The Next Passport
StARModG · June 2024 ReformGermany's 2024 Dual Citizenship Reform
Since June 27, 2024, Germany permits dual citizenship. For US-based descent applicants: you can keep your US passport.
This page is informational, not legal advice. The 2024 reform is significant but does NOT retroactively undo historical §25 losses. Consult a licensed German citizenship attorney for guidance on whether the reform affects your specific family history.
Last verified: September 8, 2026 · Maintained by The Next Passport (Warner Creates LLC).
What the StARModG did
The Gesetz zur Modernisierung des Staatsangehörigkeitsrechts (StARModG, “Act to Modernize Citizenship Law”) was signed on March 22, 2024 and published in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl. I Nr. 104) on March 26, 2024. Under its own Article 6(1) it took effect three months after publication — vorbehaltlich der Absätze 2 und 3, subject to two later commencements that touch neither §25 nor any descent route — so the law entered into force on June 27, 2024 — the date that governs, and the one to check your family history against. The central change for German nationals living abroad: §25 StAG was repealed outright (StARModG Art. 1 Nr. 16). Look it up today and it reads “§ 25 (weggefallen)”.
A German citizen can naturalize in another country and keep German citizenship by default. The reform separately shortened the residence requirement for foreigners naturalizing into Germany, from eight years to five — §10(1) StAG now opens “Ein Ausländer, der seit fünf Jahren rechtmäßig seinen gewöhnlichen Aufenthalt im Inland hat”. (It also created a three-year fast track for exceptional cases; that one was repealed on October 30, 2025. Neither affects descent claims.)
What changed for descent applicants
You can keep your US passport
Once your §4 StAG Feststellung, §5 declaration, or Art. 116(2) restitution is approved, you hold dual citizenship with no requirement to renounce your US citizenship. This is the single biggest change for Americans considering a descent claim.
Future US naturalization does not cost German citizenship
If you or your children are already German citizens (by descent or by birth in Germany), any subsequent naturalization you or they pursue elsewhere costs nothing: with §25 repealed, acquiring another citizenship is no longer a ground of loss under §17 StAG at all.
No more Beibehaltungsgenehmigung process
The retention-permit process is gone with the section it served. What survives as an automatic-loss ground is §28 StAG — voluntary service, without the consent of the Federal Ministry of Defence or a body designated by it, in the armed forces or a comparable armed organisation of a state whose nationality you already hold (or taking concrete part in a terrorist organisation's combat operations abroad). Read §28(1) Nr. 1, as in force today, in full before you worry about it: it bites only where all three of its limbs are met together — the entry is "auf Grund freiwilliger Verpflichtung" (voluntary enlistment, so conscription is not it), it happened without the consent of the Federal Ministry of Defence or a body designated by it, and the forces are those of a foreign state "dessen Staatsangehörigkeit er besitzt" — a state whose citizenship the person already holds. Nr. 2, concrete participation in the combat operations of a terrorist organisation abroad, is a separate ground with none of those conditions.
§28(2), in force since 9 August 2019, reads: «(2) Der Verlust nach Absatz 1 tritt nicht ein, 1. wenn der Deutsche noch minderjährig ist oder, 2. im Falle des Absatzes 1 Nummer 1, wenn der Deutsche auf Grund eines zwischenstaatlichen Vertrages zum Eintritt in die Streitkräfte oder in den bewaffneten Verband berechtigt ist.» In the Federal Ministry of the Interior's English translation: “(2) The loss referred to in subsection (1) does not take effect 1. if the German is still a minor or 2. in the case of subsection (1) no. 1 if the German is entitled, on the basis of a bilateral treaty, to join the armed forces or armed organisation.” Nor does §28, as in force today, apply where the person “würde sonst staatenlos” — would otherwise be stateless. Consult a licensed attorney if this could touch you; the point of the detail is that it reaches far fewer people than the bare headline suggests.
