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Retention Permit to keep German citizenship when naturalizing in the US / “Dual citizenship”
Important note:
The Act on the Modernization of the Citizenship Law (StARModG) was adopted by the Bundestag on 19 January 2024. According to this, in future, i.e. after the law comes into force on June 26, 2024, a retention permit will no longer be required to avoid the automatic loss of German citizenship when accepting US or other citizenship upon application.
Please note: This only applies AFTER the regulation comes into force on June 26, 2024.
German citizens who wish to naturalize in the US require a so called Retention Permit to keep German citizenship (“Beibehaltungsgenehmigung”) in order not to lose their German citizenship through naturalization abroad (Sect. 17, 25 German citizenship law).
Since German language skills are one major requirement for this Retention Permit, please note that detailed information on the procedure, requirements, costs etc. are only available in German. Please click here to be forwarded to the German website.