Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Can I get German pass prts for my dc :, half German dad and granny German?

101 replies

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:01

I have tried to un pick the info on the website and it's confusing me with citizenship etc.

I just want go see if we can apply for passports for them. When dh was young he once had a German pp

OP posts:
Preq · 05/07/2024 15:03

Did dh have German citizenship at the time of their birth?

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:04

I'm not sure he was born here.

OP posts:
givememarmite · 05/07/2024 15:13

If DH was born outside of Germany before 01.01.2000 then he would have to register DS as his child according to German law and then apply for citizenship and then the passport.

If he was born outside of Germany after 01.01.2000 then you would have had to register the birth of DS with the German authorities within one year to be able to apply for citizenship.

But your best bet is to contact the German consulate in the UK by email to ask about your specific circumstances.

thinkfast · 05/07/2024 15:14

Why don't you contact the German Embassy for advice OP? This is exactly the kind of thing the embassy exists to help with.

DancefloorAcrobatics · 05/07/2024 15:20

Im Ausland geborene Kinder, deren deutscher Elternteil nach dem 31.12.1999 selbst im Ausland geboren wurde, erwerben die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit nur, wenn innerhalb eines Jahres die Eintragung der Geburt in ein deutsches Geburtenregister beantragt wird.

This states that children to parents that are born abroad after 31.12.1999 can only receive German citizenship if they are registered within 12 months.

Which makes me think you would be able to get them dual citizenship if your DH is registered as a German citizen. He'll need to get all the paperwork together for that.

Best to contact the consulate in London, to make sure and see what's needed.

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:21

@thinkfast @givememarmite
I have and I was re directed back to the website!!

OP posts:
Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:21

Dc are 17 and 13

OP posts:
fieldsofbutterflies · 05/07/2024 15:24

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:21

Dc are 17 and 13

fieldsofbutterflies · 05/07/2024 15:24

Here:

In the case of German nationals born abroad on or after 1 January 2000, their children, if born abroad, only acquire German citizenship if the parents notify the relevant German mission abroad of the child’s birth within one year.

https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/citizenship/citizenship-faq?openAccordionId=item-2121028-0-panel

You needed to do it within a year of their birth - it's too late now.

Sinuhe · 05/07/2024 15:26

According to Dr Google No.

Welche Staatsbürgerschaft hat ein im Ausland geborenes Kind deutscher Eltern?

Für deutsche Eltern, die selbst ab dem 01.01.2000 im Ausland geboren wurden, gilt: ihre Kinder erwerben bei Geburt im Ausland die deutsche Staatsangehörigkeit nur, wenn die Eltern die Geburt des Kindes innerhalb eines Jahres bei der zuständigen deutschen Auslandsvertretung anzeigen.26 Sept 2023

givememarmite · 05/07/2024 15:32

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:21

@thinkfast @givememarmite
I have and I was re directed back to the website!!

Oh that's really annoying!

When was Dh born, that is most important?

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:32

1979

OP posts:
givememarmite · 05/07/2024 15:54

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:32

1979

Then you should be able to just apply for citizenship for DC as you said DH has previously had a German passport so he obviously has citizenship already.

Once you have citizenship sorted - which will take some time unfortunately, the state I live in is currently processing 18,000 applications! - then you can apply for passports which usually is pretty quick.

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:55

@givememarmite interesting thank you.
He doesn't have a German passport now though but I guess he still has citizenship?

OP posts:
Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:56

Also i don't suppose you know what info we need to apply for citizenship?
I guess his mums dob etc?

OP posts:
WeeOrcadian · 05/07/2024 16:04

Why are you looking to apply for German passports for them?

ZingySquid · 05/07/2024 16:06

.

DancefloorAcrobatics · 05/07/2024 16:09

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 15:56

Also i don't suppose you know what info we need to apply for citizenship?
I guess his mums dob etc?

I would think he needs proof of his citizenship. Does he have the expired passport? Does he know where it was registered? Should be London or Edinburgh, unless it was in Germany.

Dates would also help.

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 16:13

I think we do have it, he wanted to chuck it but I am sure I held onto it

OP posts:
LarissaFeodorovna · 05/07/2024 16:22

fieldsofbutterflies · 05/07/2024 15:24

Here:

In the case of German nationals born abroad on or after 1 January 2000, their children, if born abroad, only acquire German citizenship if the parents notify the relevant German mission abroad of the child’s birth within one year.

https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/citizenship/citizenship-faq?openAccordionId=item-2121028-0-panel

You needed to do it within a year of their birth - it's too late now.

Edited

German citizenship is passed on strictly by birth - the 2000 birth year cut-off is a relatively recent law to prevent the endless passing on of citizenship by people who have no meaningful ties to Germany. If your dc are teenagers now, the 12-month deadline for post-2000 births relates to your children's offspring, not your own. Assuming your dh was born pre-2000, and was a German citizen at the time of your children's birth, your dc would automatically have Gm citizenship as well, though you may need to jump through some paperwork hoops to get it made official. If your dh has an expired passport, or his own birth certificate showing his German parent, and possibly his German parent's birth certificate as well, it should be straightforward, although the process is quite paperwork-heavy.

If you can locate plausible relevant documentation to show their entitlement to Gm citizenship, the first stage may be to make a name declaration, depending on whether or not your children's names comply with German naming law. https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/naming-law/name-declaration-child/2454526 This link explains the relevant rules, and also lists the documents you require. Once you ahve the name declaration, the passport is pretty straightforward.

You are a bit late to the party in some ways, but that may work in your favour - in the year or two after the Brexit vote the German embassy was overrun with Anglo-German families frantically getting their paperwork legalised, and trying to get an embassy appointment was akin to getting Glastonbury tickets - lots of pressing refresh on the website. That will hopefully have calmed down now - we've done passport and ID card renewals more recently and been able to book appointments on line within a reasonable timeframe.

Read the list of documents very carefully, and bring all everything it tells you to, plus anything else potentially relevant - iirc you need triplicate copies of everything. Iirc both parents and the child have to show up to each appointment - I can't remember whether you could make one appointment for multiple children, but possibly not. Also iirc the process is slightly different depending on whether your child is u14, 14-18 or is an adult. Read the small print carefully. The process is cumbersome and nitpicky, but the prize is worth it.

Name declaration for a child

The surname of a German national must conform to German law, irrespective of the name appearing on a foreign birth certificate.

https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/naming-law/name-declaration-child/2454526

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 16:31

@LarissaFeodorovna thank you.

Do you know how much it costs roughly.

OP posts:
Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 16:38

1999 to 2004 was last issue London

OP posts:
LarissaFeodorovna · 05/07/2024 16:39

All the info is one the website. List of fees is here. https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/passports-id-cards/fees/2540840

There's a separate fee for the name declaration, which when we did it involved making a bank transfer directly to the Standesamt in Berlin, but that may have changed. Can't remember how much it was, but prob comparable to the passport fee.

If you want to stand a chance of pulling this off, you need to get your eye in reading the small print - the info is all on the website. Yes it's not always super-straightforward, but you need them more than they need you, so the onus to get the correct info and bring the right docs is on you.

Fees

A list of fees for German identity documents.

https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/passports-id-cards/fees/2540840

Germanpassport · 05/07/2024 17:05

@LarissaFeodorovna this is so helpful thank you.
May I trouble you once more, did you the grandparents birth certificate or anything like that? Eg dh mum.

OP posts:
JSMill · 05/07/2024 17:08

I don't think Germany allows you to have dual citizenship. Dh's cousin gave birth to her two dcs in Germany and had to choose.