Certificate of nationality: are you already German?
Some people have been German for years without knowing it for sure. The determination procedure settles it bindingly, for €51.
Earliest application
January 2027
3 months to go, counted from October 2026.
| Deadline (s. 10 StAG: 5 years’ residence) | January 2027 |
| Length of residence | from January 2027 |
| Residence title | met |
| Livelihood | met |
| German B1 | met |
| Citizenship test | still to prove |
| Criminal record | met |
| Fee per person | €255 |
The authority also checks your declaration of commitment to the Basic Law and that your identity and nationality are clear. Naturalisation after three years no longer exists. An estimate from the law, not legal advice.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · BAMF question catalogue of 7 May 2025 · laws checked on 22 October 2026
The certificate of nationality (Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis) is the only document that bindingly proves German nationality; a passport or ID card only creates a presumption. It is issued under section 30 StAG through a determination procedure: on application, and where there is a legitimate interest, the nationality authority checks whether someone is German, and its finding then binds every authority. It is mostly needed by descendants of German parents or grandparents born abroad, by children whose acquisition by birth in Germany is unclear, and when there are doubts after long stays abroad. You must show with documents and register extracts that German nationality was acquired with sufficient probability and not lost later. The fee under section 38 StAG is €51. If you were never German, a determination will not help; you need naturalisation, with 5 years of residence, B1 German and the test.
Determination or naturalisation?
The two procedures are often confused because the same office handles both. Naturalisation grants nationality anew. A determination under section 30 StAG establishes whether it already exists and then binds all authorities. The authority can also make a determination of its own motion where there is a public interest.
| Determination | Naturalisation | |
|---|---|---|
| Question | Am I already German? | Can I become German? |
| Result | Certificate of nationality | Naturalisation certificate |
| Fee | €51 | €255 |
| Residence, language, test | not required | 5 years, B1, test |
| Legal basis | Section 30 StAG | Sections 8 to 10 StAG |
How to prove descent
The law requires documents, register extracts or other written evidence showing with sufficient probability that nationality was acquired and is still held. In practice that means an unbroken chain of birth and marriage certificates back to someone whose nationality is established, for example by an old passport, a naturalisation record or a population register entry. The further back the chain goes, the more it turns on the law of the time, such as whether a child could acquire nationality through the mother, or whether an ancestor lost it by naturalising elsewhere.
For children born in Germany it is usually simpler. If a parent met the conditions of section 4(3) StAG at the birth, the child is German, and the certificate can confirm it if the registry office did not record the acquisition. See citizenship for children.
Preparing the documents
The authority needs certificates as originals or certified copies, and foreign documents with a translation. Start with what the family already holds: old passports, certificates of nationality, naturalisation certificates, military papers, registration cards. Missing entries can often be requested from registry offices, city archives or the Federal Archives. A family tree with the birth and marriage dates of each generation makes the review much easier.
If the answer is no
If the check finds you are not German, naturalisation remains. The calculator shows whether you meet its conditions:
Earliest application
Earliest application
January 2027
| Deadline (s. 10 StAG: 5 years’ residence) | January 2027 |
| Length of residence | from January 2027 |
| Residence title | met |
| Livelihood | met |
The €51 fee under section 38 StAG is for the check, not for a positive result. If you also need a certificate that you do not hold German nationality, for example for another country, you can get one on request.