German nationality law: Difference between revisions

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== History ==
== History ==
Until the early 19th century, German lands constituted the core part of the highly decentralised [[Holy Roman Empire]].{{sfn|Croxton|2013|pp=27–28}} Each of the roughly 1,800 individual political entities within the Empire had varying (or non-existent) definitions on who they considered to be nationals of their state. Citizenship was tied to a person's settlement in a particular municipality,{{sfn|Fahrmeir|1997|p=724}} and individuals found outside of their ordinary place of residence could be deported elsewhere within imperial territory.{{sfn|Fahrmeir|1997|p=726}}

Before the formation of the [[German Empire]] in 1871, the states that became part of the empire were sovereign with their own nationality laws, those of the southern ones (notably [[Bavaria]]) being quite liberal. [[Prussia]]'s nationality law can be traced back to the "Law Respecting the Acquisition and Loss of the Quality as a Prussian subject, and his Admission to Foreign Citizenship" of 31 December 1842, which was based on the principle of ''[[jus sanguinis]]''. [[General state laws for the Prussian states|Prussian law]] became the basis of the legal system of the German Empire, though the state nationality laws continued to apply, and a German citizen was a person who held citizenship of one of the [[States of the German Empire (1871)|states of the German Empire]].
Before the formation of the [[German Empire]] in 1871, the states that became part of the empire were sovereign with their own nationality laws, those of the southern ones (notably [[Bavaria]]) being quite liberal. [[Prussia]]'s nationality law can be traced back to the "Law Respecting the Acquisition and Loss of the Quality as a Prussian subject, and his Admission to Foreign Citizenship" of 31 December 1842, which was based on the principle of ''[[jus sanguinis]]''. [[General state laws for the Prussian states|Prussian law]] became the basis of the legal system of the German Empire, though the state nationality laws continued to apply, and a German citizen was a person who held citizenship of one of the [[States of the German Empire (1871)|states of the German Empire]].


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=== General sources ===
=== General sources ===
* {{cite book |last=Croxton |first=Derek |title=Westphalia: The Last Christian Peace |year=2013 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-1-349-46220-9 |doi=10.1057/9781137333339 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=de Groot |first1=Gerard-René |last2=Vink |first2=Maarten Peter |title=A Comparative Analysis of Regulations on Involuntary Loss of Nationality in the European Union |publisher=[[Centre for European Policy Studies]] |date=December 2014 |isbn=978-94-6138-437-9 |url=https://www.ceps.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/No%2075%20ILEC%20Loss%20of%20citizenship%20final%20MAP%20(1).pdf }}
* {{cite journal |last1=de Groot |first1=Gerard-René |last2=Vink |first2=Maarten Peter |title=A Comparative Analysis of Regulations on Involuntary Loss of Nationality in the European Union |publisher=[[Centre for European Policy Studies]] |date=December 2014 |isbn=978-94-6138-437-9 |url=https://www.ceps.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/No%2075%20ILEC%20Loss%20of%20citizenship%20final%20MAP%20(1).pdf }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Donets |first1=Ekaterina V. |last2=Chudinovskikh |first2=Olga S. |title=Russian policy on assistance to the resettlement of compatriots against the background of international experience |journal=Population and Economics |publisher=[[Moscow State University]] |date=25 September 2020 |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.3897/popecon.4.e54911 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Donets |first1=Ekaterina V. |last2=Chudinovskikh |first2=Olga S. |title=Russian policy on assistance to the resettlement of compatriots against the background of international experience |journal=Population and Economics |publisher=[[Moscow State University]] |date=25 September 2020 |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=1–32 |doi=10.3897/popecon.4.e54911 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Fahrmeir |first=Andreas K. |title=Nineteenth-Century German Citizenships: A Reconsideration |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=40 |issue=3 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=September 1997 |pages=721–752 |jstor=2639885 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Falcke |first1=Swantje |last2=Vink |first2=Maarten |title=Closing a Backdoor to Dual Citizenship: The German Citizenship Law Reform of 2000 and the Abolishment of the 'Domestic Clause' |journal=Frontiers in Sociology |publisher=[[Frontiers Media]] |year=15 December 2020 |volume=5 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.3389/fsoc.2020.536940 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Falcke |first1=Swantje |last2=Vink |first2=Maarten |title=Closing a Backdoor to Dual Citizenship: The German Citizenship Law Reform of 2000 and the Abolishment of the 'Domestic Clause' |journal=Frontiers in Sociology |publisher=[[Frontiers Media]] |year=15 December 2020 |volume=5 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.3389/fsoc.2020.536940 |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite report |last1=Farahat |first1=Anuscheh |last2=Hailbronner |first2=Kay |title=Report on Citizenship Law: Germany |publisher=[[European University Institute]] |date=March 2020 |hdl=1814/66430 |hdl-access=free }}
* {{cite report |last1=Farahat |first1=Anuscheh |last2=Hailbronner |first2=Kay |title=Report on Citizenship Law: Germany |publisher=[[European University Institute]] |date=March 2020 |hdl=1814/66430 |hdl-access=free }}

