German Citizenship and Naturalisation — Legal Advice in Hamburg

What changed on 27 June 2024

The StARModG introduced substantial changes to German nationality law. Three points are practically decisive. The minimum residence period for the entitlement route was reduced from eight to five years. Multiple nationality became generally permissible — those who wish to be naturalised no longer need to relinquish their existing nationality as a matter of German law. And the three-year accelerated route for special integration achievements, introduced with the reform, was abolished again with effect from 30 October 2025.

Those currently considering naturalisation should take the current legal position as their starting point.

The entitlement route — § 10 StAG

Under § 10 StAG, an applicant who has been lawfully and habitually resident in Germany for five years is entitled to naturalisation where the further statutory requirements are met. The principal requirements include clarified identity and nationality, five years of lawful habitual residence, a qualifying residence status, the statutory declarations and commitments, sufficient German-language skills, knowledge of Germany’s legal and social system and way of life, compliance with the criminal-law requirements, and the ability to secure subsistence subject to the statutory exceptions.

At the time of naturalisation, the applicant must hold a permanent right of residence, an EU Blue Card or another residence status qualifying under § 10(1) no. 2 StAG. A number of inherently temporary or humanitarian residence titles are excluded from the entitlement route. The current residence status and the calculation of the five-year residence period are separate questions: earlier periods of study, vocational training, protection or other lawful residence may contribute to lawful habitual residence depending on the circumstances, even where the title held at the time of naturalisation must satisfy the separate requirement in § 10(1) no. 2 StAG.

The subsistence requirement principally concerns whether the applicant and dependent family members rely on disqualifying benefits under Book II or Book XII of the Social Code. Other public benefits are not automatically treated in the same way. The current law contains specific exceptions, including for certain former guest workers and contract workers, applicants who have worked full-time for at least 20 of the previous 24 months, and certain spouses or registered partners living with a minor child. The exception must be matched precisely to the applicant’s situation.

Section 12a StAG provides that certain minor sanctions are generally disregarded, including juvenile educational or disciplinary measures, fines of up to 90 daily rates and suspended prison sentences of up to three months that are remitted after the probation period. Multiple convictions and sentences exceeding these thresholds require separate assessment. Convictions involving antisemitic, racist or other inhuman motives may prevent application of the ordinary minor-conviction exceptions where the relevant motive was established by the criminal court.

Naturalisation requires both a commitment to the free democratic basic order and a declaration acknowledging Germany’s special historical responsibility for National Socialist injustice and its consequences, particularly the protection of Jewish life, peaceful coexistence among peoples and the prohibition of aggressive war. These declarations are independent statutory requirements.

Identity, residence title and documentation

Naturalisation requires that identity and nationality are clarified. In practice, this is frequently one of the most difficult points — for example where passports are missing, names are spelled differently, dates of birth are unclear, documents are not recognised or records from states with limited registration practice are involved. Incomplete or contradictory documentation creates the risk of protracted queries or refusal.

Particular care is required regarding incomplete or incorrect information on identity, prior convictions, family status, periods abroad or former names. Errors in this area can lead not only to refusal but, in serious cases, to the later withdrawal of an unlawfully obtained naturalisation. Under § 35 StAG, a naturalisation obtained through deceit, threats, bribery or intentionally incorrect or incomplete material information may be withdrawn within the statutory period.

Multiple nationality — the current position

The obligation to relinquish the existing nationality was for decades the central obstacle to naturalisation. Since 27 June 2024, German law no longer generally requires the applicant to relinquish an existing nationality. Whether the existing nationality is retained nevertheless depends on the nationality law of the other state.

In practice this means that German nationality is added; whether the existing nationality also continues is a matter of the other state’s law. For some applicants, loss of the previous nationality could previously have affected inheritance, property, residence or pension rights under the law of the country of origin. That specific obstacle no longer arises from the German side, but the position under the other state’s law must be reviewed separately.

What is frequently overlooked: the permissibility of multiple nationality under German law does not mean that the country of origin accepts dual nationality. Those who wish to be certain should have this reviewed before naturalisation.

