Citizenship
Citizenship
Re-Acquisition of German Citizenship by former German Citizens
Summary and Comment
by Frederick S. Wyle and Daniel Eichmann
This comment is based upon a more detailed paper on this subject (in German) by Daniel Eichmann, a German lawyer visiting in the United States. It does not deal with the re-acquisition or re-recognition of German citizenship that was lost by reason of NAZI laws between 1933 and 1945, laws which were declared void and illegal by the German Constitution of 1949. That subject is dealt with in a separate paper by Frederick S. Wyle, Sabine Siehr and Daniel Eichmann.
The most likely situation to which the instant comment applies is that of German citizens who married Americans (or other non-German nationals), acquired American (or other) citizenship, lost German citizenship on that account, and now wish to re-acquire German citizenship.
The New German Citizenship Act of Dec. 31, 1999
[Note : German law on citizenship consists of the l949 Constitution, statutes on citizenship (“STAG”), and "administrative instructions" (“ADMIN”), as referred to below.]
German laws on nationality, along with most laws around the world, disfavor dual citizenship. Global mobility, however, has begun to undermine this position in many countries, including both the US and Germany. The previous severe restrictions on dual citizenship in German law were modified on Dec. 31, 1999, when the former "Reichs Citizenship Act" [Reichs- und Staatsangehoerigkeitsgesetz] of 1913 was replaced by the more simply titled "Citizenship Act" [ Staatsangehoerigkeitsgesetz, or STAG].
The principal changes were the following:
*Children born in Germany to legal foreign resident parents, one of whom has such for at least 8 years, generally now obtain German citizenship at birth (#4 Abs, 3 STAG ). This is a major change in German law based on
Re-Acquisition of German Citizenship by former German Citizens
Summary and Comment
by Frederick S. Wyle and Daniel Eichmann
This comment is based upon a more detailed paper on this subject (in German) by Daniel Eichmann, a German lawyer visiting in the United States. It does not deal with the re-acquisition or re-recognition of German citizenship that was lost by reason of NAZI laws between 1933 and 1945, laws which were declared void and illegal by the German Constitution of 1949. That subject is dealt with in a separate paper by Frederick S. Wyle, Sabine Siehr and Daniel Eichmann.
The most likely situation to which the instant comment applies is that of German citizens who married Americans (or other non-German nationals), acquired American (or other) citizenship, lost German citizenship on that account, and now wish to re-acquire German citizenship.
The New German Citizenship Act of Dec. 31, 1999
[Note : German law on citizenship consists of the l949 Constitution, statutes on citizenship (“STAG”), and "administrative instructions" (“ADMIN”), as referred to below.]
German laws on nationality, along with most laws around the world, disfavor dual citizenship. Global mobility, however, has begun to undermine this position in many countries, including both the US and Germany. The previous severe restrictions on dual citizenship in German law were modified on Dec. 31, 1999, when the former "Reichs Citizenship Act" [Reichs- und Staatsangehoerigkeitsgesetz] of 1913 was replaced by the more simply titled "Citizenship Act" [ Staatsangehoerigkeitsgesetz, or STAG].
The principal changes were the following:
*Children born in Germany to legal foreign resident parents, one of whom has such for at least 8 years, generally now obtain German citizenship at birth (#4 Abs, 3 STAG ). This is a major change in German law based on