Dual citizenship for Germans: you can keep both passports

For decades Germans lived with a hard rule: anyone who became a citizen of another state on their own application usually lost their German passport. That rule is gone. Today the only questions that matter are which second state suits you, your family and your plans, and which route gets you there fastest.

What has applied to Germans since 27 June 2024

The Act to Modernise Nationality Law (Gesetz zur Modernisierung des Staatsangehörigkeitsrechts) was signed on 22 March 2024 and published in the Federal Law Gazette (Bundesgesetzblatt) 2024 I No. 104. It came into force on 27 June 2024. Since then, holding more than one citizenship is no longer the exception for Germans but the norm.

Three changes are what count for you:

• No more loss when you acquire a foreign citizenship. The former section 25 of the Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, StAG) has been repealed. The Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) sums it up: since 27 June 2024, taking a foreign citizenship on application no longer leads to the loss of German citizenship.
• No more retention permit. The Federal Foreign Office says so in as many words: retention permits are no longer required. There is no application to file in Germany before you take a second passport.
• No more duty to choose. Anyone born in Germany to foreign parents who holds several citizenships no longer has to pick one as an adult. Section 29 StAG has been repealed as well.

The only things that still cost you German citizenship are set out exhaustively in three items of section 17(1) StAG: renunciation under section 26; joining foreign armed forces or taking part in combat for a terrorist organisation abroad under section 28; and the withdrawal of an unlawful administrative act under section 35. Acquiring a second passport is not on that list.

What applied until 26 June 2024

Until the reform, a German who took a foreign citizenship on application as a rule lost German citizenship automatically. The only protection was a retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) granted in advance. Anyone naturalised with such a permit stayed German. Why you no longer need one today, and what became of pending applications, is explained in the article on the retention permit.

If you lost your German passport earlier

The new law does not apply retroactively. Cases before 27 June 2024 are still judged under the old law. Anyone who lost German citizenship back then can regain it through naturalisation again under section 13 StAG, provided they meet the requirements.

For some older cases there is a second route. On 4 March 2026 the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) ruled (BVerwG 1 C 4.25) that where a loss under the old section 25 StAG also takes away EU citizenship, it stands only if it is proportionate in the individual case. What that can mean for you is set out in the news item on the ruling on the loss of German citizenship.

And whenever voices call for the reform to be reversed: the law in force is the 2024 Act. If you act now, you acquire your second passport under the law that applies today.

Applying for dual citizenship: the application is made in the other country

Many people look for a form to apply for dual citizenship in Germany. That form does not exist, and you do not need it. Germany simply lets you keep your citizenship. Whether you get a second one is decided by the other state alone, under its own law.

There are essentially four routes:

The routes are not mutually exclusive. Naturalisation through residence is the free route and often the best one in the end, but it takes years and requires you to genuinely live there. Citizenship by investment buys you exactly that time. If you plan well, you pursue both in parallel. CBI and naturalisation shows why.

Two overviews help you get started on all four routes: the complete second passport guide and second citizenship as a German: every route at a glance. If you are seriously considering an investment programme, CBI passport and German passport explains why the two documents sit side by side.

Dual citizenship in four steps

1. Define your goal. Is it about freedom to travel, a plan B for the family, a future place to live or your assets? The goal decides which country fits, not the other way round.
2. Check your entitlement. Before you spend any money, check whether you already have a claim through your ancestors, your spouse or a past residence. Some people have held the key to a second passport for years without knowing it.
3. Choose your route and country. Then weigh time against money: naturalisation costs years, investment costs capital. It also matters whether the target country accepts multiple citizenship and how it taxes its citizens.
4. Prepare your documents. Birth certificate, marriage certificate, passport and, depending on the route, proof of residence or of the source of funds, translated and certified. A complete file is the single biggest lever for a fast procedure.

In Germany you register nothing and apply for nothing. Your German citizenship simply continues while the second state naturalises you.

Second citizenship or a second German passport?

A common misunderstanding: some people searching for dual citizenship actually mean a second German passport, that is, an additional document from the same state, for example for visa applications while the first passport is held at an embassy. That is something fundamentally different. A second document is still a German document and shares every fate of the first. A second citizenship stands on its own feet. The difference is explained in second German passport or second citizenship.

Which countries allow dual citizenship?

This question has two sides, and only one of them lies with Germany.

The German side is settled. Germany no longer distinguishes whether your second citizenship comes from the EU, Switzerland, the Americas, Africa or the Caribbean. For your German passport, every country is the same.

You check the other side before you apply. Every state decides for itself whether it accepts new citizens who hold another citizenship. Some require you to give up your existing citizenship when you naturalise. Others accept multiple citizenship without restriction. Before you invest years in a naturalisation, it pays to look at the target country's nationality law.

