German citizenship is proven—and this is binding on all government agencies—by a certificate of citizenship, which is issued by the citizenship authority upon application as part of a special determination procedure.

Requirements

A certificate of citizenship can only be issued if German citizenship has been established. To this end, the Citizenship Authority verifies

• whether and how you acquired German citizenship,
• whether and by what means you may have lost German citizenship.

In addition to your personal information, you must therefore also provide information about the individuals from whom you derive your citizenship. Please consult the authority for guidance on this matter.

To establish that you hold German citizenship, it is both necessary and sufficient to demonstrate, with a reasonable degree of probability, through documents, extracts from the population registers, or other written evidence, that you have acquired German citizenship and have not subsequently lost it.

The following documents may be helpful:

• Documents regarding ancestry and civil status: birth certificates, marriage certificates;
• Documents regarding the acquisition of German citizenship: naturalization certificates, certificates of conferral, certificates of admission, certificates or documents regarding the acquisition of German citizenship by declaration or option; Certificates of appointment for civil servants, notices of determination regarding the acquisition of citizenship through service in the former German Wehrmacht and other organizations;
• Documents regarding membership in the group of persons covered by a collective naturalization: displaced persons’ identification cards, certificates for ethnic German repatriates, ethnic group registry cards, certificates of ethnic affiliation, or other documents regarding German ethnic affiliation; proof of (former) right of domicile, citizenship, or residence in the relevant territories, and certificates confirming the waiver of the right to renounce citizenship;
• Documents regarding the acquisition of the legal status of a German without German citizenship: displaced persons’ identity cards, certificates for late repatriates, (old) refugee identity cards, registration certificates, confirmations of registration, or certificates of registration;
• Documents regarding possession of German citizenship or the legal status as a German: proof of citizenship, certificates of origin, documents/identification cards regarding the legal status as a German, passports, identity cards, and other identification documents (including old ones), Extracts from (former) family registers, lists of citizens, or citizen registries; documents regarding military service or employment as a civil servant; registration confirmations; certificates of residence; and documents authorizing the retention of German citizenship.

Please bring whatever you have; the Citizenship Office will assist you in reviewing the documents.

• Fee: 25.00 EUR
• Fee: 51.00 EUR