Separating Fact and Fiction: Debunking Myths in German Citizenship Law

Our previous blog on myths in German immigration law explored how confidently repeated assumptions can easily be mistaken for legal facts. The same is true in German citizenship law, where questions of birth, ancestry, naturalization and dual citizenship are often shaped by family stories, online discussions and outdated information rather than by the legal framework that actually applies.

Citizenship law often appears intuitive: many people assume that being born in Germany, having German ancestors or benefiting from the 2024 reform automatically leads to German citizenship. In practice, however, the answer usually depends on precise statutory requirements, dates, residence histories and documentary evidence.

This blog examines some of the most persistent misconceptions in German citizenship law and explains why the legal details matter.

Myth: Being born on German soil makes one a German citizen.

Fact: Unlike some other countries, Germany does not generally grant citizenship simply because a person is born on German soil.

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Some countries follow the ius soli principle, under which citizenship is acquired through birth in the country’s territory. Germany, however, has traditionally followed the ius sanguinis principle. This means that German citizenship is primarily passed on through descent, usually from a German parent, rather than acquired automatically through birth in Germany.

Although German law now contains limited rules under which a child born in Germany to foreign parents may acquire German citizenship, these rules depend on specific statutory requirements. Birth in Germany alone does not automatically confer German citizenship.

Myth: Germany now allows dual citizenship, so former German citizens can regain their German citizenship.

Fact: While Germany has accepted dual citizenship more broadly since the 2024 citizenship law reform, this change does not apply retrospectively. German citizens who previously lost their German citizenship because they acquired another citizenship will not automatically regain German citizenship as a result of the new rules.

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The 2024 reform changed German citizenship law for the future: German citizens who acquire another citizenship after the reform generally no longer lose their German citizenship for that reason alone.

However, this does not undo losses of German citizenship that already occurred under the previous legal framework. Before the reform, German citizens could lose their German citizenship automatically if they voluntarily acquired another citizenship without first obtaining permission to retain German citizenship. Where such a loss already took place, the new law does not simply restore German citizenship.

Former German citizens may only be able to reacquire German citizenship if they can prove that, at the time they obtained the foreign citizenship, they would have met the requirements for permission to retain German citizenship. This usually requires a careful assessment of the circumstances that existed at that time, not merely the application of today’s more flexible rules.

 Former German citizens therefore usually need to examine whether a separate route to reacquisition, restoration or naturalization may be available in their individual case. This distinction is important because the reform has made dual citizenship easier going forward, but it has not created an automatic remedy for all past cases.

Myth: Germany generally grants citizenship based on ancestry.

Fact: German citizenship is acquired by descent, but only if the relevant parent was still a German citizen at the time of the child’s birth. Until the 2024 citizenship law reform, German citizens generally lost their German citizenship automatically if they voluntarily acquired another citizenship without first obtaining permission to retain German citizenship. If that loss occurred before the next generation was born, the chain of German citizenship was usually interrupted, meaning that later descendants typically cannot claim German citizenship solely based on that ancestry.

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German citizenship by descent is often misunderstood because people tend to focus on whether an ancestor was German at some point in the past. In legal terms, however, the decisive question is not simply whether there is German ancestry, but whether German citizenship was actually transmitted from one generation to the next.

In most cases, this requires showing that the relevant parent was a German citizen when the child was born. If the parent had already lost German citizenship before the child’s birth, the child generally did not acquire German citizenship by descent, and the chain of citizenship was broken for future generations.

This is especially important in cases where a German ancestor emigrated and later naturalized in another country. Before the 2024 reform, voluntary acquisition of another citizenship would lead to the automatic loss of German citizenship if permission to retain German citizenship had not been obtained in advance. If that loss occurred before the birth of the next generation, later descendants generally cannot revive the original citizenship line merely by pointing to the German ancestor. The law looks at the status of each generation at the relevant time, not at family heritage in the abstract.

There are special rules that may apply in certain historical or restitution-related cases, including cases connected to persecution during the Nazi era or past discriminatory nationality rules. Those routes should not be confused with a general entitlement to citizenship based on distant German ancestry. For most applicants relying on descent, the analysis remains highly fact-specific and depends on dates of birth, the citizenship status of each parent at the relevant time, and whether any loss of German citizenship occurred before the next generation was born.

Myth: Constantly following up with the citizenship authority will speed up naturalization.

Fact: Citizenship applications are generally processed in the order in which they are submitted. There is usually no option to obtain faster processing simply by calling, emailing or following up repeatedly with the citizenship authority.

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This misconception is less about the law and more about administrative culture. Citizenship authorities usually process applications according to their internal workflow and in many cases, in the order in which complete applications are submitted.

Applicants should not contact the authority to ask for faster processing or routine status updates. Such contact does not accelerate the procedure, does not move the application ahead in the queue and does not create any priority treatment.

In practice, contacting the authority repeatedly can be counterproductive because it adds to the administrative workload without changing the legal or procedural position of the application.

Where an application has been pending for an unusually long time, the appropriate course of action may be to assess whether a separate legal assessment of administrative inaction may be necessary. That is not the same as contacting the authority for faster processing. In ordinary cases, there is no general option to obtain accelerated processing of a naturalization application and applicants should be prepared for processing times to vary significantly depending on the authority, workload and completeness of the file.

Why the Details Matter

Misconceptions about German citizenship law are widespread because the rules often appear simpler than they are. While being born in Germany, having German ancestors or benefiting from the 2024 reform may all seem like clear paths to citizenship, eligibility depends on the legal requirements that apply to each applicant’s case.

This is why the details matter. Questions of German citizenship often turn on dates of birth, parental citizenship, residence history, naturalization abroad, past loss of citizenship and the availability of supporting documents. A small factual difference can change the legal outcome, especially in descent-based cases or cases involving former German citizens.

For this reason, applicants should be cautious about relying on general assumptions or informal advice. A careful assessment of the individual facts and the applicable legal framework is often essential before determining whether German citizenship was acquired, lost, retained or may still be available through a separate route.

Need to Know More?

For more information on German regulations, please contact Manager Dr. Adela Schmidt at [email protected]. Stay tuned for the third blog in this series, focusing on debunking myths in German social security law.

This blog was published on 13 July 2026 and reflects information available at that time. Updates may occur as policies evolve. To stay informed on the latest immigration news and analysis, please subscribe to our alerts and follow Fragomen on  LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.