Einbürgerung Verleihung der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit für Ehegatten, Lebenspartner oder minderjährige Kinder ohne Einbürgerungsanspruch (Miteinbürgerung)

§ Section 10 (2) StAG

Co-naturalization of spouses or registered partners and underage children.

Spouses/registered partners and the minor children of the (main) applicant can also be naturalized, even if they have not been legally resident in Germany for five years.

The documents to be submitted are basically the same as those for naturalization:

Registration certificates

For children under 14 of unmarried parents: proof of custody;

in the case of joint parental custody, a declaration of consent from the other parent with custody, if applicable;

Power of attorney if necessary;

Valid national passport, (especially for EU nationals) valid identity card or, in individual cases, other official identity documents (especially those with a photograph),

Civil status documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce decree or death certificate of the spouse, if applicable) - with translation, legalization or apostille, if applicable,

Valid residence permit (if no entitlement to freedom of movement),

Proof of German and civic knowledge, e.g. German certificate at level B1 or higher,

so-called naturalization test or certificate "Living in Germany/naturalization test", if applicable, certificates of school, vocational, training and/or study qualifications obtained in Germany;

If applicable, current school certificate and school reports, or current certificate of study;

Proof of ability to support yourself: proof of your own and, if applicable, your family's income (employment contract, salary statements), in the case of self-employed persons, tax office notices, business registration if applicable, proof of profit made (e.g. informal certificate from the tax consultant on net income or business analysis),

If applicable, proof of receipt of public benefits, pension certificate;

Proof of own health insurance cover, pension provision (pension insurance history and pension information, proof of private pension provision if applicable) and proof of cover in the event of nursing care and, if applicable, corresponding proof from family members.

Further documents may be added depending on the individual case and may also be requested by the naturalization authority.

Please note the following information:

Foreign certificates or documents must be submitted with a translation by a licensed translator. Authorized translators can be found at www.justiz-dolmetscher.de/Recherche,

Translations must be firmly attached to a copy of the document and sealed;

whether foreign documents must be submitted in legalized form depends on the specific case/country of origin; further information can be found on the homepage of the Federal Foreign Office (www.auswaertiges-amt.de) under the heading "International document traffic".

The requirements for eligibility for naturalization must also be met in the case of so-called co-naturalization in accordance with § 10 Para. StAG, with the proviso that the spouse/registered partner or underage children do not have to have been legally resident in Germany for five years.

In this respect, a stay of four years with a two-year existence of the marriage/registered civil partnership may be sufficient for the co-naturalization of a spouse/registered civil partner.

In the case of underage children who are to be naturalized and who have not yet reached the age of 16, a three-year stay in Germany may be sufficient; in the case of children who have not yet reached the age of six, it may be sufficient if they have lived in Germany for half of their lives.

The administrative fee for the co-naturalization of spouses/registered partners is € 255. The administrative fee for the co-naturalization of minor children is €51 per child. With regard to possible additional costs, please refer to the information on eligibility for naturalization according to § 10 para. 1 StAG.

The procedure is the same as for naturalization pursuant to Section 10 (1) StAG.

Applications can be submitted online or in writing:

In any case - even if you apply online - you will need to attend an appointment at the citizenship authority responsible for your place of residence, where, among other things, you will need to declare your commitment to the free democratic basic order, have your identity checked and inspect the original documents.

The naturalization authority at the Ministry of the Interior, Building and Sport then checks whether you meet all the requirements for naturalization, requests any other documents required for the decision and decides on your application.

If all the requirements are met, the office accepting your application will issue you with the naturalization certificate and you will become a German citizen.

Under German law, you can retain your previous citizenship(s). Please contact the respective state authorities to find out whether the law of your home country also permits dual citizenship or whether you will automatically lose your home country citizenship when you accept German citizenship. German authorities have no influence on this.

Due to the strong increase in interest in naturalization, considerable waiting times are currently to be expected when applying and also when processing your application.

Please do not apply for naturalization until you meet the naturalization requirements.

An appeal against the rejection of an application for naturalization can be lodged with the Saarland Administrative Court. Further details can be found in the information on legal remedies attached to the rejection notice.

Your district of residence is responsible for advising you and accepting your application and, if applicable, issuing the naturalization certificate.

The Ministry of the Interior, Building and Sport is responsible for processing and deciding on applications as the naturalization authority for Saarland.

There is no separate form for co-naturalization. The (general) application form must be used.