The German Missions in the United States state: “In principle, voluntary entry into the armed forces of a foreign country of which the person entering the armed forces is a citizen has constituted grounds for the loss of German citizenship since January 1, 2000 without the prior consent of the Federal Ministry of Defence. As of July 6, 2011, the procedure was simplified for certain countries. Accordingly, prior consent is now deemed to have been granted for Germans who are also nationals of - Member States of the European Union ( EU ), - Member States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), - member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) or - countries on the list of countries pursuant to Section 41 (1) of the Residence Ordinance (§ 41 Abs. 1 AufenthV) and have joined the armed forces of one of these countries. The USA is also covered by this regulation. A separate application is therefore no longer necessary. Consent is deemed to have been granted. However, entry must not have taken place before July 6, 2011 in order to be able to invoke this blanket consent.”
Section 25, in the Act's own words
Every version of § 25 from its commencement to its repeal, in the order the changes took effect. The German is the text; the English beside it is our translation. Tags: [P] printed gazette or official PDF; [T] transcription or consolidation; [R] reconstructed from an amending instruction, not read as a print.
Commencement
In force: 1 January 1914. Reichs- und Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz of 22 July 1913 (RGBl. 1913 S. 583), § 41.
§ 41 [T]
«Dieses Gesetz tritt am 1. Januar 1914, gleichzeitig mit einem Gesetz zur Abänderung des Reichsmilitärgesetzes … in Kraft.»
Our translation: “This Act enters into force on 1 January 1914, at the same time as an Act amending the Reich Military Act …”
§ 25 as enacted
In force: 1 January 1914 – 31 March 1953 for the text (the official wording did not change in this period; the changes in how it operated are listed next). RuStAG of 22 July 1913, RGBl. 1913 S. 583.
§ 25, paragraphs 1–3 [T, two transcriptions agree]
«§ 25. Ein Deutscher, der im Inland weder seinen Wohnsitz noch seinen dauernden Aufenthalt hat, verliert seine Staatsangehörigkeit mit dem Erwerb einer ausländischen Staatsangehörigkeit, wenn dieser Erwerb auf seinen Antrag oder auf den Antrag des Ehemanns oder des gesetzlichen Vertreters erfolgt, die Ehefrau und der Vertretene jedoch nur, wenn die Voraussetzungen vorliegen, unter denen nach den §§ 18, 19 die Entlassung beantragt werden könnte.»
Our translation: “§ 25. A German who has neither his residence [Wohnsitz] nor his permanent stay [dauernden Aufenthalt] in Germany [im Inland] loses his citizenship on acquiring a foreign citizenship, if the acquisition takes place on his application or on the application of the husband or of the legal representative; the wife and the represented person, however, only if the conditions are met under which release could be applied for under §§ 18, 19.”
«Die Staatsangehörigkeit verliert nicht, wer vor dem Erwerbe der ausländischen Staatsangehörigkeit auf seinen Antrag die schriftliche Genehmigung der zuständigen Behörde seines Heimatstaats zur Beibehaltung seiner Staatsangehörigkeit erhalten hat. Vor der Erteilung der Genehmigung ist der deutsche Konsul zu hören.»
Our translation: “Citizenship is not lost by a person who, before acquiring the foreign citizenship, obtained on his application the written permission of the competent authority of his home state to retain his citizenship. Before the permission is granted, the German consul is to be heard.”
«Unter Zustimmung des Bundesrats kann von dem Reichskanzler angeordnet werden, daß Personen, welche die Staatsangehörigkeit in einem bestimmten ausländischen Staate erwerben wollen, die im Abs. 2 vorgesehene Genehmigung nicht erteilt werden darf.»
Our translation: “With the consent of the Bundesrat, the Reich Chancellor may order that the permission provided for in paragraph 2 may not be granted to persons who wish to acquire citizenship in a particular foreign state.”
1919, 1934 and 1949: how § 25 operated (no change to its text)
In force: 1919 – 1934; from February 1934; from 24 May 1949. Übergangsgesetz of 4 March 1919 and Art. 179 of the Constitution of 11 August 1919; VO of 5 February 1934 and the Act abolishing the Reichsrat of 14 February 1934; Basic Law Art. 129 Abs. 1 — as verfassungen.de describes them.
