Citizenship

Persons permanently residing outside Germany may contact their local German mission (embassy, consulate general or other consular office) for initial information; their applications for naturalization are handled by the Federal Office of Administration in Cologne.

Please note: If you were born in Germany before January 1, 1990 to parents who were not Germans at the time of your birth you did not become a German citizen by birth

General information on obtaining German citizenship

General information on losing German citizenship
Information on obtaining/re-obtaining German Citizenship for former German Citizens and their descendants who were persecuted on political, racial and religious grounds between January 30,1933 and May 8,1945

Renunciation of German Citizenship

Citizenship Frequently Asked Questions

Information on German citizenship from the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Germany

Please Note: Although the information on this website has been prepared with utmost care, we can not accept any responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein.

Citizenship

Soccer fans forming a German flag (c) picture alliance/dpa

Interactive Consulate Finder

German Missions in the United States

Find out which of the nine German consulates throughout the US can assist you by using our interactive Consulate Finder map. To be able to use the map you need Adobe Flash Player. If you do not have it installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge from the producer or take a look at our flash-free consulate district list instead.