Citzenship questions....

[Sample00]

this is a break off from the US Citizen thread.

maybe some people here might have some answers to my question...

I was born in Germany and my wife was born in Canada. My kids are Canadian born.

I became a Canadian Citizen in 1978.

Can my kids get a dual citizenship? Are there any benefits from this?
Would there be any benefits from this in applying to the United States for school/work?

I;ve just never really understood the citizenship aspect of this and was just wondering if anyone else here new any of the details on this.

[Rathji]

Jus sanguinis is what Germany used to use to determine citizenship, but I think very recently that has been changed somewhat. As I understand it, you cannot keep this right if you get other citizenship like you did in 1978.

My guess is no they cannot get it, but I could be wrong. I don't know of any benefits other than travel type ones ie EU Visa. My brother in law has German citizenship, and is keeping it in favor of Canadian for this reason. I don't see it as worth it personally.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Sample00

Can my kids get a dual citizenship? Are there any benefits from this?
Would there be any benefits from this in applying to the United States for school/work?

I can't imagine there would be much benefit as far as the US is concerned, but for Europe certainly. German citizenship should allow your kids to live/work anywhere in the EU when they are older, so by all means go for it. At the very least, they will have the option to pick the quicker lineup at passport control if they ever fly to Europe. They will thank you for it.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by icarus

I can't imagine there would be much benefit as far as the US is concerned, but for Europe certainly. German citizenship should allow your kids to live/work anywhere in the EU when they are older, so by all means go for it. At the very least, they will have the option to pick the quicker lineup at passport control if they ever fly to Europe. They will thank you for it.

I dont hold a German Passport anymore. Is this something that I should get, if my kids apply for a dual citizenship?

[NBC]

Originally Posted by Sample00

I dont hold a German Passport anymore. Is this something that I should get, if my kids apply for a dual citizenship?

This all depends on the country in question. It used to be the case that if a child is going to apply for a second passport, one of the parents must be a citizen of that country. But this is ever-changing, especially within the EU. Plus some states want you to choose between passports. Though I have a friend born in South Africa to a British dad and American mother who has a Canadian passport (residency) and a US one. He can apply for the other 2 if he wants as he is eligible, though it does tend to get a bit confusing at times.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Sample00

I dont hold a German Passport anymore. Is this something that I should get, if my kids apply for a dual citizenship?

I don't know if you can given that you are now a Canadian citizen. Germany compared to the rest of the EU is a bit funny on dual citizenship. I don't see no reason though why your birth cert wouldn't do it or even your old passport though as NBC mentioned that you aren't a German citizen anymore could affect things although for many countries that you were born there is sufficient.

Further to the reasons mentioned it'd also be handy if your kids wanted to study in Europe from a fees POV as (in the UK at least) fees are tiered. Domestic-EU-International.

Other countries, such as Japan or Germany, allow dual nationalities until a certain age

In Germany, for instance, children of foreign-born parents have dual nationality until the age of 23, when they must decide which passport to keep. Only in exceptional cases, for example, if ''unreasonable conditions'' are imposed for giving up a foreign passport, will dual citizenship be permitted to continue.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/im...tizenship.html

Good luck. Germany seems to be the exception rather than the norm as far as the EU goes.

[icarus]

I still say you see if you can get them German passports. Until they would have to choose to relinquish the passport at 23, they could enjoy the benefits of living in, working in and travelling around Europe if that's what they choose to do.

I say this because I have a lot of friends (mostly Aussies) who live or have lived in the UK and have to go home before they want to because their visas expire. I know when I was living in Australia I had similar visa problems. Your kids could resent you one day if they knew they could have had the chance to live freely in Europe for awhile without having to worry about visa issues!

[Sample00]

thanks for all the information, gang.
I have actually placed a phone call to the German Consulate and am awaiting a return call to see where I stand with this.
thanks

[Delthefunky]

I recently got my Swedish citizenship, and it was confusing at first whether I was still entitled to it or not. There may be rules on the age limit the children have to be below before applying for citizenship... for Sweden I think it's 18 or something close to that. I would recommend phoning the embassy in Ottawa (consulates sometimes are limited in there knowledge) and explaining the issue. Yeah they could take advantage of the post-secondary school system in Europe should they choose.

[troutman]

I think Germany has been slow to allow dual citizenships, unlike other European countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_citizenship

Although dual citizenship is restricted under German law, it can be held in limited circumstances:

• where a child born to German parents acquires another citizenship at birth (e.g. based on place of birth, or descent from one parent).
• where a German citizen acquires a foreign nationality with the permission of the German government
• where a naturalized German citizen, or a child born to non-German parents in Germany, obtains permission to keep their foreign nationality

A senior Social Democratic member Ralf Stegner, who is the interior minister in the regional state of Schleswig-Holstein, has asked the German chancellor to change dual-nationality law to allow dual-nationality to all citizens of Germany. He feels that Germany should allow multi-nationality to integrate many of the Gastarbeiter who live in Germany. [2]

[Sample00]

once again, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
I have spoke to the Consulate again and here is what they provided me.

Dear Sir,

thank you for your request, which was received by our Consulate. Since the acquisition of the German Citizenship is a careful and meticulous process, we would need to receive some information first and to see the following documents in order to evaluate the chances of a successful application.

• Your birth certificate
• Landed Immigration Certificate of your father or mother or his/her Permanent Residence Card
• Last German Passport of your father or mother
• When did you, and your father or mother become a Canadian Citizen?
• Citizenship search, if no valid German Passport or Permanent Residence Card of either of your parents exists.

thankfully I have all this information available.
from what I understand, I now have to submit it and they will decide if there is enough information to proceed.

[troutman]

a careful and meticulous process

This is Germany in a nutshell.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by troutman

a careful and meticulous process

This is Germany in a nutshell.

always has been, always will be.