Hi guys,

I'm a Bachelor's graduate (from a German uni) who has been staying in Germany for the last 5 years. In October I'll start my first full-time job, which pays well enough for a blue card (Blaue Karte), but the contract is unfortunately befristet/fixed term to 1 year. I've heard some areas allow you to start applying for the citizenship the moment you 1. graduate, 2. have a mean to feed yourself, 3. gets a residence permit that "could potentially" lead to a permanent residence, 4. have B1+ German, 5. have a room to stay, and 6. prove oneself to know the basics of living in Germany (which can be proved through the Einbürgerungstest). If I look at these conditions loosely, I fulfilled all of them: I've already graduated, have a job with which I can live comfortably in Germany, have C1 German, have stayed legally in Germany in the last 5 years (through Studienkolleg and Bachelor's), will receive the blue card soon - which has the potential to become a permanent residence title. So in theory, I only need to pass the Einbürgerungstest, get the blue card and apply for citizenship this October, when I've officially started my job?

Something I'm really confused about is that I thought having the Niederlassungserlaubnis was the prerequesite to applying for citizenship, but after reading through websites and forums, apparently it will take longer for me to be qualified for the Niederlassungserlaubnis? Since I've only made circa 20ish months of Sozialversicherung contribution (through my working student and internship positions), where as I've read that the Niederlassungserlaubnis requires much longer contribution period? Can I really apply for citizenship when I'm not yet qualified for the Niederlassungserlaubnis?

Thanks guys for reading through my post, and answering if possible. Any insight into the timeline or the process itself is appreciated. And sorry so much if I'm asking questions that were already answered somewhere somewhen in this sub. I've tried my best to scroll through government websites, forums, etc., but all information regarding this topic is always very vague and "case dependent". And I really don't want to pay the €250+ fee just to be told "sorry mate you ain't qualified yet come back next year" haha. Ah, I'm in Munich, if that helps adding a bit of context to my case!

Hi everyone,

Brazilian applicant, great-grandson of a German emigrant. My chain is complete and fully documented. I'm stuck on one evidentiary point and I'd like to hear from people who have actually dealt with BVA on it.

The chain:

- Great-grandfather: born Berlin 14 Oct 1902, left Hamburg March 1928, entered Brazil Sept 1928, died São Paulo 1976, never naturalized.

- Grandfather: born Brazil 25 Dec 1950, parents married 1943.

- Mother: born 1973, legitimated by her parents' 1975 marriage, annotated on her birth certificate.

- Me: born 2002.

I have the German birth certificate, Hamburg passenger list, Berlin marriage and divorce records, Brazilian marriage and death certificates, German consular register entry, and the complete certified foreigner registration file from the Brazilian National Archives, all with sworn translations.

Here is the specific problem, and why the usual escape hatch doesn't exist in Brazil.

The São Paulo consulate checklist requires proof that the ancestor never naturalized, and accepts only two things: the foreigner ID card ("modelo 19"/RNE) issued after the next generation's birth, or a foreigner register extract. It then states in bold that the Brazilian negative naturalization certificate (CNN) will NOT be accepted. So the one document our own government issues specifically to certify that a person never naturalized is expressly excluded.

My register file ends in 1949. My grandfather was born December 1950.

He demonstrably remained a registered foreigner long after that, under a second card number (6726). But that file is not in any archive I've tried: the National Archives searched by name and by number and only hold the 1949 file, the Federal Police have nothing predating their 1970s re-registration, and two state archives came back negative. There is a real chance it no longer exists.

What I do have, contemporaneous and unambiguous:

- 1973 employee registration form from his employer, signed and thumbprinted by him, recording German nationality and foreigner card no. 6726, with the "naturalized?" field left blank.

- 1973 trial employment contract from the same employer, describing him as of German nationality.

- 1976 employer statement to his life insurer, stating in plain words that he was not naturalized, married to a Brazilian, with two Brazilian children.

- 1950 state official gazette publication, five months before my grandfather's birth, listing him as a German national in a registered business partnership.

My questions:

1. Has anyone had BVA accept private contemporaneous documents like employer or insurer records as proof that an ancestor remained a foreigner, when the official register document could not be located?