1919 — verfassungen.de commentary, not statute text
«Durch das Übergangsgesetz vom 4. März 1919 … wurden die Zuständigkeiten des Reichskanzlers auf das Reichsministerium, die des Bundesrates auf den Staatenausschuß … übertragen. Durch den Art. 179 der Verfassung des Deutschen Reiches vom 11. August 1919 … wurde das Reichsministerium zur Reichsregierung und der Staatenausschuß zum Reichsrat.»
Our translation: “By the Transitional Act of 4 March 1919 … the powers of the Reich Chancellor were transferred to the Reich Ministry, and those of the Bundesrat to the Committee of States … By Article 179 of the Constitution of the German Reich of 11 August 1919 … the Reich Ministry became the Reich Government and the Committee of States became the Reichsrat.”
1934 — verfassungen.de commentary, not statute text
«Damit wurden im § 25 Abs. 2 die Worte "des Heimatstaats" faktisch gestrichen (die Zuständigkeit der Einbürgerungsbehörden der Länder … blieb bestehen)»
Our translation: “As a result, in § 25 paragraph 2 the words 'of the home state' were in effect struck out (the competence of the states' naturalization authorities … remained in place)”
«Damit wurden im § 25 Abs. 3 die Worte "Unter Zustimmung des Bundesrats kann von dem Reichskanzler" faktisch ersetzt durch: "Von dem Reichsminister des Innern kann".»
Our translation: “As a result, in § 25 paragraph 3 the words 'With the consent of the Bundesrat, the Reich Chancellor may' were in effect replaced by: 'The Reich Minister of the Interior may'.”
1949 — verfassungen.de commentary, not statute text
«Durch den Artikel 129 Abs. 1 des Grundgesetzes … wurde die, infolge des Gesetzes über die Aufhebung des Reichsrats erfolgte faktische Änderung wieder aufgehoben; die Zuständigkeit des Reichsministers des Innern ist auf den Bundesminister des Innern übergegangen und die Zustimmung des Bundesrates ist wieder erforderlich.»
Our translation: “By Article 129 paragraph 1 of the Basic Law … the change made in effect by the Act abolishing the Reichsrat was reversed; the competence of the Reich Minister of the Interior passed to the Federal Minister of the Interior, and the consent of the Bundesrat is again required.”
The 1942 decree, § 2 (no change to § 25's text)
In force: from 1942 (start date not found) until 31 December 1999. Verordnung zur Regelung von Staatsangehörigkeitsfragen, 20 January 1942 (RGBl. I S. 40); repealed with effect from 1 January 2000 by BGBl. 1999 I S. 1618, Art. 4 Nr. 2, «in der … bereinigten Fassung» of BGBl. III 102-4 — whose wording of § 2 has NOT been read, so this is the 1942 text only.
VO § 2, 1942 RGBl. wording [T]
«Der Reichsminister des Innern kann Länder bezeichnen, deren Staatsangehörigkeit auf eigenen Antrag oder auf Antrag des Ehemanns oder des gesetzlichen Vertreters erworben werden kann, ohne daß ein Verlust der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit damit verbunden ist.»
Our translation: “The Reich Minister of the Interior may designate countries whose citizenship can be acquired on one's own application or on the application of the husband or of the legal representative without this entailing a loss of German citizenship.”
1953: the wife clauses lapse
In force: 1 April 1953 – 5 July 1977. Basic Law Art. 117 Abs. 1 together with Art. 3 Abs. 2 (a lapse by constitutional deadline, not an amending act).
verfassungen.de commentary, not statute text
«sind im § 25 Abs. 1 mit Wirkung vom 1. April 1953 wegen des Widerspruchs zu Artikel 3 Abs. 2 des Grundgesetzes die Worte "des Ehemanns oder" und die Worte "die Ehefrau und" außer Kraft getreten.»
