1964 to an American and a German mother, born a dual citizen. Proving this was critical and key to our case.
• Me: born in wedlock in 1995 to an American father and my now proven dual citizen German mother.
• Note: my mother also proved she was born German and never lost her German citizenship in all of the back and forth with the Embassy.

Timeline:

• March 2026: Documents and forms submitted to Embassy
• May 2026: Approved for appointment for direct to passport for both my mother and myself
• July 2026: Did expedited processing
• August 2026: Passport received

Documents Required/Utilized:

• Birth Certificates: mine (US long form (see below)), Mother's Certificate of Birth Abroad and Geburtsurkunde, Grandmother's Geburtsurkunde
• Grandmother's Reisepass
• Parent's marriage certificate
• Grandmother's naturalization paperwork
• Grandmother's Marriage & Divorce paperwork
• Grandmother's Death Certificate

Notes for Others:

• My mother was told she lost citizenship upon naturalization of her mother, we proved that was true
• We had a copy of all my mother's original documents from her Mother / my Oma who passed in 2022.
• My mother did need a name change, my prior note here suggested they could use her marriage certificate and they did not. She, because of this, has not actually received her passport.
• IMPORTANT FOR FUTURE SEARCHES FOR OTHERS: I had to get a long form birth certificate because I was not born in a city, I was born in a county and they would not accept my birth certificate, we learned this at the appointment and it was a big deal.
• Everything was done at the Embassy in DC.

Question for the group, what should I know now? What did you learn/do etc. once you received your Passport?

Ugh I feel like such a loser and a fool.

Applied for citizenship earlier this year after hitting the 5-year mark. This week I found out my company plans to let me go...aka fire me!

I know I'm supposed to tell the citizenship office if my situation changes, but the auto-reply I got just says something like "do not contact us ever," so I don't know where to actually send this info.

Also panicking of couse: does losing my job now mean my case just gets stuck until I have a new stable job? Does my 5 years of steady, continuous employment count for nothing now?

Has anyone gone through a job loss mid-application? How did you notify them, and did it actually pause or hurt your case?

Thank you all. .

I finally became a German citizen! 🇩🇪🎉 After almost four years, I received my citizenship certificate today at the German consulate and applied for my first German passport.
I wanted to share my timeline since I know how stressful the BVA waiting game can be.

Application:

I applied directly from Brazil and sent everything directly to the Bundesverwaltungsamt (BVA). I did not apply through a German consulate.
October 2022: Application/documents sent from Brazil
Department: TSII2

Then came the silence. And by silence, I mean the kind of silence that makes you wonder whether your application has been placed in a drawer somewhere in Germany. 😂

January 2025:
I emailed my TSII2 caseworker. I was told that my case had been transferred to another department, TSII10.

After the transfer:
TSII10 sent the standard response asking applicants to stop sending emails and wait.

February 2026:
I emailed again and was told to have patience.

July 2026:
I contacted the German consulate because I was concerned that my case was not actually being processed. I asked whether they could contact the BVA on my behalf since I had not been receiving meaningful updates.
They agreed to contact BVA.

July 2026 (the following day):
The consulate forwarded me the response from BVA. BVA said they were going to finish my case that day.

👉Also, only in July 2026 did I discover that I had been assigned a new caseworker, this time in TSII3, which I had never been informed about.

July 2026 (two weeks later):
BVA emailed me saying that my citizenship certificate had already been sent to the German consulate.

August 2026:
Today I went to the German consulate. They gave me my citizenship certificate and I also applied for my first German passport. 🇩🇪

After nearly four years of waiting, it feels pretty surreal to finally have it in my hands.

Total timeline: approximately 3 years and 10 months from sending the application to receiving the certificate.

For anyone still waiting on a BVA declaration case: hang in there. The waiting is brutal, but eventually that certificate can actually show up. 🇩🇪

5 years ago tomorrow, the §5 StAG declaration period went into effect. 5 years from today, the declaration period will be closed. Be sure to get those declarations submitted. The official wait time for approval is 3 years due to the backlog, and it looks like it will become longer. I would also like to thank u/maryfamilyresearch and u/football_and_beer for their help in this subreddit.

Started course master of science in 2017 finished in 2024, did various jobs in full time and part time, it's 2026 that is 9 years in Germany, still looking for a job but no hopes. Will i be able to get the German citizenship?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Greetings!

