The Act on the Amendment of the Nationality Law, which entered into force on January 1, 2000, significantly facilitated the retention of German citizenship for Germans living in the USA who wish to acquire US citizenship.

As a general rule, the acquisition of a foreign citizenship still results in the loss of German citizenship (Sections 17 no. 2, 25 para. 1 of the Nationality Act [StAG]). The decision on the application continues to be a discretionary decision. Under the amended provisions of Section 25 para. 2 of the Nationality Act (StAG), it is based on a weighing of private and public interests.

In the case of an applicant whose habitual residence is abroad, special consideration is given in particular to whether they have continuing ties to Germany and what disadvantages they would face if they were not naturalized as a U.S. citizen.

Responsible for issuing retention permits to Germans living abroad is the Federal Office of Administration in Cologne, which has published an information sheet on the procedure and the documents to be submitted.

Attention: The Act to Modernize the Nationality Law (StARModG) was passed by the Bundestag on January 19, 2024. Consequently, in the future, i.e.,. after the entry into force of the law on June 27, 2024, no retention permit is required anymore to avoid the automatic loss of German citizenship upon acquiring US or another citizenship upon application.

Note: This applies only AFTER the regulation enters into force on June 27, 2024.

Until then, the previous regulation continues to apply: avoidance of the loss of German citizenship is only possible with a retention permit, and the retention certificate remains a required document when applying for a passport. All current information can be found on the Federal Office of Administration website.

Important note: Who by birth in the USA who acquired US citizenship and simultaneously acquired German citizenship by descent from a German parent (born before 2000), automatically holds both citizenships.