How come there are suddenly a million Jews who are entitled to a German passport ?

Over 300,000 Jews fled Germany due to the persecution of the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. Today it is already a million descendants and even more.

The persecuted of the Nazi regime and their descendants can now obtain citizenship and a German passport in a much easier way than before.

New german legislation from 2021 significantly expands the circle of those eligible and made the conditions for obtaining citizenship and passport simpler.

In the last two years, Germany has expanded the conditions of naturalization for Jews persecuted by the Nazi regime.

These are people who lost their German citizenship between 30.1.1933 and 8.5.1945 after being persecuted by the Nazi regime and the racial laws whose entire purpose was to destroy and deport the Jews and other minorities from Europe.

Who is eligible ?

The new regulations in Germany apply to anyone whose citizenship was revoked as a result of persecution by the Nazi regime between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945.

A clear advantage of the regulations is that the German legislator also recognizes the right of the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the family member who was persecuted by the Nazis to request citizenship and a passport, even if the owner of the original citizenship has already passed away.

The amendment enacted in August 2021 states that the right to citizenship and a German passport will also apply to a person who had a resident permit in Germany before 1933, but due to the persecution of the Nazis, he was denied the right to become a legal citizen in Germany. Even if he applied to the authorities in germany and was rejected.

It is important for those who qualify to know that there are concessions that were not available in the past:

As in the past, the new citizens will no longer be required to give up their current citizenship even if they currently hold American, Portuguese and Israeli citizenship.

Also, it is not necessary for all the people in the family to apply, you can skip a generation. That is, for example if a grandchild wants German citizenship and a passport then he will be able to exercise his right without first having to naturalize one of the parents or grandparents, everything is based on that family member who was persecuted by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.

Service in the army or work for the state, will no longer prevent a person who meets the other eligibility conditions from receiving citizenship and a German passport.

The most significant change in our opinion is the elimination of the discrimination against women that existed over the years, which prevented many descendants from receiving German citizenship simply because they were descendants of women who lost her citizenship during the years when the Nazis were in power. Today this gender difference is no longer valid.

Also, there is no requirement to live in Germany in order to obtain the citizenship and passport, there is no requirement to pass official tests or to know the language.

How long does the process take ?

The average length of time for the process of obtaining German citizenship is usually between one and a half to two and a half years. This depends on the quality of the documents available to the client. There are cases where the process can be extended and last three years. In any case, the German government is the only authority to grant citizenship and the schedules mainly depend on it and it is not always possible to predict in advance how long the process will take.

At the end of the process, the applicant is invited to a meeting at the consulate to receive the citizenship documents. An appointment must be made for this meeting.