German Citizenship Under StAG §15 (Restitution for the Persecuted)

StAG §15 is a declaration route that lets people persecuted between 1933 and 1945 — and their descendants — acquire German citizenship even where Article 116(2) doesn’t quite fit. Added to the Nationality Act in August 2021, it was created to close gaps left by the older restoration rules, and it generally permits dual citizenship with no application fee.

What StAG §15 covers

Section 15 gives a right to citizenship by declaration to people who lost or were denied German citizenship on political, racial or religious grounds between 30 January 1933 and 8 May 1945, and to their descendants. It reaches situations that the constitutional restoration provision (Article 116(2)) did not explicitly cover — for example some who gave up citizenship under pressure, or lines that fell outside the older wording.

How it differs from Article 116(2)

Article 116(2) restores citizenship to those denaturalised by the Nazi regime and their descendants. StAG §15 sits alongside it as a broader declaration route for the persecuted who don’t fall squarely within 116(2). In practice, tracing your family’s exact history and dates tells you which of the two applies — and they often overlap.

Who can declare

The persecuted person, and their descendants down the line, can generally make the declaration. As with restoration, what matters is establishing the persecution and the citizenship position at the time — not how many generations separate you from the ancestor.

Evidence you’ll need

Broadly: records linking you to the persecuted ancestor, plus evidence of the persecution or loss of citizenship (denaturalisation lists, emigration or deportation records, archive entries such as the Arolsen Archives). Our documents guide sets out the chain of records in detail.