Question 1

Does the §5 declaration cost anything or require language/integration tests?

Accepted Answer

The procedure itself is free of charge — the BVA states 'Das Verfahren ist gebührenfrei.' You bear only your own costs for documents, translations and certifications. It is a declaration of an existing right, not a discretionary naturalization.

Question 2

Do I have to give up my current citizenship?

Accepted Answer

No. §5 and §15 both work without renouncing your existing nationality, and since June 27, 2024 German law broadly accepts multiple nationality. Check whether YOUR home country's law attaches consequences to acquiring German citizenship.

Question 3

My grandmother was the German one — do I qualify, or only my parent?

Accepted Answer

Descendants of the affected children hold the declaration right too (§5 covers 'Abkömmlinge'). The lineage and the historical loss event must be documented generation by generation.

Question 4

My family fled the Nazis — is my path §5 or something else?

Accepted Answer

Persecution cases have their own bases: Art. 116(2) Basic Law if citizenship was formally stripped between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945, and §15 StAG if it was lost another way (e.g. acquiring another nationality after fleeing, before February 26, 1955) or never acquired due to exclusion. Both include descendants, are free, and have no deadline.

Question 5

Germany tightened its citizenship law in October 2025 — does that affect these claims?

Accepted Answer

The October 2025 amendment (in BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 256) targeted other naturalization provisions. The in-force consolidated texts of §5 and §15, checked June 10, 2026, are unchanged — the declaration right and the restoration entitlement stand as enacted.

Can I declare German citizenship under §5?

Why did your family lose — or never receive — German citizenship?

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