A few real-world examples:

• Sierra Leone accepts multiple citizenship without restriction. More under Sierra Leone.
• USA: how German and American dual citizenship works and what it means for tax is explained in German and US dual citizenship. The US tax side is covered in depth in dual citizenship and US taxes.
• Ireland: if you are thinking about Irish ancestry or a move to Ireland, Saol Nua Plan has everything on dual citizenship with Ireland.

And if you are not only German: Austrians face a much stricter rule, under which acquiring a foreign passport can cost them Austrian citizenship. Read second citizenship for Austrians. Swiss citizens have their own article: Swiss with a second passport.

One thing you should never do: give up German citizenship before the new one is safely in your hands. Falling between two states does not bring freedom; it strips you of all protection. Becoming stateless shows why.

What does dual citizenship cost?

On the German side it costs you nothing. There is no fee for keeping German citizenship, no application and no permit. The costs arise solely in the other country, and there they depend on the route.

For descent and naturalisation you pay mainly official fees, certificates, translations and, in the case of naturalisation, the years you spend living in the country. For citizenship by investment, the law of each state sets the minimum amount. The entry amounts of the programmes at a glance:

Government fees come on top of every amount, for example for due diligence. What they are in detail and what a family costs on top is shown on the costs and family pages and in the comparison of all programmes. The full list is under programmes.

Advantages: why a second passport is more than a travel document

The most important advantage fits in one sentence: a passport is a right, not a permission. A visa or a residence permit can be refused or revoked. A citizenship belongs to you.

Protection if your German passport is unavailable

The German passport is strong, but it is not untouchable. Under section 7(1) of the Passport Act (Passgesetz), a passport must be refused, among other cases, where certain facts justify the assumption that someone endangers the internal or external security or other significant interests of the Federal Republic, or intends to evade their tax obligations. Under section 8, a passport already issued can be withdrawn on the same grounds. The law does not require a conviction; certain facts that justify this assumption are enough. What that means in practice is explained under passport withdrawal.

A second citizenship is the lawful fallback if your first passport is lost, stolen or held abroad. It is not a tool to get around an exit ban, a court order or a passport withdrawal, and it is not meant for that. It is your insurance against a single document becoming the bottleneck of your life.

More options for travel and for life

With two passports, you choose at every border the document that gives you the better terms. You enter the state of your second citizenship not as a guest but as a citizen. How to use both passports correctly at the border and at check-in is explained in travelling with more than one passport. How strong each passport is shows in the passport ranking.

A legacy for your children

In many countries you pass your citizenship on to your children. What you acquire for yourself today becomes an option for the next generation. Birth on foreign soil is the passport you hand your child at birth.

Many investment programmes include the family in the same application: spouse, children and often parents too. A single application can give three generations a second passport. Which family members can be included in which programme is shown on the family page.

Independence from a single decision

If you hold only one passport, every trip, every move and every crisis depends on a single authority. With two citizenships you spread that risk. If a state changes its rules, a waiting time gets longer or a document becomes unavailable, you have a second route. That is exactly what entrepreneurs and families mean when they talk about a plan B: not running away, but the freedom never to have to.

Part of a bigger strategy

Your passport, residence, company and assets do not have to be in the same country. If you spread them deliberately, you are not wholly dependent on any single state. This way of thinking is called flag theory. All eight reasons for a second passport at a glance: why a second passport.

Disadvantages and obligations with two passports

Dual citizenship also brings obligations. None of them is a reason to go without a second passport. But you should know them before you decide on a country.

Two legal systems. You are a citizen of two states and owe obligations to both. Each state treats you as its own national on its territory.

Consular help. Under section 5(1) of the Consular Act (Konsulargesetz), German consular officers are to help Germans in need. The exception covers Germans whose habitual residence is in a state whose citizenship they hold, if their father or mother also holds or held that citizenship, as well as their descendants. Even then the consulate may help where fairness requires it in the individual case. By its wording, this exception does not apply to a citizenship you acquire yourself through naturalisation or investment.

Honest answers on entry forms. If you travel to the USA, you complete the ESTA application fully and truthfully, including any other citizenships you hold. A false answer is not a trick but a risk for every future entry. Everything on this under ESTA with a second citizenship.

Population register. If you live in Germany, the registration office records your current citizenships under section 3 of the Federal Registration Act (Bundesmeldegesetz). Your second citizenship therefore belongs in your registration entry. No permit is involved.

Tax and military service. The two subjects that occupy dual citizens most have sections of their own.

Dual citizenship and tax

The good news first: in Germany, it is not your passport that determines whether you pay tax but your residence. Under section 1(1) of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz), individuals with a residence or habitual abode in Germany have unlimited tax liability. A second citizenship changes nothing about that, neither in your favour nor against you.