Abolition of the three-year route

The possibility of naturalisation after three years for special integration achievements was introduced by the StARModG but subsequently abolished by the Sixth Act Amending the Nationality Act, with effect from 30 October 2025.

The former three-year route ceased to apply on 30 October 2025. Pending applications require review under the applicable current and transitional law; the mere fact that an application was filed before that date should not be presented as preserving an entitlement under the former provision. The three-year route should no longer be treated as a reliable pathway.

Further naturalisation routes

Beyond § 10 StAG, the following routes are particularly relevant. Under § 9 StAG, spouses and registered civil partners of German nationals should generally be naturalised where the conditions of § 10 are met, they have been lawfully and habitually resident in Germany for three years and the marriage or registered partnership has existed for two years. This is a privileged route subject to the remaining requirements, not an automatic entitlement independent of the other § 10 conditions.

§ 8 StAG provides the general discretionary naturalisation route for persons lawfully and habitually resident in Germany who meet its statutory requirements. In cases of public interest or particular hardship, § 8(2) may permit limited departures from specified requirements. The provision does not create an entitlement equivalent to § 10.

Under § 10(2) StAG, spouses, registered civil partners and minor children may in appropriate cases be naturalised together with the principal applicant even if they have not themselves completed the full five-year residence period. The remaining statutory and administrative requirements must still be assessed. Which route applies in any given case depends on the residence situation, family status, personal circumstances and prior integration.

The naturalisation test and language requirement

Knowledge of the legal and social system is generally demonstrated through the naturalisation test — 33 questions, of which at least 17 must be answered correctly. A German school-leaving qualification may replace the test requirement. Other German educational or academic qualifications may be accepted where they reliably demonstrate the required civic knowledge; this should be confirmed for the individual qualification.

German at level B1 is the standard language requirement. Different evidentiary standards or statutory relief may apply under § 10(4)–(6), including in cases involving illness, disability, age-related limitations, particular hardship and specified members of the former guest-worker or contract-worker generations. These provisions do not create automatic exemptions; each case must be assessed individually.

The procedure in Hamburg

In Hamburg, naturalisation applications are filed digitally. The city currently publishes an average processing time of more than fourteen months; this is an orientation figure only and does not predict the duration of an individual case. The standard naturalisation fee is generally €255 per adult; for minor children being naturalised together with their parents, it is generally €51.

Material changes relevant to the naturalisation requirements — including changes in address, employment, income, family status or residence status — should be communicated to the authority during the proceedings.

Under § 75 VwGO, an action for failure to act may generally be brought once three months have elapsed without a substantive decision, provided the authority has no sufficient reason for the delay. The expiry of three months does not automatically establish an entitlement to naturalisation or guarantee an immediate judgment. The court may suspend the proceedings where the authority has a sufficient reason for the delay and is expected to decide within a specified period. Whether this step is appropriate depends on the status of the proceedings, the completeness and merits of the application and the authority’s reasons for delay.

Pending proceedings, refusal and remedies

We advise not only before filing but also in pending naturalisation proceedings — where the authority requests additional documentation, where the matter has not been processed for a long time, or where a refusal is threatened or has already been issued.

Following a refusal, the applicable legal remedy and deadline must be determined from the decision and its instructions on legal remedies. In Hamburg, an objection may be available before judicial proceedings. A fresh application is a separate procedural option rather than a remedy against the original decision. Whether an objection, judicial review or fresh application is strategically appropriate depends on the individual case.

How we advise

We advise before filing, during pending proceedings and after refusal decisions. We first assess whether the conditions for the § 10 entitlement route are met or whether another route is available. We then review the residence title, residence periods, identity, subsistence, language and test evidence, prior convictions, multiple nationality and potential risks.

On that basis, we prepare the application, the documentation and the communication with the authority, with a view to presenting the relevant facts and evidence clearly and reducing avoidable queries. We advise in German and English. Advice in Russian may be available by prior arrangement.

Advice is provided by Alexander Kagan, admitted as a German Rechtsanwalt and a member of the Hanseatic Bar Association Hamburg (Hanseatische Rechtsanwaltskammer Hamburg). More about Alexander Kagan →

The content of this page is general information only and does not constitute legal advice.