Applying for a citizenship card for persons in Germany

You can apply for the binding determination of your German citizenship if you have a legitimate interest in doing so.

You can file an application to establish the existence of your German nationality if there is a well-founded interest in establishing this.

An interest in a determination exists, for example, if

• German authorities or courts require you to have persisting doubts about your German nationality clarified by the nationality authority after their own examination of evidence already available (for example, German identity papers or birth certificates), or
• you have to prove your German citizenship to German or foreign authorities or courts by means of a special document despite presenting a valid German proof of identity (e.g. passport or identity card).

If, upon your application, the citizenship authority determines that you have German citizenship, you will receive a special document (citizenship certificate).

not specified

The competent citizenship authority in the applicant's place of habitual residence is responsible for processing the application. In Lower Saxony, these are the rural districts, independent cities and large independent cities.

Personal appearance required: Yes

• You have German citizenship or at least suspect this (for example because you have German ancestors).
• You usually stay in Germany.
• You must credibly demonstrate a justified interest in the determination. Such an interest is credible if you state certain facts which make it appear predominantly probable for the citizenship authority that the determination of the existence of German citizenship is relevant for a purpose worthy of protection (for example, because a German public authority has doubts about your German citizenship and expressly requires the presentation of a citizenship certificate).

• You must apply for the determination of the existence of German citizenship and the issuance of a citizenship certificate at the responsible citizenship authority.
• If necessary, a personal consultation at the citizenship authority may be required.
• For your application, use the application form provided for this purpose by the citizenship authority for download or sent to you on request.
• Submit the completed application form with all documents (see "Required documents") in clearly legible copies (on white paper, DIN A4) to the citizenship authority.
• After receipt of the application documents, the citizenship authority will contact you. You do not need to do anything else before that.
• In the course of the procedure, the citizenship authority will ask you to submit the original documents to them for verification; you will then receive the documents back immediately.

The duration of the application processing depends, among other things, on the factual correctness of your information and the completeness of your application documents. In addition, it depends on which, if any, difficult facts have to be determined in order to be able to make the requested determination. Depending on the circumstances, it may take a few weeks or even more than a year to reach a final decision on your application.

The fee for the declaratory decision is 51 EUR

Remark:

For reasons of equity or public interest, fee reduction or fee exemption may be granted if necessary.

There are no additional costs for the issuance of the citizenship certificate.

Special shipping options (e.g., registered mail or cash on delivery) will incur additional expenses to cover costs.

A citizenship certificate will only be sent if the assessment fee and any expenses have been paid in advance or if cash on delivery is requested.

• Citizenship certificates are only issued if this is necessary to prove German citizenship to German or foreign public authorities or is at least specifically useful in individual cases (for example, for a civil service appointment or adoption). If the existence of German citizenship is not in doubt, applications for determination are generally not granted.
• The citizenship certificate is not proof of identity. It cannot be used for travel or as a substitute for an identity card.
• As a rule, you do not need a citizenship certificate to prove that you have German citizenship. In principle, it is sufficient to present a valid German passport or a valid German identity card. You should therefore only apply for a citizenship certificate if you have been requested to do so in text form by an official body.

not specified