German citizenship by declaration under § 5 StAG: who qualifies, how to file, and the 2031 deadline

Section 5 of Germany’s Nationality Act (StAG) lets people who missed out on German citizenship because of old gender-discriminatory rules, and their descendants, become German by a simple written declaration. It covers, for example, children born before 1975 to a married German mother and a non-German father. You must be born after 23 May 1949, the declaration is free, there is no German test, and you can keep your other citizenship. The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) in Cologne must receive it by 19 August 2031.

Who can declare under § 5 StAG?

The law itself is written generally: it covers children of a German parent who did not get citizenship at birth, children of a mother who lost it by marrying a foreigner, children who lost it through legitimation, and the descendants of all three. The BVA’s information sheet turns this into a checklist. You qualify if you were born after 23 May 1949 (when the Basic Law took effect) and one of these fits.

1. German mother, married parents, born before 1975

• You were born after 23 May 1949 and before 1 January 1975.
• Your mother was a German citizen on the day you were born.
• Your father was not a German citizen on that day.
• Your parents married before your birth.

This is the case most people mean by “German citizenship through my mother.” Until 1975, a child born in wedlock took German citizenship only from a German father.

2. German father, unmarried parents, born before July 1993

• You were born after 23 May 1949 and before 1 July 1993.
• Your father was German on the day you were born, and your mother was not.
• Your parents were not married to each other before 1 July 1998.
• Your father’s paternity was recognized, or proceedings to establish it began, before your 23rd birthday.

3. Mother lost citizenship by marrying a foreigner before April 1953

• You were born after 23 May 1949.
• Your mother lost her German citizenship by marrying a non-German before 1 April 1953.
• You were born after that loss, and your father was not German when you were born.

The BVA notes that such a marriage did not always cause the loss, which is one reason it checks each case.

4. Lost citizenship through legitimation before April 1953

• You were born after 23 May 1949 and before 1 April 1953, to a German mother.
• Your non-German father married your mother after your birth but before 1 April 1953, and under the law of the time that cost you the citizenship you had from birth.

5. Descendants of any of the above

If your parent or grandparent fits one of the four cases, you can declare too, as long as you were also born after 23 May 1949. The excluded ancestor does not have to declare first. One of the BVA’s own example cases is a claimant whose grandmother lost citizenship by marriage in 1950 and whose mother, born in 1952, has since died. Each person in the family who wants citizenship makes their own declaration.

Who is excluded?

• Anyone born on or before 23 May 1949. There is no § 5 right. The Federal Foreign Office points these people, and their descendants, to a discretionary application under § 14 StAG instead, and says you need fairly good German for it to succeed.
• A later German citizenship that was lost again. If you, or the ancestor you claim through, later became German another way (for example by naturalization) and then lost it again (by renunciation, release or taking another citizenship), § 5 is closed. That also applies to children born or adopted after that loss (§ 5(2) no. 1).
• The generation cut-off in § 4(4). If a German parent born abroad after 31 December 1999 failed to register their foreign-born child’s birth within a year, that child cannot use § 5 either (§ 5(2) no. 2).
• Serious convictions. A sentence of two years or more for intentional offences (in Germany or abroad), preventive detention, or a ground for exclusion under § 11 StAG can block the declaration.

Not sure which German route fits your family? The German citizenship by descent guide walks through all of them, including ordinary descent under § 4 and the pre-1914 ten-year rule.

Is there a deadline for § 5 StAG?

Yes. Section 5(3) allows the declaration only within ten years of the law taking effect on 20 August 2021, and the BVA states the declaration must be submitted by 19 August 2031 at the latest. What counts is the date the BVA receives it. If you hand it to a German embassy or consulate, the mission forwards it, but it still has to reach Cologne in time. Do not leave it to the last months.

The persecution routes discussed below have no deadline. Section 5 is the one German route that closes.

Cost, language and dual citizenship

• Fee: none. The BVA says the procedure is free. You pay your own costs for records, certification, apostilles and translation.
• German language: no test, and no residence in Germany is required. See language requirements by country for how this compares.
• Dual citizenship: you do not have to give up your current citizenship. Whether your other country lets you keep it is a question for that country. More in dual citizenship by descent.

Which forms do you need?

The BVA publishes the § 5 forms as fillable PDFs on its Erklärungserwerb page:

• Vordruck EER, “Erklärung zum Erwerb der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit (§ 5 StAG)”: the declaration itself, one per person, for adults and for children under 16.
• Anlage EER: the appendix with your citizenships, places you have lived, parents and (for descendants) grandparents. You need it unless you already have another citizenship case open at the BVA.
• Anlage AV: only if you need to give details of further, earlier German ancestors, one per generation.
• Vollmacht: a power of attorney, only if someone else acts for you.

