A high standard of living, economic stability, the ability to fulfill oneself and live at one's own pleasure are the main reasons why our compatriots decide to move to Germany. However, the listed privileges are not accessible to everyone, but only to citizens of this state. Therefore, every migrant sooner or later wonders how to get a German passport. Consider all the possible options.
Ways to obtain citizenship
In the post-war period, only indigenous people and Jews could become a full-fledged citizen of Germany. However, the rapid development of industry and new sectors of the economy required the involvement of qualified personnel, which the government decided to get at the expense of migrants. Since then, even those who have no idea what a German passport looks like have the opportunity to obtain German citizenship.
In recent years, the excessive flow of refugees into the country has prompted the German government to somewhat tighten the procedure for obtaining citizenship. Nevertheless, subject to certain requirements, each citizen of the Russian Federation can receive the coveted certificate of a citizen of Germany. However, it will take a lot of time. So, what are the ways to get a German passport?
Today, there are several options for obtaining German citizenship:
- by birth;
- by marriage;
- by kinship;
- through immigration through business;
- through adoption;
- under the program for refugees.
Note that all citizens who have received an unlimited residence permit in this state can use all the benefits and social programs for the German population. However, they cannot occupy high positions in public services and take part in elections.
Obtaining a passport by birth
The easiest way to get a German passport is to be born in Germany. A child born in Germany automatically receives the citizenship of this state. However, the legislation of this country clearly spells out the conditions under which this method works.
Only those newborns whose parents meet one of the requirements listed below can apply for German citizenship:
- have the citizenship of Germany (sufficient citizenship of one of the parents);
- live in the country for more than 8 years, having the status of residence permit or residence permit;
- EU citizens who have the opportunity to choose their place of residence (residing in Germany for at least 8 years).
There is an exception to the above rules. It applies to those newborns whose parents are legally in Germany but do not yet have official documents.
We are talking about those migrants who are at the stage of registration or obtaining the status of a temporary or permanent residence permit. In this case, the parents of the baby file a petition with the state authorities. After consideration of this document, the newborn is granted the citizenship of Germany. Thus, we can conclude that the easiest way to get a German passport is for a child.
Marriage Citizenship
Every citizen of the Russian Federation has the right to apply for citizenship of Germany after the conclusion of an official marriage with a German. However, here, too, is not so simple. Putting a stamp in your passport is not enough to legalize your presence in Germany. At least three years must pass from the moment of marriage. Only after this period the immigrant can apply for a German passport.
The positive side of this procedure is that it is not necessary to marry a native German, for this it is enough to formalize a relationship with an immigrant who has an unlimited or permanent residence permit. In this case, after three years, the second spouse can also apply for a residence permit or permanent residence, and then apply for citizenship.
However, attention should be paid to the fact that if the immigration office suspects that the marriage is fictitious, they will simply refuse to issue a passport to the second spouse. Moreover, the revealed fraud threatens punishment from the German government in the form of deportation and a ban on re-entry into the country.
Kinship Citizenship
Those citizens of the Russian Federation who have ascending relatives with German citizenship can apply for accelerated citizenship. That is, if for some reason the family left the territory of Germany and moved to Russia, descendants can apply for restoration of citizenship.
This program has one important condition: it is necessary to provide evidence of this fact to the state bodies of Germany or to the German embassy. It is best to have the birth certificate of the ancestor on hand, which will indicate that he is / was a subject of Germany. Also, the authorized bodies can provide the series and number of the relative's German passport.
Consideration of an application for restoration of citizenship can be quite long (by law up to 5 years). Also, a citizen of the Russian Federation will have to demonstrate good knowledge of the German language, culture and customs of this country. However, having received a positive response, a Russian citizen can immediately leave for Germany and there, according to the accelerated program, obtain citizenship and a new German passport.
Business immigration
The German government in every possible way contributes to the development of the country's economy and the creation of new jobs for its citizens. For this reason, benefits were developed for those immigrants who plan to develop their own business and invest in the country's budget.
Each citizen of the Russian Federation who has fulfilled one of the following conditions can count on obtaining a German passport:
- acquired commercial real estate, the value of which exceeded 250 thousand euros;
- designed or bought a business involving the creation of five (or more) jobs for citizens of Germany.
When fulfilling these requirements, the resident is allowed to apply for a residence permit in this country. After 1-3 years, a businessman can apply for a permanent residence permit, and after that - apply for German citizenship.
In addition, to become a business immigrant, it is not necessary to open your own business. To do this, it is enough to invest more than 350 thousand euros in the country's economy. After that, the resident can obtain a residence permit, permanent residence and citizenship.
There is another option how to obtain German citizenship - for this you need to have an EU card. It is issued by organizations that are in search of qualified specialists and cannot find among the local population an employee for this field.
Having received such a card, an immigrant has the right to apply for a residence permit and go along the standard path of obtaining citizenship and a German passport.
Programs for refugees and international students
If for some reason a citizen of another state had to flee his country to save his life, then he can apply for asylum in Germany. However, this does not mean that he will immediately be issued a German passport.
First, an immigrant at the legislative level will have to prove that he is in danger in his homeland. You will also have to explain why Germany was chosen as a refuge. The authorized bodies will check how consciously a person wishes to accept German citizenship, whether he knows how a German passport looks like and whether he is ready to fulfill the duties of a citizen of a given state.
Today, the procedures for legalizing the stay of refugees in Germany have been substantially tightened. Citizens of other countries are required to live in special refugee camps. If immigrants fail to prove that they are in serious danger in their country, foreigners can be deported and barred from entering all Schengen countries for 10 years.