Revision as of 00:14, 13 February 2022

Nationality Act
Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz
Reichstag
Territorial extentGermany
Enacted by13th Reichstag
Enacted22 July 1913[1]
Commenced22 July 1913
Administered byFederal Office of Administration[2]
Related legislation
Reich Citizenship Law
Federal Expellee Law
Status: Amended

German nationality law details the conditions by which an individual holds German nationality. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 22 July 1913. All German nationals are citizens of the European Union (EU).

Any person born to a married German parent is typically a German national at birth, regardless of the place of birth. Children of unmarried German fathers must have legally acknowledged paternity to acquire German nationality. Individuals born in Germany to two foreign parents may also receive German nationality at birth if at least one of their parents has lived in the country for eight years and is entitled to live in the country indefinitely (meaning any person with a settlement permit, or citizenship of another EU country or Switzerland).

Foreign nationals may naturalise after residing in Germany for at least eight years and demonstrating knowledge in the German language. Although non-EU/Swiss naturalisation candidates are expected to renounce their previous nationalities, the majority are granted permission to retain their old statuses.

History

Until the early 19th century, German lands constituted the core part of the highly decentralised Holy Roman Empire.[3] Each of the roughly 1,800 individual political entities within the Empire had varying (or non-existent) definitions on who they considered to be nationals of their state. Citizenship was tied to a person's settlement in a particular municipality,[4] and individuals found outside of their ordinary place of residence could be deported elsewhere within imperial territory.[5]

Before the formation of the German Empire in 1871, the states that became part of the empire were sovereign with their own nationality laws, those of the southern ones (notably Bavaria) being quite liberal. Prussia's nationality law can be traced back to the "Law Respecting the Acquisition and Loss of the Quality as a Prussian subject, and his Admission to Foreign Citizenship" of 31 December 1842, which was based on the principle of jus sanguinis. Prussian law became the basis of the legal system of the German Empire, though the state nationality laws continued to apply, and a German citizen was a person who held citizenship of one of the states of the German Empire.

On 22 July 1913, the Nationality Law of the German Empire and States (Reichs- und Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, shorthand: RuStAG) established a German citizenship, either derived from the citizenship of one of the component states or acquired through the central Reich government.

Restrictions under the Third Reich

Under the Nazi Third Reich, in 1934, the German nationality law was amended to abolish separate state citizenships and creating a uniform Reich citizenship, with the central Reich authorities having power to grant or withdraw German nationality. In 1935 the Reich Citizenship Law (Reichsbürgergesetz), the second of the Nuremberg Laws, created a new category called "state subjects" (Staatsangehörige) to which Jews were assigned, thereby withdrawing citizenship from Jews who had been citizens; only those classed as being of "German or related blood" retained Reich citizenship.

On 13 March 1938, Germany extended the nationality law to Austria following the Anschluss that annexed Austria to Germany. On 27 April 1945, after the defeat of Nazism, Austria was re-established and conferred Austrian citizenship on all persons who would have been Austrian on that date had the pre-1938 nationality law of Austria remained in force. Any Austrians who had held German nationality lost it.[6] Also see Austrian nationality law.

The Eleventh Decree to the Law on the Citizenship of the Reich of 25 November 1941 stripped Jews of their remaining rights, and also ruled that Jews living in other countries were no longer German citizens, and their passports were no longer valid.[7]

The Nazi amendments of 1934, the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, the Eleventh Decree, and other Nazi laws were revoked by Allied occupational ordinance in 1945, restoring the 1913 nationality law, which remained in force until the 1999 reforms.[8]

Post-war developments

During the Cold War, East German authorities established a new citizenship law in February 1967 which superseded the Nationality Law of 1913. However, the West German government continued to recognize that citizens of East Germany were automatically citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany, although this conflicted with the laws of East Germany. Citizens of East Germany were entitled to West Germany passports even without permanent relocation.[9]: 84 [10]

Article 116(1) of the German Basic Law (constitution) confers, subject to laws regulating the details, a right to citizenship upon any person admitted to Germany (in its 1937 borders) as a "refugee or expelled of German ethnic origin or as the spouse or descendant of such a person." Until 1990 ethnic Germans living abroad in a country in the former Eastern Bloc (Aussiedler) could obtain citizenship through a virtually automatic procedure. From 1990 the law was steadily tightened each year to limit the number of immigrants, requiring them to prove language skills and cultural affiliation.

