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Pathway

Germany Residence Title for Former Germans

Germany Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

If you personally used to be a German citizen, Section 38 may let you apply for residence in Germany. Your residence history at the time you lost citizenship determines the route. Some applications have a strict six-month deadline after you learn of the loss.

Who can apply
People who personally used to be German citizens
Living in Germany at the loss
Normally one year of prior residence, or five years as a German for permanent residence; apply within six months of learning of the loss
Former Germans abroad
A temporary permit may be granted case by case if you have sufficient German

Summary

Someone who personally held German citizenship, or in certain cases was treated as German by the authorities, may have a special basis for residence. The application must document that history and meet the residence or German-language requirements that apply to the case.

This is a residence route for the person who formerly held German citizenship. Someone seeking citizenship again needs the separate former-citizen process, and a descendant must establish a different qualifying family or restoration basis rather than use a relative’s former status as their own.

Check your residence when you lost German citizenship
  1. Document your former citizenship Show when you lost German citizenship and when you first learned of the loss.
  2. Check which permit fits For people who lived in Germany, one-year and five-year histories lead to different permits. People living abroad need a separate assessment, including German-language skills.
  3. Apply within the relevant deadline Deadline depends on the branch For Section 38(1) cases based on residence in Germany, apply within six months of learning that you lost citizenship.

The six-month deadline does not apply to every former German living abroad. This route gives residence permission; regaining citizenship is a separate process.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

For the residence-in-Germany route, you need to show:

For a former German living abroad, the statute allows officials to grant a temporary permit case by case if the person has sufficient German. The six-month rule in Section 38(1) does not govern this separate overseas provision, but the ordinary entry and residence requirements can still matter.

In special cases, Section 38 allows authorities to depart from some general residence requirements. It also extends these rules to a person who, through no fault of their own, had previously been treated as German by German authorities even though the person was not legally German.

More about this route

The first two cases have a strict application rule: the application must normally be filed within six months after the person learns that German citizenship was lost.

What This Route Allows

The route can provide:

For a person using the six-month residence-in-Germany route, economic activity is expressly permitted during that application window and, after a timely application, until the foreigners authority decides the case.

What This Route Is Not

Someone seeking citizenship again should separately examine naturalization for former Germans under Section 13 of the Nationality Act. Descendants should compare citizenship by descent, Article 116(2), Section 15 StAG, and Section 5 StAG.

Next Steps

  1. Obtain proof of the former German citizenship and the date and legal basis of its loss.
  2. Document when you first learned of the loss.
  3. If relying on residence in Germany, obtain registration, housing, school, employment, tax, or other records showing that Germany was your usual home when citizenship was lost and, for the five-year settlement route, showing that the residence was as a German.
  4. Treat the six-month application deadline as urgent and contact the responsible foreigners authority promptly.
  5. If living abroad, collect evidence of German-language ability and ask the responsible German mission about the Section 38(2) process.
  6. If the real goal is citizenship rather than residence, compare the citizenship routes before choosing a process.

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Other routes in Germany.

Sources