The forms must be filled in in German. The BVA also posts English versions of each form as a translation aid, plus an English information sheet. People aged 16 or over sign their own declaration; for younger children, all legal representatives sign.

What documents does the BVA ask for?

From the BVA’s information sheet:

• A copy of your current passport or ID (photo and personal data pages).
• Your birth certificate and, if married, your marriage certificate.
• The birth certificate of the parent or grandparent your right comes from, and your parents’ (and if needed your grandparents’) marriage certificate.
• Proof that this parent or grandparent was German: for example an old German passport or ID card, a naturalization certificate, a citizenship certificate or registration certificates.
• If they apply: adoption, divorce or name-change documents, and documents on recognition of paternity.
• An original police clearance certificate from your country of residence, no more than six months old and covering the whole country. US residents need an FBI check, not a state or county one.

Send originals or certified copies (notary, the issuing registrar, or a German authority such as a consulate), both sides. The BVA recommends certified copies, since originals are returned only on request after the case ends. Foreign public documents generally need an apostille or legalisation; see our apostille guide. The BVA’s sheet says foreign-language documents need a sworn translation, while the German missions in the US say English-language documents generally do not need translating. Ask your mission what it expects for your papers, and see certified translation for non-English records. If the line runs back several generations, it pays to lay it out first with our guide to building a citizenship document chain.

How to file a § 5 StAG declaration

1. Check the checklist above against real dates on birth and marriage certificates.
2. Download and complete Vordruck EER and, usually, Anlage EER, in German.
3. Gather certified copies, apostilles and your original police certificate.
4. Submit to the BVA directly or through the German embassy or consulate for your area. From abroad, the BVA’s postal address is Bundesverwaltungsamt, Barbarastr. 1, 50735 Köln, Germany. The BVA advises against email or fax, because it needs originals or certified copies. It also offers an online declaration through the federal portal (verwaltung.bund.de), and an online service for sending documents later.
5. Wait for the acknowledgment with your BVA file number (Aktenzeichen), and quote it in every letter. Tell the BVA if you move.
6. Receive the certificate, which the BVA normally sends to your German mission to pass on or hand over.

If you live in Germany, the BVA is not the right office: go to your local citizenship authority (city or district administration).

How long does § 5 StAG processing take?

The BVA gives no number. It says processing times differ widely because every family history is different, that it often has to request further documents, that it makes inquiries with other German authorities whose speed it does not control, and that the law requires the domestic intelligence service (Verfassungsschutz) to be involved. Declarations are handled in the order received, and mission handling and post add time. Treat any specific waiting time you read online as anecdotal.

The waiting time matters less than it might seem: you become German on the day the BVA receives your declaration, and the certificate later confirms that date. So filing early both protects you against the deadline and fixes your date of acquisition.

§ 5 vs § 15 vs Article 116: which German route is it?

• § 5 StAG (this page): for people excluded by the old gender rules, born after 23 May 1949, and their descendants. A declaration, free, deadline 19 August 2031.
• Article 116(2) of the Basic Law: for people deprived of German citizenship between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 on political, racial or religious grounds, and their descendants. No deadline. See our Article 116 guide.
• § 15 StAG: for persecution-related cases that Article 116(2) does not reach, such as people who gave up or lost citizenship before 26 February 1955 in connection with Nazi persecution, or who were shut out of acquiring it by marriage, legitimation or a naturalization they applied for or could otherwise have had, plus their descendants. An entitlement on application, with no deadline.
• § 14 StAG: discretionary naturalization from abroad, the fallback for gender-rule cases born on or before 23 May 1949. Needs ties to Germany and good German.

The routes are separate. A family can have both a persecution history and a gender-rule gap; in that case look at each route on its own conditions, and remember that only § 5 has a closing date.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• § 5 Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz (StAG) (eligibility, exclusions, ten-year window)
• § 15 StAG (persecution-related naturalization)
• Bundesverwaltungsamt: Erklärungserwerb (eligibility, how to file, fees, processing, online services, historical declaration rights)
• Bundesverwaltungsamt: § 5 StAG forms (Vordruck EER, Anlage EER, Anlage AV, with English versions)
• BVA information sheet: Acquisition of German citizenship by declaration (English, PDF) (checklist, deadline, documents, certification, fees)
• Federal Foreign Office (German missions in the US): § 5 declaration and § 14 application

Checked against these sources on 24 October 2026. Rules, forms and procedures change; confirm with the BVA or your German mission before you file.