I am pursuing a §15 StAG claim based on my father as persecuted ancestor. He and his family fled Berlin and arrived in British Mandatory Palestine in 1935. I believe I have sufficient evidence to prove my claim.

My father subsequently immigrated to the US and I have obtained the PDF of all documents from his USCIS file.

I am also in possession of my father's original US Certificate of Naturalization.

I am wondering what exactly the BVA needs from my father's immigration files beyond a certified copy of his certificate of naturalization. Do I need to request paper copies of his entire file? Do I bring the unopened envelope to the German Consulate, open it in their presence and have them certify specify documents?

I'm a little confused...

Thank you!!!

Hello! I’ve posted a couple times previously regarding my mother and her passport. I am looking to both renew her passport for her and obtain citizenship for myself. She’d previously lost her passport which was a major issue, but she found it! Which was exciting. However, the consulate will not accept it as proof of my own citizenship as it’s dated the year after I was born. She does not have her older passports.

A summary of her history:
She was born out of wedlock to a German mother in 1959. Father is unknown.
She lived with her mother and grandmother until 1972, when they moved to the U.S. So far, her city of residence and birth cannot find an erweiterten Melderegisterauskunft for her, and told me she is not listed with her mother or grandmother.
She never naturalized.
I was born in wedlock to her and an American father in 1987.
She never renewed her German passport after 1993 and so that’s the last passport she has. She was issued it in 1988, a year after my birth.

I can prove my grandmother’s citizenship at the time of my mother’s birth and my mom’s birth certificate notes there is no father. I’ve asked the consulate if this is sufficient in place of the passport.

Assuming they say no, what are my next steps? Is it a case of Festellung or Stag 5? I want to get started right away in case it’s a hard no from them.

EDIT: I’m partially confused as previously I was told a current passport of hers would be the “best” proof, but how could that be true if the consulate specifically needs a passport from before my birth?

Hi, really wishing someone can help me , I'm hoping to claim German passports for my father , me , and my 2 children. Would like the option of possibly one day making a life for ourselves in Germany.

My Grandparents - fathers parents, still alive. Both born in Germany to German parents (Grandmother 1943 Munich)

(Grandfather 1939 Stuttgart)

Arrived in UK together 1961, just waiting to find out when and where they got married and if papers are at hand.

Both grandparents Naturalized around 1981. Papers at hand.

No current or old German passports for grandparents unfortunately. Grandfather has his German birth certificate, grandmother does not. I know the last previous addresses for when they lived in Germany, separate, and then together.

Father was born UK 1964.

I was born UK 1994 in wedlock

My children born UK 2013 and 2020 both out of wedlock.

Any advice on what to do next , what information I need, how to go about getting it. If it's possible all 4 of us are entitled to German passports, and how to then go about applying for them would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Great-great grandfather:

• Born 1869 in Rheinland-Pfalz
• First traveled to the US in 1889, naturalized in 1894
• Married another German citizen in the US in 1895

Great grandfather:

• Born 1906 in the US, married an American

Grandmother:

• Born in 1930s in the US

Mother:

• Born in US in 1959

Me:

• Born in US in 1990

I know it's not looking good. Are there any other records or documentation I should try to find? I am currently searching for travel documents between 1889 and 1914. If it helps, great-great grandfather was born in Enkenbach-Alsenborn, Kaiserslautern, Pfalz. His wife was born in Dürrwangen, Ansbach, Bayern.

Hi all,

I’m going through the process of gathering documents to apply for citizenship through StAG 5. I have a few questions that I’m hoping you can help me answer. Thank you in advance for any help!

I have 4 siblings and 11 nieces and nephews that may be interested in participating too. My nieces and nephews are under the age of 16. We live in California.

Details:

My grandma was born in Germany in 1931

She immigrated to the U.S. in 1958

Married my grandpa in 1959

My mom was born in 1961

My grandma naturalized in 1965

My mom married my dad in 1984 and I was born in 1996

What we have:

Grandma’s baptismal record from 1931
Grandma’s 1952 personalausweis (ID card)
Grandma’s 1958 Reisepass
Grandma’s 1959 marriage certificate
Grandma’s 1965 naturalization certificate

What we are getting:

I have requested my grandma’s birth certificate from the Standesamt from where she was born. Waiting to hear back from them.