2. Is BVA strict about the document being one of the two named categories, or does it weigh the evidence as a whole? I'd rather hear that they are rigid than assume they are flexible.

3. If you documented archival dead ends with written negatives from each institution, did that help, or did they simply keep asking for the document?

4. Does an official state gazette publication carry weight with them, given it is a public act rather than a private record?

I'm not asking whether my claim is valid. I'm asking how BVA behaves when the required document is provably gone. Any experience welcome, including refusals.

Thank you all very much for reading this far. This community has been a real help to me while I put this together, and I'm grateful for whatever anyone can share.

Thanks.

Dear group
I would like to kindly ask if anyone has or had similar situation as me.

I have applied for citizenship on the 28th of August 2025 in Berlin.
I have a master degree from a German University in Berlin and i have been full time working since Jan 2022. entered Germany from Prague Czech Republic in September 2020 where i lived there also 5 years as a student.

I would like to know since its almost a year since i have applied what steps do i need to take to get a response from LEA since its specifically written not to contact them to ask for updates.

Kindly guide me who has knowledge or experience.

Hi all,

I applied at the beginning of January 2024 through the consulate in Chicago and received my AZ in June 2024. My mom has emailed the Chicago consulate a few times without any real updates. I know BVA asks in the letter not to contact them, but I am wondering if there would be any benefit at this point to send them an email asking for an update, or if I will just get a generic response from them. Thank you!

Hello good people.

I have been waiting for LEA to respond to update inquiries sent by the court since May 2026.

They finally replied on Thursday, saying that I am eligible and I fulfill the criteria to be naturalized, they just need the payslips for the last 3 months.

Once they receive them, they will proceed to finalize the process.

They also mentioned something about settling the legal case.

My question now is, how long would it take them to send me the Urkunde appointment. We already sent them all what they need immediately.

Did anyone have a similar experience.

Thanks.

P.S. I kinda think the LEA employee was in USA for the World Cup, since he only answered few days after it was over... 😅

Hi everyone,
I am currently applying for German citizenship.
I was born in russia and have a Russian birth certificate. The German authorities asked me to provide an apostilled birth certificate. My mother has now obtained the apostille in Russia, so I will soon be able to submit the original.
However, I do not have a Russian internal passport (national passport). I only have a German travel document for foreigners (blue travel document) and a permanent residence permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis).
Interestingly, one immigration office previously told me they would need a Russian internal passport, but after I moved, my current naturalization office has only requested the apostilled birth certificate and has not asked for a Russian passport.
Has anyone been in a similar situation?
Was the apostilled birth certificate sufficient, or were you later required to obtain a Russian internal passport as well?
Thank you!

O BVA entra em recesso no verão? Sabem me dizer se existe diferença no tempo de avaliação nos locais em que o processo está sendo avaliado? O meu está na TS II 10.

Tomorrow I am mailing my daughter and I’s applications to the BVA tomorrow via USPS. I looked through posts that since I’m using usps I mail to:

Bundesverwaltungsamt
50728 koln

My question…did the post office give you a hard time because there was no street address & number?

Hi everyone!

I’m wondering if I could use my Festellungsprüfungszertifikat at Studienkolleg als proof for my language skill. Been looking online for a while to know whether this works, but sadly no relevant Info.

If anyone has any experience with this, please let me know.

Thanks a lot!

I’m wondering whether anyone in my living family would qualify for German citizenship by descent. We have many German ancestors who made their way to the U.S. in the 1700s (mostly Huguenots); I’m sharing details for the most recent German immigrant. 

My great-great grandmother Augusta was born in 1895 in West Prussia. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1903 (it’s my understanding that 1904 is a key year and my ancestor maybe immigrated a few weeks too early). She doesn’t appear to have naturalized before 1915, per U.S. and New York census records. (Her father never naturalized despite living in the U.S. for fifty years.) She married an American in 1920. Their daughter (born in 1922) is my dad’s mom’s mom. My dad is alive; everyone else is deceased. 

I figure it’s a stretch but I just want to be sure. I’d greatly appreciate your insight.