It is worth recalling here that until July 31, 1999, resettlers became German citizens after a special naturalization procedure (§6 Staatsangehorigkeitkeitsregelungsgesetz). A reliable sign of the granting of German citizenship was the presentation of a naturalization certificate (Einburgerungsurkunde) to the resettlers. After July 31, 1999, the citizenship of late resettlers of German nationality is regulated by other legal acts. Now, the issuance of a late resettler certificate under §§4 and 7 BVFG simultaneously means the granting of German citizenship. Naturalization certificates are no longer issued to late resettlers after July 31, 1999.
Until 2005, the procedure for accepting late resettlers was entrusted to two agencies. The Federal Administrative Office worked in the applicant's country of residence and issued an admission decision. The local German office for expellee affairs, already in Germany, rechecked the resettlement history. Sometimes, the two German agencies made inconsistent decisions regarding the resettler's status, which often led to human tragedies.
Since 2005, the entire procedure for accepting resettlers, both in the country of origin and within Germany, has been carried out solely by the Federal Administrative Office. Therefore, the inconsistency of actions by various agencies has fortunately become a thing of the past. After 2005, the procedure for documenting German citizenship was drastically shortened and simplified, as the labor-intensive rechecking of the resettler in Germany was eliminated.
In 2000, Amalia and Vladimir did not receive the late resettler certificate. Due to the short time, they did not attend German language courses. Amalia already spoke her Swabian dialect well, but Vladimir left Germany without learning to string three words together in German.
In Kazakhstan, Vladimir graduated from a higher school of management and got a job in the administration of a large enterprise in Karaganda. The validity of his German passport has long expired, but Vladimir did not apply anywhere to renew the document. In 2003, he got married, and in 2005 a child was born into the family. The elder Kolesnikovs are already pensioners and continue to live in their house in Kazakhstan.
In 2012, 12 years after returning to Kazakhstan, Vladimir Kolesnikov again thought about moving to Germany with his family. Can he realize his intention, should his mother Amalia Kolesnikova move with him, does his son Konstantin, born in 2005, have any rights in Germany, what does the resettlement of his wife Larisa look like?
Twice Resettlers
Previously, one had to wait several years for the issuance of a naturalization certificate. From the moment of entry into Germany until the issuance of the late resettler certificate (before July 31, 1999, the naturalization certificate), the German resettler was considered a status German. After resettlement (until 2005), the German resettler received German documents, could work, travel abroad like a real German citizen, although he was not one.
The rights of a status German are almost equal to those of a German citizen, but there are some peculiarities. Only naturalization or a late resettler certificate made the German resettler a full citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany. The differences in the naturalization procedure before and after July 31, 1999 were indicated by me above.
Until August 1, 1999, the voluntary return of a status German (not a German citizen) to the country of origin deprived him of the rights of a German resettler. This meant he could not resettle in Germany again (there are exceptions, which I will not discuss). Only a naturalized German citizen could return to the country of origin without hindrance. He took that citizenship with him and possibly retains it to this day. German citizenship gives the opportunity to return to Germany at any time.
For Vladimir Kolesnikov's family, the situation looks favorable. He has retained the legal status of a status German, although he is not naturalized in Germany. He can independently of his mother demand at the German diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan the renewal of the rights of a German resettler and the issuance of German documents. It does not matter that he does not speak a word of German and that in his first passport he was registered as Russian by nationality. With German documents, V. Kolesnikov can enter Germany and receive social support there.
It should be noted that not all officials of German embassies are well versed in the complex resettlement issues. I have had to work with rejections where only the professional familiarization of embassy officials with the requirements of the law helped applicants obtain German documents.
Vladimir's son, Konstantin Kolesnikov, inherited resettlement rights from his father. This means that both of them, as Germans, can resettle in Germany. Vladimir's wife Larisa Kolesnikova can resettle in Germany without taking a language test as the foreign mother of a German child. All members of his family are entitled to public assistance and help from the labor agency for labor integration, professional development, and retraining in occupations in demand on the German market.
Thomas Pue,
German lawyer.