Our translation: “in § 25 paragraph 1, with effect from 1 April 1953, the words 'of the husband or' and the words 'the wife and' ceased to have effect because of their conflict with Article 3 paragraph 2 of the Basic Law.”
Paragraph 1 as it then operated [R] — reconstructed from the instruction above; paragraphs 2 and 3 as in the 1913 text
«Ein Deutscher, der im Inland weder seinen Wohnsitz noch seinen dauernden Aufenthalt hat, verliert seine Staatsangehörigkeit mit dem Erwerb einer ausländischen Staatsangehörigkeit, wenn dieser Erwerb auf seinen Antrag oder auf den Antrag des gesetzlichen Vertreters erfolgt, der Vertretene jedoch nur, wenn die Voraussetzungen vorliegen, unter denen nach den §§ 18, 19 die Entlassung beantragt werden könnte.»
Our translation: “A German who has neither his residence [Wohnsitz] nor his permanent stay [dauernden Aufenthalt] in Germany [im Inland] loses his citizenship on acquiring a foreign citizenship, if the acquisition takes place on his application or on the application of the legal representative; the represented person, however, only if the conditions are met under which release could be applied for under §§ 18, 19.”
1977: the cross-reference changed
In force: 6 July 1977 – 31 December 1999. Act of 29 June 1977, BGBl. 1977 I S. 1101, Art. 4 Nr. 5.
the amending instruction [P]; the rest of § 25 as in the 1953 entry
«5. In § 25 Abs. 1 werden die Wörter „nach den §§ 18, 19" durch die Wörter „nach § 19" ersetzt.»
Our translation: “5. In § 25 paragraph 1, the words 'under §§ 18, 19' are replaced by the words 'under § 19'.”
2000: the Inland clause («Inlandsklausel») deleted
In force: 1 January 2000 – 31 December 2004. Act to Reform Citizenship Law of 15 July 1999, BGBl. 1999 I S. 1618, Art. 1 Nr. 7; in force 1 January 2000 (Art. 5 Abs. 3).
the amending instruction [P]
«7. § 25 wird wie folgt geändert: a) In Absatz 1 werden die Wörter „, der im Inland weder seinen Wohnsitz noch seinen dauernden Aufenthalt hat," gestrichen. b) Dem Absatz 2 werden folgende Sätze angefügt: „Bei der Entscheidung über einen Antrag nach Satz 1 sind die öffentlichen und privaten Belange abzuwägen. Bei einem Antragsteller, der seinen gewöhnlichen Aufenthalt im Ausland hat, ist insbesondere zu berücksichtigen, ob er fortbestehende Bindungen an Deutschland glaubhaft machen kann."»
Our translation: “7. § 25 is amended as follows: a) In paragraph 1, the words ', who has neither his residence [Wohnsitz] nor his permanent stay [dauernden Aufenthalt] in Germany,' are deleted. b) The following sentences are added to paragraph 2: 'In deciding on an application under sentence 1, public and private interests are to be weighed. In the case of an applicant whose habitual residence [gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt] is abroad, particular account is to be taken of whether he can credibly show continuing ties to Germany.'”
2005 text
In force: 1 January 2005 – 27 August 2007. Zuwanderungsgesetz of 30 July 2004, BGBl. 2004 I S. 1950, Art. 5 Nr. 13; in force 1 January 2005.
§ 25 consolidated [T]
«(1) Ein Deutscher verliert seine Staatsangehörigkeit mit dem Erwerb einer ausländischen Staatsangehörigkeit, wenn dieser Erwerb auf seinen Antrag oder auf den Antrag des gesetzlichen Vertreters erfolgt, der Vertretene jedoch nur, wenn die Voraussetzungen vorliegen, unter denen nach § 19 die Entlassung beantragt werden könnte. (2) Die Staatsangehörigkeit verliert nicht, wer vor dem Erwerb der ausländischen Staatsangehörigkeit auf seinen Antrag die schriftliche Genehmigung der zuständigen Behörde zur Beibehaltung seiner Staatsangehörigkeit erhalten hat. Hat ein Antragsteller seinen gewöhnlichen Aufenthalt im Ausland, ist die deutsche Auslandsvertretung zu hören. Bei der Entscheidung über einen Antrag nach Satz 1 sind die öffentlichen und privaten Belange abzuwägen. Bei einem Antragsteller, der seinen gewöhnlichen Aufenthalt im Ausland hat, ist insbesondere zu berücksichtigen, ob er fortbestehende Bindungen an Deutschland glaubhaft machen kann.»
