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Germany citizenship: required documents

The documents you'll gather for Germany citizenship by descent, by route and by ancestor. Your exact list is generated from your lineage in the wizard.

Feststellung (§4 StAG Regular Descent)

Determination of German citizenship (Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis) via the Bundesverwaltungsamt (BVA) in Cologne, for descendants who inherited German citizenship automatically under §§3–4 StAG.

You

  • •Your Birth Certificate (Long-Form)
  • •Current US Passport Copy
  • •BVA Application Form (Antrag auf Feststellung — Form F)
  • •Your Marriage Certificate (if applicable) — if_married
  • •Divorce Decree (if applicable) — if_divorced

Each ancestor in the chain

  • •Birth Certificate
  • •Death Certificate (if applicable) — if_deceased
  • •Name Connection / Spelling Variation Proof (if applicable) — if_has_name_changes
  • •Adoption Decree (if applicable) — if_adopted
  • •Amended Birth Certificate (if applicable) — if_adopted
  • •Marriage Certificate
  • •Divorce Decree (if applicable) — if_divorced

Your qualifying ancestor

  • •German Birth Certificate (Geburtsurkunde)
  • •German Marriage Certificate (Eheurkunde)
  • •German Identity Document (Pre-Emigration) (if applicable)
  • •Full Naturalization Packet (USCIS C-File / NARA)
  • •USCIS Certificate of Non-Existence (CONE)
  • •NARA Passenger Arrival Records (if applicable) — if_immigrated
  • •NARA Letter of Negative Search

§5 StAG Declaration (Gender-Discrimination Fix)

Simplified declaration procedure under §5 StAG that fixes historical gender-discriminatory and illegitimacy gaps in the descent chain. No fee, no language test, no residency requirement. STATUTORY DEADLINE: 19 August 2031.

You

  • •Your Birth Certificate (Long-Form)
  • •Current US Passport Copy
  • •§5 StAG Declaration Form (EER + Anlage_EER + AV)
  • •Criminal Background Check (FBI Identity History Summary)
  • •Your Marriage Certificate (if applicable) — if_married
  • •Divorce Decree (if applicable) — if_divorced

Each ancestor in the chain

  • •Birth Certificate
  • •Death Certificate (if applicable) — if_deceased
  • •Name Connection / Spelling Variation Proof (if applicable) — if_has_name_changes
  • •Adoption Decree (if applicable) — if_adopted
  • •Amended Birth Certificate (if applicable) — if_adopted
  • •Marriage Certificate
  • •Divorce Decree (if applicable) — if_divorced

Your qualifying ancestor

  • •German Birth Certificate (Geburtsurkunde)
  • •German Marriage Certificate (Eheurkunde)
  • •German Identity Document (Pre-Emigration) (if applicable)
  • •Full Naturalization Packet (USCIS C-File / NARA)
  • •USCIS Certificate of Non-Existence (CONE)
  • •NARA Passenger Arrival Records (if applicable) — if_immigrated
  • •NARA Letter of Negative Search

Article 116(2) GG / §15 StAG Restitution

Restoration of German citizenship for descendants of Nazi-era persecuted Germans. Free, no deadline. Article 116(2) GG covers formal deprivations; §15 StAG covers persecution-linked losses (forced emigration, marriage-loss, legitimisation denial).

You

  • •Your Birth Certificate (Long-Form)
  • •Current US Passport Copy
  • •Article 116(2) / §15 Application Form (E15/A or E15_K/A_K + AV)
  • •Criminal Background Check (FBI Identity History Summary) (if applicable)
  • •Your Marriage Certificate (if applicable) — if_married
  • •Divorce Decree (if applicable) — if_divorced

Each ancestor in the chain

  • •Birth Certificate
  • •Death Certificate (if applicable) — if_deceased
  • •Name Connection / Spelling Variation Proof (if applicable) — if_has_name_changes
  • •Adoption Decree (if applicable) — if_adopted
  • •Amended Birth Certificate (if applicable) — if_adopted
  • •Marriage Certificate
  • •Divorce Decree (if applicable) — if_divorced

Your qualifying ancestor

  • •German Birth Certificate (Geburtsurkunde)
  • •German Marriage Certificate (Eheurkunde)
  • •German Identity Document (Pre-Emigration) (if applicable)
  • •Nazi Persecution Evidence (if applicable)
  • •NARA Passenger Arrival Records (if applicable) — if_immigrated

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Not affiliated with BVA Cologne or any government. A document-organization tool, not legal advice — always verify with the relevant authority.