Reparation Naturalization: Recovering German Citizenship

When the Basic Law – German constitution – came into force in 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany enshrined in Article 116(2) GG a right to naturalization for persons who had been stripped of German citizenship between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 for political, racial, or religious reasons. Deprivation of citizenship is recognized in two particular scenarios:

• Individual denaturalization or revocation of a naturalization under the Law of 14 July 1933,
• Automatic loss under Section 2 of the Eleventh Decree to the Reich Citizenship Law of 25 November 1941 — a measure that affected primarily Jewish citizens residing outside the German Reich.

The entitlement extends not only to those directly affected but also to their descendants. Renaturalization under this provision operates retroactively: in legal terms, the person concerned is treated as if they had never lost German citizenship.

Article 116(2) GG requires that citizenship was formally stripped. Many Nazi persecution victims lost their citizenship in other ways — for example, by acquiring a foreign nationality after fleeing Germany, or by losing German citizenship through marriage to a foreign national under the law then in force. To address these cases, the Fourth Act Amending the Nationality Act of 20 August 2021 introduced Section 15 StAG as a supplementary catch-all provision.

Section 15 StAG covers persons and their descendants who, in connection with Nazi persecution measures, and for political, racial, or religious reasons:

• gave up or lost German citizenship before 26 February 1955,
• were excluded from a collective naturalization,
• were excluded from a naturalization to which they would have been entitled, or
• were never able to acquire German citizenship as a result of persecution.

There is no time limit for applications under Section 15 StAG. Descendants may apply independently of one another and without a simultaneous application from the parental generation. Prior to the 2021 reform, facilitated naturalization for descendants was also conditional on at least one parent having been born before 1 January 2000. That restriction was abolished by the Fourth Act Amending the Nationality Act, meaning the entitlement now applies without limitation to younger generations as well.

Those entitled to apply under Article 116(2) GG or Section 15 StAG include:

Directly persecuted individuals — if still living — whose citizenship was stripped between 1933 and 1945, or who were unable to acquire German citizenship due to persecution-related circumstances.

Descendants — children, grandchildren, and further direct-line descendants of the persecuted person. Since an amendment to Section 5 StAG in 2021, this category also includes children of German fathers born out of wedlock. Children adopted before 1 January 1977 are also included: although they could not acquire German citizenship through adoption at the time, they were affected by the consequences of persecution in the same way as biological children, and are therefore treated equally for reparation purposes. Spouses and relatives outside the direct line of descent are not covered.

Persons living anywhere in the world — there is no requirement to reside in Germany. Knowledge of German and a naturalization test are equally not required.

An exclusion applies where German citizenship was acquired (or reacquired) after 8 May 1945 and subsequently lost again — for example, through voluntary renunciation or acquisition of another nationality. Section 15, sentence 3, StAG provides an exception to this rule; however, where the later loss was itself the result of discriminatory provisions — for example, loss of citizenship through marriage to a foreign national under the former Section 17 No. 6 of the Reich and State Citizenship Act (Reichs- und Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, RuStAG).

Applicants residing abroad submit their application to the Federal Administrative Office (Bundesverwaltungsamt, BVA) in Cologne. Applicants residing in Germany apply to the relevant state-level nationality authority.

Establishing the entitlement generally requires:

• Birth, marriage, and death certificates for the ancestor and for each applicant in the line of descent,
• Documents establishing the ancestor’s prior German citizenship (e.g. passports, registration certificates, naturalization documents),
• Evidence of the deprivation or loss of citizenship (e.g., denaturalization lists, correspondence with authorities),
• Where available: documents from reparations proceedings, compensation files, or archival records.

Missing documents do not necessarily defeat an application: the BVA will accept evidence that makes a claim plausible where original documents are no longer available.

Processing times at the BVA are substantial. Waiting periods of two years or more are not unusual for applications under Article 116(2) GG; the same applies to applications under Section 15 StAG. The high volume of applications – around 30 per day under Article 116(2) GG alone – has been received by the BVA since 2021, accounting for much of this delay.

Naturalization by reparation is not a routine procedure. Frequently encountered challenges include:

• Incomplete records — wartime losses, displacement, and flight have, in many cases, led to the destruction of civil status documents. Reconstructing family histories requires targeted research in German and international archives.
• Name changes and transliterations — name changes, variant spellings, and the transliteration of non-Latin alphabets can make it difficult to establish with certainty that a document relates to a particular person.
• Identifying the applicable legal basis — not every case falls clearly under Article 116(2) GG or Section 15 StAG. Correct legal classification requires close analysis of the facts. Errors at this stage can lead to a refusal.
• Complex family circumstances — multiple marriages, non-marital descent, adoption, or changes of nationality in the parental generation can significantly complicate the assessment of eligibility.
• Refusals — applications may be refused where the BVA considers the conditions not to have been met. In such cases, it is possible to file an objection or to pursue the matter through the administrative courts.

For descendants of Nazi persecution victims living outside Germany, reparation naturalization carries significance well beyond the legal. It is a formal recognition that citizenship was wrongfully taken, and a restoration of what should never have been lost. The practical benefits are also substantial.

• Dual citizenship in most cases: One of the most significant aspects of reparation naturalization is that applicants are generally not required to renounce their existing nationality. Germany explicitly permits multiple nationality in this context — meaning US, Israeli, British, and Canadian citizens, among others, can hold German citizenship alongside their current passport without renouncing it.
• Freedom of movement across the EU: German citizenship entitles you to live, work, and study in all 27 EU member states without a visa or residence permit. For applicants from outside the EU, this opens access to the entire European continent on a permanent basis.
• A German and EU passport: The German passport ranks among the most powerful travel documents in the world, granting visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to many countries. For those who currently hold passports with more limited travel access, this is a meaningful practical advantage.
• Permanent residence rights: German citizens have the unconditional right to reside in Germany and across the EU. There are no time limits, no renewal requirements, and no conditions attached.
• Symbolic rehabilitation: Beyond the practical, naturalization under these provisions carries an official acknowledgment by the German state. It restores — in legal terms — the status that would have existed had persecution never occurred.

Reparation naturalization is not a bureaucratic formality. It is a process that requires legal precision, historical understanding, and practical experience with the Federal Administrative Office. Errors in legal classification, incomplete applications, or gaps in the documentary record can lead to lengthy delays or outright refusals — even where an entitlement exists in principle.

At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, our German citizenship lawyers have extensive experience in this field and guide clients from Germany and abroad through every phase of the process: from the initial assessment of eligibility, through the gathering of the required documents and the submission of the application, to representation in objection proceedings or before the administrative courts where necessary.

Further information on related matters can be found in our articles on Nazi persecution: facilitated naturalization and the 2024 German citizenship reforms.