Pathway

German Citizenship — Nazi-era Persecution

Germany Citizenship

Last updated June 12, 2026

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At a glance

Germany's Article 116(2) route is for people whose German citizenship was taken away by the Nazi regime, and for their descendants. It generally requires proof of the original German citizenship, the loss or persecution connection, and the family line.

Type: Citizenship restoration
Restoration fit: Families affected by historical citizenship loss
Core records: Family line, citizenship loss, and historical records
What to know: Historical rules can be record-heavy

Summary

Article 116(2) of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) provides a right of citizenship restoration for former German nationals who were formally deprived of their citizenship between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 on political, racial, or religious grounds, and for their descendants. This pathway was designed as a direct act of historical reparation toward victims of Nazi-era persecution, most prominently German Jews stripped of citizenship by the Nazi regime.

Article 116(2) is narrower than Germany's Section 15 StAG route. If the family problem involved persecution-linked loss, surrender, denial, or non-acquisition of citizenship without a formal Nazi-era deprivation order, Section 15 may be the better fit.

For applicants living abroad, this route is unusually favorable. There is no language requirement, no residency requirement in Germany, no income or investment threshold, and the application itself is free of charge. Applicants do not have to renounce their existing nationality.

The practical bottleneck is documentary: applicants must reconstruct the ancestor's German civil status, prove the persecution/denaturalization event, and demonstrate an unbroken line of descent. Complex files or missing records can require additional review.

Eligibility

Direct-line descent from a person who was a German national and was formally deprived of German citizenship between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945 on political, racial, or religious grounds
Deprivation includes both individual denaturalization (e.g., expatriation lists published in the Reichsanzeiger) and collective denaturalization under the 11th Decree to the Reich Citizenship Law of 25 November 1941, which stripped citizenship from Jews residing abroad
No generational cap — children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and further descendants all qualify provided the lineage is unbroken
Adopted children of eligible applicants (adopted as minors) are included
Dual citizenship permitted — existing citizenship does not need to be renounced
No German language requirement
No residency requirement — applicants may live anywhere in the world
No fees for the Article 116(2) application itself
Applicant must not have been convicted of serious crimes or engaged in activities against the free democratic order (a narrow bar in practice)

What This Route Allows

This route can help confirm or document citizenship in Germany when the citizenship-creating facts named above are proven. For many people in this category, the main work is evidence: civil records, family-link records, prior citizenship records, and any registration or restoration paperwork needed to show the claim.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a shortcut around documentation. Even when the citizenship claim is based on a right, you still need records that prove each required fact and family link.

Next Steps

Identify the persecuted ancestor and the specific deprivation event. Typical evidence: entry on a Nazi expatriation list, loss of citizenship under the 11th Decree of 25 November 1941, emigration records, or denaturalization certificates from German state archives.
Gather the ancestor's German vital records: birth certificate (Geburtsurkunde), marriage certificate (Heiratsurkunde), any German passport or Heimatschein, naturalization records showing subsequent foreign citizenship, and proof of residence in Germany prior to emigration.
Assemble documentary proof of persecution: Nazi-era expatriation gazettes (Reichsanzeiger listings), restitution/reparation claim files, Yad Vashem or USHMM records, immigration manifests showing flight from Germany, or archival letters.
Build your own lineage chain: your birth certificate, marriage certificates, and those of every intervening ancestor, linking you directly to the deprived German national. Civil records typically require apostilles (or your country's legalization procedure) and certified German translations.
Complete the BVA Article 116(2) application form, available from the Bundesverwaltungsamt website, along with the required questionnaire (Fragebogen).
Submit the application either directly to the Bundesverwaltungsamt (BVA) in Cologne by mail, or through the nearest German consulate in your country of residence (which will forward it to BVA). Consular submission is generally recommended because the consulate verifies identity and forwards originals.
Wait for the BVA decision and issuance of the Einbürgerungsurkunde (naturalization certificate). Once issued, you may apply for a German passport at any German consulate.
If your facts do not involve formal Nazi-era deprivation of citizenship, review the separate Section 15 StAG pathway.