Article 116(2) entitles persons (and their descendants) who were denaturalised by the Nazi government to have German citizenship restored if they wish. Those among them who take up residence in Germany after 8 May 1945, are automatically considered German citizens. Both regulations, (1) and (2), allowed many Poles and Israelis, still residing in Poland and Israel, to be concurrently German citizens.

European Union

Because Germany forms part of the European Union, German citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament.[11] When in a non-EU country where there is no German embassy, German citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country.[12][13] German citizens can live and work in any country within the EU and EFTA as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.[14]

German citizens can be extradited only to other EU countries or to international courts of justice, and only if a law allows this (German Basic Law, Art. 16). Before the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant, the extradition of German citizens was generally prohibited by the German Basic Law.

Acquisition and loss of nationality

Children born within Germany automatically receive German nationality at birth if at least one married parent is a German national.[15] Individuals born overseas to at least one married German parent are also German nationals, unless that parent was born after 31 December 1999 and is ordinarily resident in a foreign country; they may alternatively acquire German nationality if they would otherwise be stateless or their births are registered at a German diplomatic mission before their first birthday.[16]

Before 1975, only children of married German fathers and unmarried German mothers received citizenship at birth; German mothers married to non-German men did not pass citizenship to their children.[17] Children of unmarried German fathers born since 1993 must have their paternity formally established; those born before 1993 were additionally required to have claimed citizenship before age 23 and must have been resident in Germany for three years at the time of application.[18]

Children born in the country to two foreign parents since 1 January 2000 automatically receive citizenship at birth if at least one parent has habitually resided in Germany for at least eight years and possesses indefinite permission to remain. This usually means holding a settlement permit.[19] EU citizens are automatically granted right of permanent residence after living in the country for at least five years.[20] Children born in Germany to such parents between 1990 and 1999 also qualified for citizenship, provided that their parents had registered them for that status by the end of 2000.[21] Minor children who are adopted by German citizens within the country receive citizenship at the time of adoption,[22] while those who are adopted outside of Germany (regardless of age) may acquire citizenship at governmental discretion.[23]

Children with multiple nationalities are required to choose between their German and foreign statuses before the age of 23 unless they have eight years of residence in Germany before age 21, attended a German school for six years, graduated from a German school, or completed vocational education in the country. Dual nationals who fail to make this choice are automatically stripped of their German nationality. If they declare their intention to retain German nationality, they are required to prove the loss of their foreign statuses by the age of 23, or may apply for permission to retain their other nationalities before age 21.[24]

Naturalisation

Foreigners may naturalise as German citizens after residing in the country for at least eight years and possessing right of permanent settlement. This usually means holding a residence permit or citizenship of an EU/EEA country. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the German language, pass a citizenship test, declare loyalty to a free and democratic system, prove their self-sufficiency without state assistance, hold no criminal record, and renounce any previous nationalities.[25] Persons convicted of racist, antisemitic, or xenophobic acts are permanently barred from naturalisation.[26]

The requisite period of residence may be reduced to seven years for applicants who successfully complete an integration course or three years for spouses of German citizens who have been married for at least two years.[27] Citizens of other parts of the EU and Switzerland are exempt from renouncing their previous nationality, and the requirement may be waived for those who cannot renounce their foreign status or would undergo significant hardship in doing so.[16] About 110,000 people naturalised as German citizens in 2020, with over 63 per cent of them retaining their previous nationalities.[28]

Loss of nationality

German nationality can be relinquished by making a declaration of renunciation, provided that the declarant already possesses or is in the process of obtaining another nationality. German children who are adopted by foreigners and acquire the nationality of their new parents automatically cease to be German at the time of adoption.[29] It is also automatically lost when an individual voluntarily acquires a foreign citizenship even if that person remains domiciled in Germany,[29] unless prior govermental permission is granted to retain German nationality[30] or the new citizenship is that of another EU country or Switzerland.[31]

Citizenship may be stripped from a person who fradulently acquired it within 10 years of that person having become a German citizen, or from dual nationals who engage in terrorist activities at any time[32] or voluntarily serve in foreign armed forces without prior permission from the government.[33] Since 6 July 2011, this permission is automatically granted to dual nationals of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United States, and other EU/EFTA countries who serve in the militaries of their alternate nationalities.[34]

Special acquisition for ethnic Germans from eastern Europe

See also: Federal Expellee Law

Ethnic German refugees who were displaced as a result of the Second World War are eligible for special resettlement and nationality acquisition.[35] The Federal Expellee Law defines a qualifying person as any ethnic German who was domiciled in the former eastern territories of Germany, or in any area outside of pre-1938 German borders and were deported or forced to flee.[36] This right to citizenship extended to any descendants of an ethnic German, as well as their spouse.[37] Over 1.4 million people from Eastern Bloc countries resettled in Germany under these provisions between 1950 and 1987. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, special admission of ethnic Germans was restricted in 1993; applicants were subject to a German language requirement and an entry quota of 225,000 people, which was later reduced to 100,000 in 2000.[38] The ethnic German legal status itself became limited to people born before 1993, effectively ending future resettlement.[39]

