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Germany: Whether a person born in Dresden on 11 May 1972 have a claim to citizenship if his or her parents are not German (1997-May 2002)

Prior to 1 January 2000, when the new law on nationality came into force (Germany Bundesregierung 16 May 2000), the acquisition of German citizenship was based on the principle of ethnic descent or "jus sanguinis" (Bulletin européen sur la nationalité Sept. 2000, 79). According to this principle, a child acquired German citizenship by birth if one of his/her parents had German citizenship (ibid.). Should the natural father be a German citizen, the child could only acquire German citizenship once paternity has been determined pursuant to German law (ibid.).

In a January 2002 article, the Auswärtiges Amt (German Foreign Office) describes the key points of the new law on nationality as follows:

– Children born in Germany of foreign parents will, provided certain prerequisites are fulfilled, acquire German nationality from birth. They must however decide between the ages of 18 and 23 years, whether they want to retain their German nationality or the nationality of their parents.

– Children under the age of ten at the time of entry into force of the reform have a similar claim to naturalization.

– Provided that certain other prerequisites are fulfilled, foreigners in general will have the right to become naturalized after only 8 years of habitual residence in the Federal Republic of Germany, instead of 15 as was the case before.

– For naturalization it is necessary to prove adequate knowledge of German. A clean record and a commitment to the tenets of the Basic Law (Constitution) are further criteria. The person to be naturalized must also be in a position to maintain himself/ herself.

– The principle of the avoidance of multiple nationality still marks the law on nationality. Those applying for naturalization must in principle give up their foreign nationality. However in contrast to previous legislation, there are generous exceptional rules which allow the previous nationality to be retained. This applies for example to elderly persons and victims of political persecution. If release from the foreign nationality is legally impossible or unacceptable for such persons, for example due to high release fees or degrading methods of release, they can retain their previous nationality. This is also the case if the release from the foreign nationality would bring considerable disadvantages, especially economic disadvantages or problems with property and assets.

An English version of the new Nationality Law and excerpts from the Aliens Act regarding the processes of naturalization are available at <http://www.bundesregierung.de/english/01/0103/05957/index.html>. For information on the process for obtaining German citizenship prior to January 2000, please consult DEU33636.E of 16 February 2000 and DEU20641.E of 5 May 1995 among several earlier Responses to Information Requests.

According to a German version of the Nationality Law, an amendment was adopted on 3 December 2001 (Germany n.d.). No information on this amendment could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Bulletin européen sur la nationalité [Strasbourg]. September 2000. "Allemagne."

Germany. n.d. Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz. <http://jurcom5.juris.de/bundesrecht/rustag/zitierhinweise.html> [Accessed 28 May 2002]

Germany. Auswärtiges Amt (German Federal Foreign Office). January 2002. "Reform on the Law on Nationality." <http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/www/en/willkommen/staatsangehoerigkeitsrecht/index_html>

[Accessed 27 May 2002]

Germany. Bundesregierung (German Federal Government). 16 May 2000. "Reform of Germany's Citizenship and Nationality Law." <http://www.bundesregierung.de/dokumente/Artikel/ix_14204.htm?script=0> [Accessed 27 May 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

Foreign Law. Current Sources of Codes and Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World [Littleton, Co.]

IRB Databases

Internet sites including:

Bundestag (Federal parliament)

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ottawa

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, DC

Legislationline.org

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

World News Connection (WNC)