Re-naturalization

The later alternative to dual citizenship / Dual Citizenship Canada – Germany

Finally a Canadian citizen! – But no German passport anymore! What to do? It happens to many people. Only with the acceptance of Canadian citizenship, the German passport is sorely missed. Because in general: With the acceptance of the Canadian citizenship you lose your German citizenship. There are many good reasons for this. Nevertheless, the loss of German citizenship is also accompanied by disadvantages.

For example:

• If you or your children want or even need to stay in Europe/Germany for a longer period of time (vacation trips, family visits, business trips).
• If you want to study, train or do an internship in Germany or in another European country.
• If you have a job offer in one of these countries.
• If you would like to open a business or establish a company or branch office in Germany or in another EU country.
• and much more.

One Solution is the Re-naturalization

With German citizenship, in addition to Canadian citizenship, you can do all this without much bureaucratic hurdles. In addition, there is the possibility of re-naturalization. It does not apply to everyone, but to many former German citizens. So let us check if there is a possibility for you!

With us you will receive a complete package for the necessary procedure: Our staff will check the requirements for you, review documents, prepare your papers, discuss all possible contingencies, file the application for you and accompany you through the entire procedure. Due to our decades of experience with the relevant authorities and a corresponding number of successful applications, you can be sure that this topic is in the right hands with us.

If you have lost your German citizenship by accepting Canadian citizenship, one of two options for possible re-naturalization may apply to you. This depends on when you accepted Canadian citizenship:

You became a Canadian citizen before the year 2000:
In principle, re-naturalization requires permanent residence in Germany. However, if you are a resident of Canada, the decision is at the discretion of the German authorities. This means that an examination is made as to whether it would be advantageous for Germany to naturalize you by way of exception despite a residence abroad, i.e. whether there is a “public interest”. However, if you are a resident of Canada, the decision is at the discretion of the German authorities. There is no entitlement to re-naturalization in these cases. In addition to proving “public interest,” you must provide detailed evidence of suitable financial resources, sufficient knowledge of German, and ties to Germany.

You accepted Canadian citizenship after the year 2000:
For native-born Germans who lost their German citizenship after 01.01.2000, a facilitated re-naturalization may be possible without proof of public interest. This applies to all those persons who did not apply for a so-called retention permit before becoming Canadian.

Prerequisites:

In order to benefit from facilitated re-naturalization, the same conditions must be met, among others, as would have been the case if the retention permit had been applied for. This also means that these conditions must have been met at the time of acceptance of Canadian citizenship.
Accordingly, in this process, there is the possibility of multiple citizenship, which means that if re-naturalization is successful, Canadian citizenship can be retained.

Sounds simple, but …

No rule without exception. Of course, there are also various exceptions for the two cases mentioned. Not only for this reason it is recommended to consult a law firm with German lawyers. We check prerequisites for you, sift through documents, prepare papers and discuss possible contingencies with you. In this way, you optimize your chances of receiving a positive decision on your application for re-naturalization and thus for a German passport.