Three points follow that you should know:

1. A second passport alone does not end German tax liability. As long as you live in Germany, you remain taxable here, however many passports you hold. How to move away properly is explained by Wohnsitz Ausland in its article (in German) on deregistering your residence when you move abroad.
2. German citizenship keeps working after you leave. Section 2 of the Foreign Tax Act (Außensteuergesetz) expressly targets Germans: if you had unlimited tax liability as a German for at least five of the ten years before you left, move to a low-tax country and keep substantial economic interests in Germany, you remain subject to extended limited tax liability for up to ten years after the year you left, in every year in which that income exceeds EUR 16,500. A second passport does not lift this rule as long as you are German.
3. Some states tax by citizenship. The USA does exactly that: according to the tax authority IRS, US citizens are taxable on their worldwide income even when living abroad and must report it. If you are aiming for a US passport, plan for this obligation from the start.

So choose the country of your second passport by its tax logic as well. Most states, like Germany, tax by residence, and a second passport there brings no tax liability with it. The basics are under passport and tax and on the tax page.

Dual citizenship in wartime and conscription

For many families, the question of which state may call them up in an emergency is the real reason to think about a second passport. The answer starts with a simple principle: every state regulates military service for its own nationals. With two passports, two sets of military service law apply.

On the German side, three provisions matter:

• Section 3(2) of the Compulsory Military Service Act (Wehrpflichtgesetz): the Act requires men from the age of 17 to obtain approval before leaving Germany for more than three months; the Bundeswehr careers centre (Karrierecenter) is responsible. Since 17 April 2026, the Ministry of Defence has exempted everyone concerned from this requirement by general order, but it can lift the exemption at any time with a single order, without a new law.
• Section 7(1) no. 7 of the Passport Act: anyone liable for military service who wants to leave for more than three months without the approval required under section 3(2) risks having their passport refused. While the exemption applies, no approval is needed. If the ministry lifts it, this rule applies again too.
• Section 28 StAG: anyone who voluntarily enlists in the armed forces of another state whose citizenship they hold, without the consent of the Ministry of Defence, loses German citizenship. Minors are exempt.

A second passport does not cancel German obligations. But it gives you a second nationality, and timing is decisive: if you plan early, you have more room to manoeuvre than someone who acts only in a crisis. What this means for adult sons is explained under conscription. Which state may call up dual citizens in a conflict is explained in dual citizenship in wartime.

Children with two passports

For families, the reform is a gift. Under section 4(1) StAG, a child acquires German citizenship at birth if one parent is German. If the child also acquires a second citizenship at the same time, for example through the other parent or through birth in a country that grants citizenship by place of birth, the child keeps both for life. Since the reform, nobody has to choose one passport at 18 any more.

There is one trap for families who have lived abroad for some time. Under section 4(4) StAG, a child born abroad does not automatically acquire German citizenship if the German parent was themselves born abroad after 31 December 1999 and has their habitual residence there. The solution is an application to register the birth within one year, which can also be made at the competent German embassy or consulate. If both parents are German, the rule applies only if both meet the conditions, and it never applies if the child would otherwise be stateless. Miss the deadline and you can shut your child out of a German passport.

Birth abroad is also the most elegant route to a second passport: the child receives it with its first breath, with no investment and no waiting time. Everything on rights, obligations and family planning is under children with two passports, under birth tourism and on the family page. Whether you yourself already have a claim to a second passport through your ancestors, you can check with citizenship by descent.

Giving up one of the two passports

Some people are looking for the opposite: how to give up dual citizenship again. It can be done, but German law sets clear limits.

Under section 26 StAG, a German who holds several citizenships can renounce German citizenship in writing. The renunciation needs the approval of the nationality authority and takes effect only when the certificate of renunciation is handed over. Approval is refused, among others, to civil servants, judges and soldiers for as long as they remain in service. For those liable for military service, a declaration from the Ministry of Defence that there are no objections is needed, unless they have lived abroad for at least ten years or have done military service in their other state.

Before you take this step, ask yourself: what for? Since 2024 you can keep both passports. A renunciation also does not automatically end tax consequences from the past. When renouncing can still make sense and what the way back looks like is set out under giving up German citizenship.

If, on the other hand, you want to give up the other citizenship, that is governed solely by the law of the other state.

Every topic around dual citizenship

Dual citizenship touches almost every area of life. Each question has its own article:

And for the main routes to a second passport, the in-depth guides: second passport guide, buying citizenship, naturalisation abroad, citizenship by descent, birth tourism, passport ranking and flag theory. How the journey runs from the first conversation to the passport is shown on the process page. Perspektive Ausland has put together seven lesser-known facts about German citizenship (in German): 7 little-known facts about German citizenship.

Frequently asked questions