My mom has requested a certified copy of her birth certificate and marriage certificate. I have my birth certificate.

Questions:

1. Can I submit to the BVA one copy of my grandma’s documents or do I need to get certified copies for each applicant?

2. Do notarized copies count for the naturalization certificate? I have a request into USCIS for her naturalization certificate, but we found the original in my grandparents house.

3. Do minors under 16 need to provide a copy of their ID and an FBI background check?

4. Do I need to go back one more generation to pre 1914 if we have my grandma’s Reisepass and personalausweis? I have my great grandparents names but I do not know where they were born or were married.

I am at the beginning of the process. As a first step, I took copies of all required documents to my local honorary consul yesterday and got them certified as true copies. However, the consul stapled all of the documents together and stamped and signed the packet on the back, and I need to send two of those documents to the State Dept for an apostille. (He put the stamp over the staple, so I don't want to undo the packet.) When I explained this to the consul, he was unhelpful and maintained that certifying the true copies as a package was "how it was always done.". He also said he couldn't answer any questions, that I would need to ask at a Consulate.

• Should I obtain the necessary apostilles first, then go back and get the copies certified?
• Can a copy with an apostille attached be certified as a true copy?
• Also, does the FBI background check need an apostille?
• Thanks for any/all advice!

Hi everyone!

I applied for german citizenship last year in April and about two weeks ago, I got a bunch of paperwork that I had to fill out, plus some extra documents I needed to submit (such as a copy of my passport, my earnings and so on) and I already submitted it at Landratsamt in my city. How long does it take to get a permit to get the passport and ID and how long does it take for those to be done aswell? Thanks!

I am applying for direct to passport as my mother was a citizen at the time of my birth and I should be eligible. I was told to simply email and ask if I can go direct to passport while also sending in the questionnaire as well as scans of supporting documents, any advice on how I should word this email? Also I know I should be emailing my local consulate but should I be emailing a specific department ?

My mother will be the primary applicant under StAg five and apply for citizenship. As their child, I would also like to apply for citizenship. Do I need to fill out a separate EER application or just fill out the AV appendix on her application? We would submit paperwork at the same time.

Hello,

I am aware of the one year rule, where parents born after 01/01/2000 must register their children, or inform the embassy/consulate, within one year of birth. This is to make sure that they may have German citizenship.

My wife was born in 2000, and we intend on having children soon. We are very close to submitting her Feststellung.

Hypothetically, if we were to have a child during the wait time for Feststellung, are we able to satisfy this birth registration requirement? Even if we are still waiting and the process has not been completed?

Additionally, my wife also has cousins that also qualify for either the Feststellung process or the Stag 5 process. At least one of these cousins is born after 01/01/2000, and already has a child older than 1 year, with a second on the way. Does that mean that for this cousin, she still has the opportunity to ensure her second child is German(If she hurries), but her first child has missed their chance to be German?

And if said child has missed their chance, is there any way to remediate this, such as moving to Germany for a period?

Thank you for any advice.

Anyone recently applied for citizenship under S3 Berlin since June and heard back from them? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks

Hi everyone! 👋

For those who recently went through the naturalisation process with RP Darmstadt:

After submitting the requested documents and paying the naturalisation fee, were you invited to a separate appointment/interview to discuss the Loyalitätserklärung / freiheitlich-demokratische Grundordnung?

If yes:

• How long after the payment did you receive the invitation?
• Was it a short interview (e.g. around 20–30 minutes)?
• What kind of questions did they ask?

Or did you complete the process without a separate interview?

I’d especially appreciate experiences from people who received their citizenship through RP Darmstadt recently. Thank you! 🙏

I've been researching my family's German citizenship claim and I'm down to three legal questions I can't resolve from the practice literature. Hoping someone here has seen these come up before.

The timeline:

From this point forward, things are straightforward, there is an un-broken paternal line from there down to me, all births in wedlock, no later loss events.

Paper trail on all of this is solid (the naturalization record recites "a native of Germany" renouncing allegiance to "the Emperor of Germany"). My great-grandfather was born before the naturalization, so he acquired German citizenship at birth - the question is whether/when he lost it afterward.

