By Christine Stenner, Attorney (Germany) at Stenner Law| Foreign Legal Consultant (PA) | June 14, 2025
Every week, I receive emails or calls from former German citizens who became American citizens . Most were totally unaware they lost their citizenship—until they tried to renew their German passport.
Until June 2024, German law required a “Beibehaltungsgenehmigung” to retain citizenship when acquiring a non-EU nationality. Without it, citizenship was automatically lost under § 25 StAG. Intent did not matter.
Germany allowed dual citizenship last year in June 2024 for the first time ever and there is no need to obtain a prior approval anymore. But those who lost their citizenship status before that date remain subject to the old rules. For them, re-naturalization is only possible under § 13 StAG. And this is not an easy path.
Why is it so complex? The wording in § 13 StAG is short and sounds straightforward. But the real rules are buried in internal regulations because re-naturalization is based on discretion. The guidelines for discretion are not public or easy to find. They define what counts as a valid case and when re-naturalization is possible.
This is why experienced legal representation matters. At StennerLaw, we conduct a thorough evaluation before taking a case. We assess whether the facts support a realistic path to renaturalization under current practice.
About the author
Christine Stenner is a German attorney with 25+years of experience. She is admitted to practice German law in the United States and focuses exclusively on German citizenship law for clients living abroad. At STENNER LAW, she assists applicants with restoring or reclaiming German citizenship through declaration, re-naturalization, and restitution-based applications.
Christine Stenner is a German attorney with 25+years of experience. She is admitted to practice German law in the United States and focuses exclusively on German citizenship law for clients living abroad. At STENNER LAW, she assists applicants with restoring or reclaiming German citizenship through declaration, re-naturalization, and restitution-based applications.
Schedule a consultation and speak with German attorney Christine Stenner
*Picture taken in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall at the German Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