Students who have arrived in Germany for higher education can also apply for a German passport. After admission, each student is issued a residence permit (for 1 year), which is extended until graduation. If, after receiving a diploma, a graduate finds a job in the specialty within 1 year, he can apply for a residence permit. Further, the acquisition of citizenship follows the standard path.
It is worth considering that the time spent on studying at a university does not go into the total length of service in the territory of Germany. For this reason, the term for obtaining citizenship exceeds the standard 8 years.
Passport issuance in Germany: requirements
It is very important to have grounds for obtaining citizenship, but this is far from all that immigrants will have to face on their way to a German passport. The number of a unique document and the little book itself, indicating the presence of citizenship of the Federal Republic of Germany, are received by foreigners after frequent trips to the migration service, registration of a huge number of documents.
Applicants for citizenship are subject to the following requirements:
- Availability of residence permit status.
- Legal stay in the country from 5 to 8 years.
- Strict compliance with applicable law. Negatively, even police drives where the immigrant was acquitted may affect the decision to grant citizenship.
- The presence of financial stability. The applicant must be able to provide for himself and his own family, not counting on social benefits.
- Knowledge of the state language at a high level (confirmed by a qualification test).
- High integration test results (for all but refugees and ethnic Germans).
Integration testing is a complex process, but without it it is impossible to obtain German citizenship.
For his passage in the immigration service, a citizen of another country is given a catalog that includes 310 questions. In most cases, they relate to German law, the history and culture of the state.
Most often, 10 questions affect the specific region in which documents are drawn up. The remaining 300 questions are general in nature and concern the whole of Germany.
Significantly simplify the passage of the test the available answer options. Of the four proposed, you need to choose only one. Each test includes 33 questions. If the applicant for citizenship answers correctly to most of them, the test is considered passed successfully.
Practice shows that if a person is even a little interested in a country whose citizenship he wants to accept, he passes the test.
After passing all the tests, the applicant is sent to the immigration service to apply for citizenship. At this stage, the following documents will be required:
- completed application form;
- passport (or birth certificate);
- card indicating the presence of a residence permit;
- lease or purchase agreement;
- certificate of employment;
- extract from the country of origin that the citizen did not violate the law;
- certificate of knowledge of the language;
- integration test results.
All documents are mandatory translated into German at the notary office of the country. After considering the application and receiving a positive response, the process of obtaining citizenship takes 6 months. After this period, a German passport is issued. A sample of filling out a personal card for obtaining a passport can be found in every migration center in Germany.
You can also contact special organizations involved in paperwork. In this case, the process of obtaining citizenship will advance slightly faster.
What is a German passport?
Since 1988, an identity card of a citizen of Germany has a standard design for all countries of the European Union. The cover of the German passport is decorated in burgundy color, the state emblem is located in the center of its front part.
The inscription REISEPASS is stamped under the emblem in golden letters, which means "passport" in Russian. The book contains 32 pages. Since 2005, all German passports have been equipped with chip cards that contain information printed in the booklet itself.
On the first page of the document is a photo of its owner, the date and place of his birth are indicated. There is also information about the date of issue of the passport, its series and number are indicated.
In general, the German passport, the photo of which is presented above, is quite similar to the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, the main difference is the national emblem, language and the presence of the chip in German certificates.
An important nuance in acquiring German citizenship
German law is categorically against having other citizenship among its citizens, therefore, when planning to acquire a German passport, be prepared for the fact that you will have to hand over the Russian through the consulate. For further trips to your homeland you will have to issue a passport.
But there are some exceptions to this rule. You can save the first passport if:
- the country of origin of the immigrant does not allow him to leave his citizenship;
- if the immigrant has to pay increased taxes to the country in which he was born;
- if an official renunciation of citizenship has been filed with the embassy, but no response has been received;
- if a citizen is over 60 years old and it is difficult for him to endure all bureaucratic procedures;
- if the citizen is more than 40 years old, 20 of which he did not visit his homeland.
In such cases, withdrawal from citizenship may not be required. If the commission made a positive decision on this issue, the citizen can only issue a new German passport. A sample application can be requested from the registration office.
In practice, the listed exceptions rarely work, so most Russian citizens are wondering how to keep their Russian passport.
In fact, you can take advantage of the fact that after receiving notification of German citizenship, it is given 2 years for the newly made German citizen to renounce the citizenship of his country. During this time, a citizen may have two valid passports. However, deciding on such an act, you need to understand that the presence of two passports will lead to an increase in taxes.
How to get a German passport if it is expired?
After obtaining German citizenship, some compatriots decide to return to Russia. After some time, it turns out that the validity of their German passport has long expired, which raises questions about whether these persons retained German citizenship.
In fact, a passport in Germany is issued for 10 years (for a population older than 24 years) and for 6 years (for citizens under 24 years old). When the document expires, citizens apply to the registration office for a new German passport. The series and document number are not saved.
Citizens of the Russian Federation, faced with a similar problem, do not lose German citizenship, however, in order to obtain a new passport of this country, you must have a residence permit on its territory. If there is one, you can go to the territory of Germany and apply for a document at the place of registration.
It is also possible that you can issue the necessary papers in the territory of the Russian Federation. To do this, you should contact the embassy of Germany, located in Moscow. To apply, the following documents will be required:
- two biometric photographs;
- German application
- passport of Germany;
- certificate of acquisition of German citizenship;
- permission to stay in the Russian Federation (since it is required to refuse citizenship of the Russian Federation after obtaining German citizenship).
All documents are provided in the original and in the form of copies notarized by an authorized bureau.
Conclusion
Germany is a developed and economically stable country, which attracts a large number of immigrants. For this reason, the selection criteria for citizenship today have become very stringent. Not everyone can get a German passport, a photo of which is presented in our article, since for this you need to meet a number of criteria. Nevertheless, highly educated citizens of our country who are attractive to German employers, it is quite possible.