Our translation: “(1) A German loses his citizenship on acquiring a foreign citizenship, if the acquisition takes place on his application or on the application of the legal representative; the represented person, however, only if the conditions are met under which release could be applied for under § 19. (2) Citizenship is not lost by a person who, before acquiring the foreign citizenship, obtained on his application the written permission of the competent authority to retain his citizenship. If an applicant has his habitual residence [gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt] abroad, the German mission abroad is to be heard. In deciding on an application under sentence 1, public and private interests are to be weighed. In the case of an applicant whose habitual residence [gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt] is abroad, particular account is to be taken of whether he can credibly show continuing ties to Germany.”
2007: the EU / Swiss / treaty exception, paragraph 1 sentence 2
In force: 28 August 2007 – 26 June 2024. Act of 19 August 2007, BGBl. 2007 I S. 1970, Art. 5 Nr. 15; the rest of § 25 as in the 2005 text.
§ 25 Abs. 1 Satz 2 [P]
«Der Verlust nach Satz 1 tritt nicht ein, wenn ein Deutscher die Staatsangehörigkeit eines anderen Mitgliedstaates der Europäischen Union, der Schweiz oder eines Staates erwirbt, mit dem die Bundesrepublik Deutschland einen völkerrechtlichen Vertrag nach § 12 Abs. 3 abgeschlossen hat.»
Our translation: “The loss under sentence 1 does not occur if a German acquires the citizenship of another member state of the European Union, of Switzerland, or of a state with which the Federal Republic of Germany has concluded an international treaty under § 12 paragraph 3.”
2024: repeal
In force: from June 27, 2024. StARModG of 22 March 2024, BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 104, StARModG Art. 1 Nr. 16.
the repealing instruction [P]
«16. § 25 wird aufgehoben.»
Our translation: “16. § 25 is repealed.”
Not quoted here
- Whether the represented person («der Vertretene» — the Act does not say “minor”; § 19 covers persons under parental authority or guardianship) lost citizenship turns on § 19 (and § 18 for the wife). Neither is quoted here, and § 19 itself was amended in 1997.
- The 1942 decree: its start date and the countries designated under its § 2 were not found, and its § 2 in the 1949–1999 bereinigte Fassung (BGBl. III 102-4) has not been read.
- Texts marked [R] are reconstructed by applying a gazette’s amendment instruction to the earlier text; no consolidated print of them was read. Every pre-1949 text was read as a transcription [T], not as a gazette scan.
Notes on our translation
- “Inland” is rendered “in Germany” [im Inland]; “Wohnsitz” = residence; “dauernder Aufenthalt” = permanent stay; “gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt” = habitual residence; “gesetzlicher Vertreter” = legal representative; “Entlassung” = release (from citizenship); “Beibehaltung” = retention; “Auslandsvertretung” = mission abroad. “Legal representative” (the Federal Interior Ministry’s English translation of the StAG) and “residence” (the English translation of BGB § 7) are the German government’s own English; “permanent stay” is our literal rendering.
- The masculine “his” follows the German’s generic masculine; it is not a statement that the rule applied to men only (the 1913 text names the wife separately; those words ceased to have effect on 1 April 1953).
- “Inland” is kept beside the English as [im Inland]: RuStAG § 2 Satz 2 reads «Die Schutzgebiete gelten im Sinne dieses Gesetzes als Inland.», so until the protectorates were lost, “Inland” was wider than Germany.