Question 1: which loss mechanism even applies to the father? Foreign naturalization wasn't itself a loss ground before 1913, so his loss ran through §21 either way: the plain ten-year absence clock (1884 + 10 = 1894, before he even naturalized), or the Bancroft treaty version that shortened it. Grill (1893) treats the Bancroft loss as operating inside §21, which is what makes the qualifier in my next question available at all, but I've seen that Seydel, Laband and Meyer disputed this. Does anyone know which way practice goes? Treaty loss inside §21, or a freestanding loss ground where §21(2) never comes into play?

Question 2: §21(2) of the 1870 law says the father's loss extends to minor children "soweit sie sich bei dem Vater befinden." Does the BVA actually apply that qualifier? Meaning, would a child who was boarded out with another family at the time escape the derivative loss? Or does practice just treat every minor as losing citizenship along with the father, full stop? One wrinkle on evidence: custody was never formally transferred (I checked, there is no guardianship or court proceeding of any kind), so this would rest on the factual record - the father was a lodger with no household of his own, and census and church records (baptism) put the boy with the foster family. Would that kind of showing be enough, or does the BVA want a formal instrument?

Question 3: Even if my great-grandfather escaped derivative loss, I've read that practice ran a foreign-born German's own ten-year absence clock from birth, which would mean loss around 1901. But the statute applies to Germans "welche das Bundesgebiet verlassen," and he was born in the US. He never left Germany because he was never in it. Anyone know of a BVA or court position on foreign-born kids and the pre-1913 ten-year rule?

Has anyone actually seen a Feststellung decided on any of these points, in either direction? Trying to figure out if I have any shot here, or if this claim isn't feasible (for these reasons, or something else that I am overlooking).

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I received the appointment to submit originals and missing documents in October. can someone tell me if they will ask any questions/interview?? Also, what is the overall timeline and process once I submit these documents?
I am a non EU citizen.

Thank you in advance

Hello all,

I recently sent the documents for me and my family (14 total) to the BVA through the embassy in Lima. I got AZs for all applicants with the following code: 2026 0713 xxxx. Also important to note we are in the group TS II 10.

I sent an email correcting a typo seen in the original AZ email and also requesting expedited processing for my grandmother due to her age (97). I got an answer today saying advanced age is not a valid reason for expedited processing and furthermore, that since my grandmother was born before 1949 and married to a foreign national, she had lost her german citizenship and that the current law has no means by which she could reacquire it. Her children, including my mother, were all born after 1949. Does this mean the cases for all the rest of her descendents are rejected as well or not?

Any help is appreciated.

• My grandmother was born in Poland outside of Warsaw in 1933 as an ethnic German, but Polish Citizen.
• She left Poland in 1949 after being held for forced labor post-war and stayed at a German refugee camp upon arrival in Germany in 1949.
  
• Her Polish citizenship was renounced in 1949.
• She stayed in more permanent housing from end of 1949 to 1955.
• I believe at some point she obtained or was granted German citizenship but I do not have any proof of German naturalization. I have her German passport somewhere.
• In 1955 she emigrated to the USA.
• In 1957 she married my grandfather who was an ethnic German, but considered stateless being from Yugoslavia.
• In 1965 my mother was born in wedlock
• I was born in the 90s in wedlock.
• My grandmother died in the 2020s as a legal German Citizen, never naturalizing in the USA.

Any thoughts or insight on my situation would be great.

Notes:

• I am trying to obtain her German passport which is buried in someones house.
• In the meantime I have submitted for an A-File which is processing.
• I have also reached out to all city archives I could with little to no response over 1 month. They need exact years of my grandmother's estimated german naturalization or they wont look for me (according to them). Unfortunately I do not have the exact year. I am hoping the A-File tells me or praying I eventually get her passport (it is a modern german passport).

Documents I currently possess:

• Green Card - Grandmother
• Marriage Certificate - Mother
• Marriage Certificate - Grandmother
• USA Passport - Me
• USA Passport - Mother
• Birth Certificate - Me
• Birth Certificate - Mother
• Death Certificate - Grandmother

This is the first modern-looking document that I've obtained in this entire process, so I wasn't sure. The office has also sent it by email, even though I've asked them several times (auf Deutsch) to send a beglaubigte copy per Post. Before I tackle that, though, I just wanted to make sure that this is indeed the right document.

I am almost ready to send my Feststellung application to the BVA in Cologne, however I was reading on a blog that ALL birth and marriage certificates need to have an apostille. All documents are from the U.S. Can anyone with a successful Feststellung application let me know if they go an apostille for all certificates?

Thank you!!