The press secretary pointed to the requirement of §25 of the Law on Imperial and State Citizenship (Reichs- und Staatsangehцrigkeitsgesetz, RuStAG), according to which individual naturalization upon personal application as a citizen of a foreign state entails the automatic loss of German citizenship. This loss occurs regardless of the applicant's will and the degree of his awareness of all the legal consequences of this step.
Data exchange revealed instances of abuse
According to Lingenthal, the establishment of information exchange between the authorities of the FRG and the Republic of Turkey uncovered massive abuses by former Turkish subjects. After acquiring German citizenship, tens of thousands of Turkish citizens restored their Turkish citizenship. Now the interior authorities of the FRG intend to conduct a mass inspection and strictly investigate all cases of loss of German citizenship. A representative of the Interior Ministry cited the figure of 48,000 persons of Turkish origin who, in the opinion of his ministry, will lose German citizenship and may be deported from the country. In this context, the group of late resettlers from the former USSR, numbering several tens of thousands of persons, was also mentioned.
It is clear that such press reports and statements made by responsible officials from the Interior Ministry aroused great interest among the concerned public. After all, the majority of late resettlers and contingent refugees have dual citizenship, and reports of impending deportations cannot but cause alarm. What does the law say about this?
Legal framework
Indeed, naturalization as a citizen of a foreign state upon personal application leads to the automatic loss of German citizenship. However, this provision requires specific clarification and coordination with other legislative acts.
A "personal application" means that the automatic, collective acquisition of foreign citizenship does not affect FRG citizenship. As a rule, in 1991-1992, permanent residents of the former USSR automatically acquired the citizenship of the successor republic of the USSR on the basis of permanent residence on its territory by a certain date. Russian Germans resettled to Germany already being citizens of independent Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Under the status of late resettlers, they also acquired FRG citizenship as a second citizenship. These persons, on completely legal grounds, without deceiving anyone, have dual citizenship, and they need not fear for their legal positions. Jewish contingent refugees also acquired German citizenship with the knowledge of the authorities without renouncing the citizenship of their country of origin. Such a privilege is provided for Jewish emigrants and "Geneva" refugees, for whom renunciation of previous citizenship is difficult. These persons do not fall under the provisions of §25 of the Citizenship Law.
I would like to examine in more detail the situation of those who filed a personal application for naturalization as a citizen of a foreign state, already being a citizen of the FRG.
Vladimir Miller resettled from the USSR to Germany in 1989. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. By that time, V. Miller was permanently residing abroad. Therefore, he did not automatically acquire the citizenship of the new country, as did his other compatriots. Miller frequently visits his former homeland, and each time these trips are associated with the need to obtain an entry visa at the Russian embassy. To simplify the organization of frequent trips, V. Miller submits a petition to the Russian embassy in the FRG for his naturalization as a citizen of Russia. The embassy employees advised him to do so. Miller was born and lived most of his life in Russia, and therefore his petition was soon granted. In 1995, he became a citizen of Russia in addition to his German citizenship. V. Miller did not inform the German authorities of these circumstances. Now he fears an inspection and various troubles due to the revealed circumstances. The question arises: did he lose his German citizenship?
No, he did not lose it. The condition for the entry into force of the statutory provision on the automatic loss of German citizenship was permanent or long-term residence of a German citizen abroad. This is written in §25 of the Law on Imperial and State Citizenship. At the time of naturalization as a citizen of Russia, V. Miller was permanently residing in the FRG. This means that he retained his German citizenship and is lawfully a person with dual citizenship.
Variation of the example: Miller became a citizen of Russia in January 2000. Here the legal situation differs fundamentally from the one described above. Since January 1, 2000, a different version of §25 of the Law on Imperial and State Citizenship is in force, which is still relevant today. It abolishes the residence criterion in the case of individual naturalization as a citizen of a foreign state. This means that Miller automatically lost German citizenship upon the fact of Russian naturalization.
The next modification of the example: Miller filed a petition for admission to Russian citizenship in 1999, but due to bureaucratic slowness the actual naturalization was carried out in 2001. Through this act of naturalization, through no fault of his own, Miller unexpectedly lost his German citizenship. He could not have known about the upcoming changes in the law and trusted the legal situation existing in 1999, which posed no dangers to him. The actions of parliaments and authorities of various states were not controlled by the applicant himself, and he should not bear responsibility for it. This situation should currently be regarded as unresolved. It is possible that the competent German citizenship authorities will refuse to accommodate V. Miller. I foresee disputes between the interested parties and the citizenship authorities on various aspects of this complex topic. These disputes, of course, will not restore German citizenship, but they will help determine the further status of residence in the Federal Republic of Germany.
After the loss of his citizenship by the now former German citizen due to individual naturalization by the authorities of a foreign state, he is a foreigner for the Federal Republic of Germany. Therefore, for legal residence in the country, he must obtain a certain status. What should be done in cases when the loss of German citizenship has actually occurred?
Ways to solve the problem
First of all, one should study the legal positions of all family members. Suppose that at one time, by personal application, Miller himself and his wife were naturalized as citizens of Russia. The couple's two minor children were not included in the naturalization petition. This means that the children retained German citizenship. Therefore, the Millers, although they lost their German citizenship, remain foreign parents of two minor citizens of Germany. This gives them a reliable right to reside in the Federal Republic of Germany under foreigner status for raising their children, who are German citizens.
Law on Residence
Nevertheless, former citizens should not fear mass deportation to their country of origin. In this situation, Section 38 of the Residence Law (Aufenthaltsgesetz, AufenthG) helps them. This section prescribes the issuance of an unlimited residence permit to former German citizens who, at the time of loss of citizenship, had lived on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany for more than five years. A limited residence permit is issued to former Germans who, at the time of loss of citizenship, had lived on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany for at least one year.
It is important to take into account the time limits for filing an application for a residence permit on the basis of foreigner status. The petition must be submitted no later than 6 months after receiving information about the loss of German citizenship. My general assessment of the situation is that the foreigners authorities should decide each case of undisputed loss of German citizenship on an individual basis and find acceptable solutions for all parties.
Thomas Pue, German lawyer.
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