Article 116(2): restoring German citizenship taken by the Nazi state

What Article 116(2) provides

Article 116(2) covers former German citizens whose citizenship was taken from them between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945 on political, racial or religious grounds. Those people and their descendants are to be naturalized again on application. It is a legal entitlement, not a discretionary grant.

A person entitled under Article 116(2) who took up residence in Germany after May 8, 1945, and did not express a contrary intention, is treated as never having lost citizenship. In that situation no naturalization is needed, and the Federal Office of Administration can confirm the existing citizenship instead.

How citizenship was taken

The Federal Office of Administration's information sheet describes two main forms of deprivation:

• Individual revocation under the law of July 14, 1933, with each decision published in the Reich Gazette (Reichsanzeiger).
• Collective loss under the 11th Ordinance to the Reich Citizenship Law of November 25, 1941, which stripped German citizenship from Jews who lived abroad on that date or moved abroad later.

Which of these, if either, applies to a given ancestor is a question of dates and records. A German Jewish emigrant who became a US citizen before November 25, 1941 generally lost German citizenship through that naturalization rather than through the ordinance. Cases like that are considered under Section 15 StAG, the route created in 2021 for persecution cases that Article 116(2) does not reach.

Who counts as a descendant

Following a 2020 decision of the Federal Constitutional Court (2 BvR 2628/18), the Federal Office of Administration's information sheet defines descendants as all offspring of a person deprived of citizenship in that period. It sets no generational cutoff. Acquiring another citizenship after the deprivation does not bar the claim, for the person deprived or for their descendants.

How Article 116(2) differs from Section 15 and Section 5

Germany has three routes for families whose German citizenship was lost or never passed down. Article 116(2) is the oldest and applies only where citizenship was formally taken. Section 15 StAG covers persecution cases where citizenship was lost or never acquired in other ways. Section 5 StAG has nothing to do with persecution: it remedies older rules on mothers, marriage and legitimacy.

All three routes are free of government fees. Average processing times are those published by German missions abroad in March 2026; individual cases vary widely.

Documents generally involved

• A certified copy of the applicant's current passport, which is always required
• The applicant's birth certificate and the parents' marriage certificate
• Birth and marriage certificates, and family registers where they exist, linking each generation back to the ancestor who was deprived of citizenship
• Former German identity documents or registration records showing the ancestor's German citizenship
• Certificates of a later citizenship acquired by the ancestor, such as US naturalization or Palestine Mandate citizenship
• Where the deprivation rests on persecution as Jews, other documents indicating Jewish faith
• Adoption, divorce, paternity or name-change records where relevant

Copies must be certified by a notary, by the registrar who holds the original entry, or by a German authority such as a consulate; the Federal Office generally does not accept certifications by other bodies. Foreign public documents generally need an apostille, and foreign-language documents need a translation by a sworn translator. A birth certificate alone does not prove German citizenship.

Where to apply, cost and timing

Applicants living outside Germany apply to the Federal Office of Administration (Bundesverwaltungsamt) in Cologne, either directly or through the German embassy or consulate responsible for them. The forms are Application A for applicants aged 16 and over, Application AK for children under 16 (signed by everyone with custody), and Annex VA for each generation of ancestors beyond the grandparents.

The forms are filled in in German, and further correspondence with the Federal Office is in German as well. An informal application is possible, but the Federal Office recommends its forms because they reduce follow-up requests for information.

The procedure is free of charge. Costs for records, apostilles and translations are not reimbursed. German missions abroad list an average processing time of about 1.5 years for this route (March 2026). There is no deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to give up my US citizenship?

No. Restoration under Article 116(2) does not require giving up another citizenship, and since June 27, 2024 German law generally permits multiple citizenship.

Is there a deadline for Article 116(2)?

No. Article 116(2) has no deadline. The only German route discussed here with a deadline is the Section 5 declaration, which must reach the Federal Office of Administration by August 19, 2031.

My ancestor fled Nazi Germany but was never formally stripped of citizenship. Does Article 116(2) apply?

Article 116(2) is tied to a formal deprivation of citizenship. Where an ancestor was persecuted but lost citizenship another way, for example by naturalizing in the United States before November 25, 1941, or never held it because of persecution, Section 15 StAG is the route designed for that situation.

My ancestor left Germany before 1933. Can Article 116(2) still apply?

It can, if the ancestor still held German citizenship when the Nazi state took it, for example under the November 1941 ordinance. Leaving before 1933 does not by itself rule it out; what matters is whether German citizenship was still held at the time of the deprivation.

Which route applies to my family?

Many families have more than one possible route, and the choice affects the documents, the timing and, for Section 5, the 2031 deadline. Working out which route fits a particular family is what the Pathway Assessment produces.