Reclamation of nationality revoked under Nazi rule

See also: Nuremberg Laws

Any person who had their citizenship revoked between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 on political, racial, or religious grounds, and their direct descendants, are entitled to reclaim German citizenship. Until 2019, applicants qualified only if the primary claimant to German citizenship had that status rescinded through the 11th Decree Implementing the Reich Citizens Act (which stripped citizenship from all Jews domiciled abroad on 27 November 1941) or individually deprived under the 1933 Act on Revocation of Naturalisations and Deprivation of German Citizenship.[40] These restrictions had prevented nationality restoration to: descendants of formerly German married women or unmarried fathers, children adopted before 1977 by qualified former German citizens, descendants of women who involunarily lost German nationality after fleeing the country and marrying foreign men, and descendants of former Germans who applied for nationality renunciation before being stripped of their status. These limitations were relaxed by ministerial decree by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community,[41] and fully lifted when codified into legislation in 2021.[42]

References

  1. ^ Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz.
  2. ^ "Citizenship". Federal Office of Administration. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ Croxton 2013, pp. 27–28.
  4. ^ Fahrmeir 1997, p. 724.
  5. ^ Fahrmeir 1997, p. 726.
  6. ^ BVerfGE 4, 322 1 BvR 284/54Austrian Nationality, copy hosted at utexas.edu
  7. ^ "Restoration of German Citizenship". Federal Foreign Office - German Missions in the United States. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  8. ^ Bös, Matthias. "Working Paper Series No. 00.5: The Legal Construction of Membership: Nationality Law in Germany and the United States" (PDF). aei.pitt.edu. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  9. ^ Karsten Mertens (2004). Das neue deutsche Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht: eine verfassungsrechtliche Untersuchung. Tenea Verlag Ltd. ISBN 9783865040831.
  10. ^ Sebastian Gehrig (27 August 2014). "Cold War Identities: Citizenship, Constitutional Reform, and International Law between East and West Germany, 1967–75". Journal of Contemporary History. 49 (4): 794–814. doi:10.1177/0022009414538474. S2CID 145755646.
  11. ^ "Germany". European Union. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  12. ^ Article 20(2)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
  13. ^ Rights abroad: Right to consular protection: a right to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of other Member States when in a non-EU Member State, if there are no diplomatic or consular authorities from the citizen's own state (Article 23): this is due to the fact that not all member states maintain embassies in every country in the world (14 countries have only one embassy from an EU state). Antigua and Barbuda (UK), Barbados (UK), Belize (UK), Central African Republic (France), Comoros (France), Gambia (UK), Guyana (UK), Liberia (Germany), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (UK), San Marino (Italy), São Tomé and Príncipe (Portugal), Solomon Islands (UK), Timor-Leste (Portugal), Vanuatu (France)
  14. ^ "Treaty on the Function of the European Union (consolidated version)". Eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  15. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 20.
  16. ^ a b Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 8.
  17. ^ Kranz 2017, p. 370.
  18. ^ "Obtaining German Citizenship". German Missions in the United States. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  19. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 7.
  20. ^ European Union citizens in Germany: the right to move freely and claim social benefits (PDF) (Report). Diakonie Deutschland. June 2014. p. 21. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  21. ^ Falcke & Vink 2020, pp. 2–3.
  22. ^ § 6 Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz.
  23. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 13.
  24. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, pp. 18–19.
  25. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, pp. 13, 17.
  26. ^ "How Germany is making it easier for Nazi victims' descendants to get citizenship". The Local. Agence France-Presse. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  27. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, pp. 17, 20.
  28. ^ "Naturalisations by country of former citizenship retained or not retained". Federal Statistical Office of Germany. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  29. ^ a b Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 19.
  30. ^ § 25(2) Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz.
  31. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 12.
  32. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 16.
  33. ^ de Groot & Vink 2014, pp. 21–22.
  34. ^ "'Am I a German citizen?' - Basics of German citizenship law". Missions of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  35. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 5.
  36. ^ Sanders 1996, p. 160.
  37. ^ Sanders 1996, p. 149.
  38. ^ Farahat & Hailbronner 2020, p. 21.
  39. ^ Donets & Chudinovskikh 2020, p. 18.
  40. ^ Wolfe 2021, pp. 696–698.
  41. ^ Wolfe 2021, pp. 699.
  42. ^ Bateson, Ian (25 June 2021). "Germany lifts restrictions for descendants of Nazi victims to get citizenship". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 6 January 2022.

General sources

External links

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