Could dual nationals in Germany have to give up a citizenship if the law is reversed?

Local Germany

14-02-2025

Putting migration front and centre in their campaign, the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) parties have been placing citizenship rules in the firing line lately.
In particular, the Union has set its sights on Germany's dual nationality reform, which came into force under the previous 'traffic light' coalition led by the Social Democrats (SPD) last year, pledging to roll back the law allowing the holding of multiple nationalities and once again increasing the residence requirements for citizenship.
The conservative parties also say they want to change the law to be able to revoke German citizenship from dual nationals who commit serious crimes.
We asked readers of The Local to share their questions on the German elections, and this topic came up frequently. A few people asked us if they think it's possible that the citizenship reform will be reversed, and whether a reversal could even apply to those who have already benefitted from the law.
How likely is it the nationality law will be reversed?
Foreign residents in Germany can apply to become German after five years - or three years in some cases - following the overhaul by the previous government.
The new law also allows everyone naturalising as German to hold multiple nationalities whereas previously only EU citizens or those who fell into an exception category could keep their origin nationality. The law change also benefits Germans by allowing them to keep their nationality when gaining a citizenship abroad (if their host country allows it).
In terms of the election outlook, the CDU/CSU are currently leading in election polls with around 29-30 percent of the vote. However, they will likely to need to enter into a coalition with either the Social Democrats or Greens after the elections.
This could put a spanner in the works of their hardline citizenship plans.
Representatives from the SPD, Greens and the FDP parties have told The Local they will not support repealing the same citizenship reform law they just spent years negotiating and getting passed.
Nevertheless, it's understandable that dual nationals may be worried about any threat to their rights in Germany, with some asking if German citizenship gained under the current rules could be taken away in the future, or if they'd have to give up their previous nationality.
Let's have a closer look at what the law says on this issue.
In short, no. German and EU law contains stringent protections that prevent people being stripped of their citizenship on a whim.
Domestically, the main guardrail for this is the Basic Law, or Grundgesetz: Germany's post-war constitution that sets out fundamental rights for citizens. In Article 16 of the Basic Law, a high bar is set when it comes to revoking German citizenship.
According to the Interior Ministry (BMI), the constitution generally forbids the withdrawal of German citizenship, except in very specific circumstances.
"The loss of German citizenship can only be considered as a last resort due to the high level of protection afforded by Article 16 of the Basic Law," a spokesperson explained.
Two copies of the German Grundgesetz, or Basic Law, lie on a table in a library. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Molter
In the rare cases that threshold is reached, the government must still ensure that the person does not become stateless as a result.
"A loss of nationality may only occur on the basis of a law and against the will of the person concerned if the person concerned does not become stateless as a result," the BMI spokesperson added.
Of course, that means dual nationals could lose their citizenship in some circumstances - but there are strict rules on when this can happen.
EU law, which supercedes national law, comes into play here. In a key bill on citizenship passed in 1997, the law states that "no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her nationality".
In other words, simply deciding that dual nationality is no longer valid would not be good grounds for withdrawing citizenship that has already been granted to foreigners.
This was emphasised by Berlin-based immigration lawyer Sven Hasse, who told The Local that the naturalisation law could not be changed retrospectively.
"In principle, the legislature is free to change the nationality law and, for example, to extend the naturalisation periods again or to restrict dual nationality to cases in which the specific country does not allow loss," he said.
"However, legal changes are only possible for the future. Anything else would violate the constitution's prohibition of retroactivity."
What rules would apply to current applications?
One potential worry is that, if a new law is brought in that once again bars dual citizenship, applicants who are still waiting to naturalise would be affected.
In the case of the citizenship reform brought in on June 24th, 2024, people who applied before the new law came in were still granted citizenship if the decision was made after the law came into force. While this was great news for non-EU citizens, a similar decision the other way around could be devastating to current applicants.
The entrace to the Berlin Landesamt für Einwanderung, previously known as the Ausländerbehörde. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen
Recently, Sweden's right-wing populist government said it wanted tough new citizenship rules to apply to applications sent in before the law is implemented. With residence requirements set to be hiked from five years to eight (the opposite of what happened in Germany), this means current applicants could suddenly find their applicants becoming invalid.
In Germany, there is no guarantee this won't happen, though there's also no precedent. In the past, governments have always tried to give some clemency and leeway to applicants in the event of rule changes.
For example, when Britain finally left the EU and EEA on January 1st 2021, UK citizens who applied before this cutoff date were still able to obtain dual nationality - even if the decision was made at a later date.
Can criminal offences be grounds for revoking citizenship?
Another proposal pitched in the CDU/CSU manifesto is to revoke German citizenship from dual nationals who commit serious criminal offences.
However, the BMI insists this would be illegal under both the Basic Law and European law.
"A loss of German citizenship solely due to the violation of criminal provisions would not be compatible with the constitutional requirements of Article 16 (1) of the Basic Law," the spokesperson said.
"If a criminal phenomenon can be countered with the existing constitutional instruments, the loss of German citizenship is not a proportionate measure."
Some criminal acts can bar an applicant from gaining German citizenship in the first place. If they lie on their application and somehow manage to gain a German passport under false pretences, they could see their citizenship revoked at a later date.
However, crimes committed after naturalisation are not generally grounds for revocation.
When can German citizenship legally be taken away?
In some very severe cases, a dual national could be stripped of their German nationality.
In most cases, this could only happen if the individual joins a foreign terrorist militia or signs up to fight in a foreign army (barring EU, NATO, and certain other allied countries).
Germany's Nationality Law does make some other provisions for the revocation of citizenship, however.
This can be happen up to ten years after citizenship is granted if the authorities find out that a foreigner lied on their application.
Section 35 of the law states: "An unlawful naturalisation may only be revoked if the administrative act was obtained by fraudulent misrepresentation, threat or bribery or by deliberately providing incorrect or incomplete information that was essential for its issuance."
In particular, the BMI emphasised the case of foreigners paying "lip service" to Germany's democratic and liberal values or hiding anti-Semitic or dehumanising views.