We assist our clients with a range of complex legal matters concerning German citizenship.

OBTAINING GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

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.

KEEPING GERMAN CITIZENSHIP / “BEIBEHALTUNGSGENEHMIGUNG”

Under the German Citizenship Code (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz), German citizens who willingly apply for a foreign citizenship and obtain it automatically lose their German citizenship.

German citizens can avoid loss of citizenship by obtaining a special permit (“Beibehaltungsgenehmigung”). This permit must be obtained before the applicant is being naturalized in the foreign country.

We assist clients with the application process for this special permit.

see also Restoration of German Citizenship for Holocaust Victims and Descendants by David J. Rowland and Julius Niesert, NYLJ, September 23, 2016