How it works

Who can do it?

The 2016 global passport rankings have shown that the German Passport is the most desirable passport in the world. It gives access to live and work within the entire European Union as, well as visa free access to 158 countries worldwide. With this kind of access, it pays to consider whether you or a loved one is eligible to gain German citizenship and take advantage of one of the world biggest economies. 

Unlike many other countries Germany has a way to fast-track residency, language and other burdensome citizenship requirements. Hitler’s dictatorship caused hundreds of thousands if not millions of Jews, political opponents and others to lose their German citizenship. The descendants of these people, who Hitler cast-away, are eligible to recover their German citizenship.

Gaining German citizenship through this method requires proving that a forefather was a German citizen and lost that right because of Nazi persecution from 1933-45. There has never been a better time to learn about family history, find past connections and gain a valuable asset for your troubles. 

Thousands have already taken advantage of this possibility, and are rediscovering the land of their grandparents and relatives. The legal basis for the opportunity is the German Constitution, which allows anyone whose family lost citizenship based on Nazi-era legislation to regain German Citizenship under Article 116(2).  In order to gain German citizenship it is necessary to prove two things. First, you must prove that you or a relative had German citizenship. Second, you must prove that that citizenship was taken away as a result of Nazi-era legislation.

The reasons for loss of citizenship, which entitle you to reclaim citizenship, are political, racial or religious grounds. Most of the time this loss is based on one of two laws. Hitler’s 1933 “Law on the Revocation of Naturalizations and Deprivation of the German Citizenship.” This law allowed the authorities to deprive citizenship on a case by case basis. A second law, effecting for more people, was the “Eleventh Decree to the Law on Citizenship of the Reich.” This law, which was enacted in 1941, deprived Jews who had emigrated from Germany of their Citizenship. 

In the postwar years these laws where declared to be illegal and any person affected by them was given the opportunity to reapply for German citizenship. However, now, since so much time has passed, making a claim often requires research in both German and American archives and can involve a somewhat complex legal process. Therefore, if you think you may qualify and are interested in receiving German citizenship contact us to help with the process.

Legal Information

Under certain circumstances the German Constitution (Grundgesetz) allows former German citizens who were deprived of their citizenship on political, racial, or religious grounds between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945, and their descendants, to reclaim German citizenship.

We assist clients with the application process and work together closely on these matters with the German Missions in the US.