- “Heimatstaat” (1913 text): the German person’s member state (RuStAG § 1: «in einem Bundesstaat»), not a US state. The word stayed in the official text until 1 January 2005, though verfassungen.de records it as «faktisch gestrichen» from 1934.
The free eligibility check asks the facts § 25's text turned on. Start the free eligibility check →
What the reform does NOT do
The 2024 reform is NOT retroactive.
The 2024 reform does not un-break chains that broke in the past.
The reform matters prospectively: it makes claiming German citizenship more attractive for descendants who do have an intact chain, because there is no longer a trade-off with their US citizenship. It does not expand who is eligible — that remains a matter of historical §4/§5/Art. 116(2) rules.
Common questions about the reform
If my grandfather lost German citizenship by naturalizing in 1955, does the 2024 reform restore it?
No. Your grandfather's loss occurred in 1955 under the rules in force at that time. The 2024 reform is not retroactive. However, another route may reach the same result — §5 StAG if a gender-based rule also applies, or one of the two persecution routes. Which persecution route matters: a naturalization abroad after fleeing is a loss under the ordinary rules, not a deprivation, so it is a §15 StAG case (§15 StAG, the restitution route for people persecuted on the same grounds but not formally deprived. It has FOUR limbs, and only the fourth is about residence: Nr. 1 gave up or lost German citizenship BEFORE 26 FEBRUARY 1955; Nr. 2 were excluded from acquiring it by marriage, legitimation or collective naturalisation; Nr. 3 were refused naturalisation after applying, or were generally excluded from it; Nr. 4 gave up or lost a habitual residence in Germany, whether established before 30 January 1933 or, as a child, after that date too. Nr. 2 and Nr. 3 reach people who never held German citizenship at all, so ‘never formally taken away’ is too narrow a summary of the route). Art. 116(2) is for citizenship that was formally taken away between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945. The two use different BVA forms.
I'm a US citizen applying for German citizenship by descent. Do I have to give up my US citizenship?
No. Nothing in the §4, §5 or Art. 116(2) routes asks you to renounce another citizenship, and since the reform Germany does not treat holding one as a problem. You can receive your Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis and apply for a German passport while keeping your US passport.
I received a Beibehaltungsgenehmigung in 2020 and naturalized as a US citizen in 2021. Is my German citizenship intact?
Yes. A Beibehaltungsgenehmigung obtained in advance protected you under the pre-reform rules, and the 2024 reform does not disturb that protection. Your German citizenship continued uninterrupted.
I'm already a German citizen and considering US naturalization in 2027. Will I keep German citizenship?
Yes. After June 27, 2024, voluntary naturalization in another country is not a ground of loss — §25 StAG was repealed and §17 no longer lists it. No Beibehaltungsgenehmigung is required. The narrow ground that does survive is §28 StAG — voluntary service, without the consent of the Federal Ministry of Defence or a body designated by it, in the armed forces or a comparable armed organisation of a state whose nationality you already hold (or taking concrete part in a terrorist organisation's combat operations abroad), and §28(1) Nr. 1 is narrower still than it sounds: voluntary enlistment, without the consent of the Federal Ministry of Defence or a body designated by it, in the forces of a state whose citizenship you already hold — all three at once, and never where you would be left stateless. The German Missions in the United States' statement on that consent is quoted under “No more Beibehaltungsgenehmigung process” above. Confirm with a licensed attorney before naturalizing if that could touch you.
Primary sources
- Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette) — BGBl. I Nr. 104 (2024) — the StARModG as promulgated. Art. 1 Nr. 16 is the §25 repeal; Art. 6(1) is the commencement provision.
- Bundesministerium des Innern (Federal Ministry of the Interior) — StARModG policy materials and FAQs.
- Bundesverwaltungsamt (BVA) — operational guidance for descent applicants.
Check whether your chain is intact
The 2024 reform changed the future, not the past. Our free eligibility check tells you whether §4, §5, or Art. 116(2) may apply.
Start the free eligibility check →Not legal advice. The StARModG is a significant but carefully scoped reform. Consult a licensed German citizenship attorney before relying on this summary for any specific decision.