Please note that the following forms and declarations are available in German only.
You must send the following documents with your finished naturalisation application:
Forms and declarations:
If you are a citizen of an EU country or Switzerland: Fact sheet for EU or Swiss nationals (pdf , 8KB)Download Link
General documents:
- One recent passport photo of each person to be naturalised
- Valid passport (EU citizens need an identification card too)
- Valid residence permit
Civil status certificates:
For all foreign documents, the following must be sent:
The original foreign documents and the German translations. The translations must be made by a translator for courts and notaries. The translator must be authorised in Germany. Go to www.justiz-dolmetscher.de to find translators.
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate / civil partnership certificate / copy from the family register – if you have been married before, you need to send these documents too
- Divorce decree or death certificate of the spouse/life partner
- Custody decision / negative certificate given by the Youth Welfare Office ("Jugendamt") or documents of an adoption decision
Proof of German language skills for applicants aged 16 and over:
You need only one of the following:
- B1 language certificate or higher-level language certificate (B2 - C2 or TestDaF) - Only the standard exam is accepted. It must be from an official institution like Telc or Goethe Institute. Information on the B1 language test (pdf , 69KB)Download Link
- Secondary school certificate or higher-level certificate – Only school reports with at least Grade “4” or “adequate” ("ausreichend") in the subject “German” can be accepted
- “DSH” examination / “PNdS” examination / “Studienkolleg”
- Diploma from a vocational school
- Degree certificate from a German university
- Certificate of successful completion of the integration course
Proof of German language skills for applicants under the age of 16:
- Current school certificate
- All certificates
Proof of knowledge of the legal and social order for applicants aged 16 and over:
You need only one of the following:
- At least a German secondary school-leaving certificate – Only school reports with at least Grade “4” or “adequate” ("ausreichend") in the subject “Politics and Economics” can be accepted
- Proof that you have passed the naturalisation test or the “Living in Germany” (“Leben in Deutschland”) test - Information on the naturalisation test (pdf , 137KB)Download Link
- A German university degree in Law, Social Sciences, Political Science, Administration, or Social Sciences
Proof of income:
- For employees: employment contract/training contract and 1 current payslip
- For self-employed persons: certificate from a tax consultant on income of the last 6 months and most recent income tax assessment
- When claiming state benefits: notification confirming that you get unemployment benefit I or II (“Arbeitslosengeld I or II”), child support (“Kinderzuschlag”), basic security (“Grundsicherung”), pension (“Rente”), housing benefit (“Wohngeld”), parental benefit (“Elterngeld”), maintenance allowance (“Unterhaltsgeld”) or student loan (“BAföG”)
- Current proof of income of the spouse/life partner must also be sent.
Proof of living in Germany for the last 8 years:
- Pension insurance history (you can get this from the pension insurance provider in Frankfurt am Main - Information sheet on insurance history (pdf , 940KB)Download Link). If you are self-employed, you will need to send your business registration/tax assessment notices
- Certificate of kindergarten attendance / school attendance / study times (all certificates of study or de-registration)
Please note that we might ask you to submit additional documents. This list is to give you an idea of the normal documents.