Getting German Dual Citizenship Through Descent! Why I Did It!

Going through this process is not for the faint of heart, but it is SO worth it! So let me explain why I chose to go through this process and apply for my German dual citizenship through descent!

I chose to apply for German citizenship through ancestry because I have always wanted to move abroad, and found it very difficult to find a country that I could stay long term while doing my freelance work. I'm sure it would have been possible, but I kept hitting road blocks. Receiving an EU passport opens up so many possibilities and I'm so excited!

I also chose to do this for my family, for spiritual reasons, and to connect with my dad before he passed away.

Now I'm in the waiting process to see if it gets accepted - fingers crossed!!

Here are some helpful links for anyone wanting to go through this process:

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UPDATE: I’m now supporting a few of you who want to explore citizenship by descent (without hiring an agency or a lawyer). I know how hard and confusing this process can feel—I went through it alone, and I don’t want you to feel trapped by the roadblocks you're finding yourself up against.

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Follow my socials:

[TheLordMatt]

Hi! I'm from Chile, my great grand parents moved from germany to Argentina, and later moved to Chile with my Grandfather, he claimed his german citizenship in 1998, and now I have finished gathering all my documents this last 6 months and I already have all I need... It is super interesting to learn so many things about your family and ancestry and its so engaging with our own history...

[wrxpilot]

Great video. Very similar situation as you. My German grandmother married my US grandfather in Germany. They moved to the US and had two sons (my Dad and my Uncle). She then naturalized after they were born. Tragically, my grandfather passed away shortly after. My grandmother was so distraught that she threw all of their documents away and never wanted to talk about it.

She later remarried to a wonderful man that I always knew as my grandfather. My dad passed away about 15 years ago, and my grandmother passed away a few years after that.

So when I found out I was eligible for StAG 5 several months ago, I had absolutely nothing. No passports, birth certs etc. In fact, my family didn’t even know if my grandmother was married in Germany or the US!

It’s been a crazy journey, and along the way I’ve discovered so much about my family. Finally last week I obtained the last of the required documents (my great grandparents birth certificates) and submitted my application (and also for my brother and niece) to the German consulate.

It took me about 3.5 months of work to obtain everything. It would’ve been even longer, but fortunately the state of Colorado had my grandmother’s naturalization certificate in their archives. We’re all so excited!

[emilypaulsen]

I relate to your story and this whole process so much. I started the process in 2022 and now my application has been submitted and I'm just waiting for it to hopefully be approved! Great job sticking with it through all the paperwork struggles and wishing you the best on your journey!

[sandraanne]

Wow, my dad was from Munich and he died from Als ten years ago. I got tears when I heard you say that. My mom was born in Germany as well. I was born in the U.S. and have never felt at home here. My kids want to move to Germany. They are in their early twenties so here we go. Thanks geez how long is it taking? Sounds like over a year from filing?

[douglasorr]

I’m starting the process now. I echo your sentiments about the research connecting you to your family. It’s been extremely rewarding to dig into our history.

[dlees]

Good for you for doing this. I recently submitted for myself and my children. My father was born in Germany, he fled Germany with my Jewish Grandfather in July of 1939 after he was told he could no longer practice as a Dr due to laws forbidding Jews from doing business with non-jews. My father and grandfather eventually became naturalized US Citizens. It was not until my father was close to death in 2001 he decided to leave his children an autobiography of his life describing what he went through that many of us learned because he did not speak of it much. I learned that the laws changed in 2021 that opened up for us to gain German citizenship. It took us about 8 months to gather all the documents and I am told it can now take 2-3 years to go through.

[starryk]

German here: A really heart warming story how this brought your father and you really close together. Do you speak German at least a little or are you planning to learn it? I know you want to use the EU passport to choose a country that makes it easy for freelancers and Germany might not be that country as it is famous for its bureaucracy so you might need a different language in the country you choose but i would think that there is some incentive to learn the language of your ancestors and that could be something to work on while you wait for the passport.

