Talk:German nationality law

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Very good article, but what is the position of children born in Germany to foreign parents who are not entitled to any foreign nationality (eg. because the country of their parents' citizenship operates on jus soli)? I presume they automatically granted citizenship, or do they have to remain stateless for a number of years?! Cambyses 12:49, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Does any country operate on jus soli exclusively? I know the U.S. has jus soli in the sense that anyone born on U.S. soil can get U.S. citizenship, but if a U.S. citizen has a child while abroad, that child can also have U.S. citizenship because U.S. citizenship law isn't only jus soli. User:Angr 12:54, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Good question! I'm not sure if any countries operate only jus soli, but there are certainly many countries which place restrictions on passing on citizenship, so that the situation described above can and does occur. For example, British citizenship can be passed on to foreign-born children only if one of the parents was themselves BORN in Britain - foreign-born or naturalised citizens can't pass on their nationality. My son was born in Germany; he has a British passport because myself and his mother are both British born. However, if HE has children in Germany, THEY could potentially have no citizenship entitlement at all (unless from the maternal side, and many countries don't allow women to pass on citizenship!). Cambyses 13:52, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

I think in Germany your theoretical future grandchildren will be okay if your son has children with a German woman, because Germany does now allow women to pass on citizenship (since the 1970s I think). But if your son marries another German-born Brit like him, then their children could theoretically be in trouble, although German law probably also provides German citizenship for people in Germany who would otherwise be stateless. I can't believe they'd allow someone to be stateless. User:Angr 14:34, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Since the 2000 reforms, the German-born child of your son would probably be German regardless of the parent's nationality. Incidentally, naturalised British citizens can pass on their nationality, and there are some provisions allowing the children of British citizens by descent to do so Details. There are also discretionary provisions allowing children to be registered as British, the child of two British citizens (by descent) who is stateless might be considered, although the Home Office does suggest that for the 3rd and subsequent generations born overseas, it is not necessarily the United Kingdom's role to resolve statelessness. JAJ 12:00, 5 July 2006 (UTC)