[wilbathke]

Congrats.
I was for the last 20+ years looking for documents from my great grandfather and just found it a few weeks ago. Starting today the process of forms and other things. It´s been said here in Brazil it takes around 2 to 3 years to get a citzenship certificate. Hope I´ll be able to get it too.

[JamesRomanek]

I, too, want to find out if I am eligible and start the application process. I think I already have the documents.
I look forward to your next video!

[PossiblyaPossum]

I'm currently doing the same process and noticed the exact same thing. I got my documents from Germany much faster than my American ones. Thanks for posting your experience ❤

[tcush]

Just a heads up, StAG 5 cases are taking 12-24 months to process once they are received, so you likely wont have a passport for another 12-24 months or so.

[martinhunter]

Congrats on your German citizenship. I applied for my German citizenship back in July 2022 but unfortunately I have not been awarded it yet. I complained to my sister in Germany about 5 weeks ago and her husband is familiar with a little known law that anyone can sue any part of the German government for lack of action. That means if you have any application submitted to any branch of the German government, they have 12 months to take action. My brother in law wrote up a letter for me stating by a certain date if no action is taken, I will sue. I emailed the letter on a Tuesday afternoon and they received the email on Wednesday morning. On Friday morning, I received an email from the German Embassy requesting a cleaner copy of my birth certificate and a document translated to English. On 8 Aug I hand delivered my documents to the German Embassy. So my question for you, hiw long did it take when you submitted your application and a word back you were awarded Herman citizenship?

[zane]

how long did it take to find out you got accepted? i submitted my application and documents and im curious how long it took to get an answer.

[lindaolmos]

How far back can one go? I have German blood on both sides. One side moved to America in 1750; the in 1600s.

[thorstenheine]

The US citizenship test requires knowledge of U.S. history and government, while germany tests your ability to put up with bureaucracy. Neat system really.

[ThomasRSmith-ogzo]

The Problem I have is that my Mother that was German has passed and I don't have her Birth Certificate proving that she was German. She also was born in Koenigsberg, Ost Preussen which no longer exists and I doubt that there are any records to be had. I do have my Birth Certificate showing that I was born in Stuttgart Germany but I since my father was an American GI I automatically received the American Citizenship. I was born and raised in Germany and attended German Schools until we moved to the US. I would like to return to Germany where most of my living relatives live and perhaps retire there and a German Dual Citizenship would make life for me there a lot easier.

[cosycoffeee]

I’m doing the same process. My grandma is from Germany. The hardest documents to get have been the ones from New York. I swear it’s the most incompetent state. I ordered my parent’s marriage certificate at the end of November and I won’t have it until July….. insane. Already sent in my citizenship application and will send the marriage certificate in reference to my original application once I have it. It’s a long process and dealing with New York makes it even harder! Can’t wait to be done lol. The subreddit GermanCitizenship is a great place for people to get started!

[huha]

I was going to do the same thing, collected as much as I could, had certain papers translated, etc, met with the Counsulate, needed a couple of things, then came the invasion of refugees, stopping my application. I had intended to restart the process, then it was Covid's turn. I then decided to apply for Austrian citizenship, though it would have taken 10 months for a first Interview, which I got a date for.
A short time later, I moved to another part of the country, reapplied there, got an appointment within two weeks, afterwards completed the language requirements, as well as country history, politics, and cultural aspects, which finally resulted in being granted citizenship, after being in a three month stateless situation waiting on the US for completion of relinquishing my citizenship there. Nonetheless, I'm happy I've made the change. It would have been great to have dual German citizenship, as my great grandfather was from Germany and had known him personally for 15 years. Good luck to those trying. LG aus Kärnten.

[francoduarte]

Please post the video about the process!!

[lindax]

So, my husband's of Italian decent and he's working on his citizenship there. My mother was German, and I just found this new program. I've looked into it in the past, the closest there was was a window in ... like ... 1975. Glad this is available now. We've been through the collecting documents thing with my husband. But, Italian citizenship literally takes most of a decade, it seems. I just need to find the damn Declaration! Glad you're almost done, and that it was very quick.