Verified & updated: August 2026. Checked against the official StAG text at gesetze-im-internet.de and the Federal Foreign Office's citizenship-law summary at germany.info. This page is updated whenever the legal or political situation moves.
Since 27 June 2024, Germany allows dual and multiple citizenship for everyone who naturalizes — no more giving up your original passport. That part is settled law, not a proposal. What is *not* settled is politics: parts of the governing CDU/CSU keep calling for it to be reversed. This page separates the two clearly: what the law says today, and what is still just talk.
In short: Dual citizenship has been allowed for all naturalizations since 27 June 2024 (§10 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 StAG was deleted). You do not need to renounce your original citizenship to become German, and Germans who acquire a foreign citizenship no longer automatically lose their German one. Whether your home country lets you keep *its* citizenship when you take another one is decided by its own law, not Germany's. As of August 2026, no bill to reverse this has been introduced in the Bundestag — proposals from parts of the CDU/CSU remain political statements, not law.Note: This article is general information, not legal advice. If you are unsure whether your home country allows dual citizenship, contact its embassy or consulate directly — German authorities cannot advise you on foreign law.
Key facts (2026)
- Dual and multiple citizenship allowed for everyone naturalizing in Germany since 27 June 2024 (2024 citizenship law reform)
- The old renunciation requirement (§10 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 StAG) was deleted — the official text now reads "(weggefallen)" at that position
- Germans who acquire a foreign citizenship also no longer automatically lose their German one (the old §25 StAG automatic-loss rule was narrowed the same way)
- Whether you can keep your original citizenship depends on that country's law, not Germany's — some countries (India, China, and others) do not permit it
- The 2024 reform is not retroactive: people who naturalized before 27 June 2024 and gave up their original citizenship under the old rule are not automatically restored — reacquiring it depends entirely on that country's own rules
- No bill to reverse dual citizenship exists in the Bundestag as of August 2026 — CDU/CSU statements remain proposals, not law
- India does not recognize dual citizenship at all — acquiring another citizenship automatically ends Indian citizenship under Indian law (India offers OCI — Overseas Citizen of India — status instead, which is not citizenship).
- China does not recognize dual citizenship either.
- A number of other countries restrict or require permission for their citizens to naturalize elsewhere.
- "Germany is about to abolish dual citizenship." Not accurate as of August 2026 — no bill exists. This is a political proposal from part of the coalition, not pending legislation.
- "You automatically lose your German citizenship if you take another one." Wrong since 27 June 2024 for new cases — the automatic-loss rule was narrowed alongside the renunciation requirement.
- "If I gave up my citizenship to naturalize before 2024, the new law gives it back." No — the reform isn't retroactive; reacquiring it is a question for your original country, not Germany.
- "Every country allows dual citizenship if Germany does." No — your home country's law is completely separate and Germany has no say in it.
- §10 StAG — naturalization entitlement, current text (official consolidated text; shows "(weggefallen)" where the renunciation requirement used to be)
- §25 StAG — loss of German citizenship on acquiring a foreign one
- Federal Foreign Office — citizenship law changes (Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht)
- Our German citizenship requirements guide for the full current naturalization rules
The current rule, in plain terms
Before 27 June 2024, Germany's default rule was: pick one. With narrow exceptions (EU/Swiss citizens, and cases of genuine hardship), naturalizing as German meant giving up your other citizenship, and the reverse was also true — a German who took on a foreign citizenship voluntarily generally lost their German one automatically under the old §25 StAG.
The 2024 reform, in force since 27 June 2024, removed both sides of that rule. If you naturalize now, you keep what you already have. If you're German and you acquire another citizenship now, you keep your German one too. This isn't a special exception you have to qualify for — it's simply the current version of the law for everyone. The mechanics of naturalization itself (5 years residence, B1 German, the test, income requirement) are unchanged and covered in our citizenship requirements guide.
The part Germany doesn't control: your home country's law
Germany allowing you to keep your citizenship only solves half the equation. The other half is entirely outside German law: does your home country allow you to hold another citizenship voluntarily?
Most countries do. But some don't, or attach conditions:
This list is illustrative, not exhaustive, and consulate rules change. Before you apply for German citizenship, check directly with your home country's embassy or consulate what happens to your citizenship if you naturalize elsewhere — German authorities process your German application either way, but they cannot tell you what your own country's law will do.
If you naturalized before 27 June 2024 and had to give up your citizenship
This is a common question the reform does not answer the way people hope. The Federal Foreign Office is explicit that the 2024 law contains no retroactive provisions: if you naturalized as German before 27 June 2024 and renounced your original citizenship under the old rule, that renunciation stands. Germany does not restore it, and the new dual-citizenship rule does not reach back to your case.
Whether you can get your original citizenship back is now a question for that country's law alone — some countries have a straightforward reacquisition process for former citizens, others don't allow it at all. If this is your situation, the right first step is contacting your original country's embassy about *their* reacquisition rules, not the German authorities.
The CDU/CSU push to reverse it — what's actually happening
Since before the 2024 reform passed, parts of the governing CDU/CSU have argued for narrowing or reversing dual citizenship — the argument is usually framed around integration expectations, not administrative detail. Individual politicians have called for it to become "the exception, not the rule" again. These are real, repeated political statements, and they get news coverage every few months, which is exactly why out-of-date pages are a problem in this topic.
What has not happened, as of August 2026: no government bill amending §10 StAG's dual-citizenship provision has been introduced in the Bundestag, and no vote has been scheduled. A political party arguing for a policy is not the same as that policy being law, in progress, or even drafted. If a genuine legislative proposal appears, this page is updated the same week with what it would actually change and when it would take effect — not before.
What would actually change if a reversal passed
Nobody can tell you the details of a law that doesn't exist yet, but based on how the pre-2024 rule worked and how these proposals are typically framed, a reversal would most plausibly affect future naturalizations going forward from whenever it took effect — not undo citizenships already granted. German lawmaking generally avoids stripping citizenship retroactively, and doing so would raise serious constitutional questions. Treat any site that claims to know exact terms of a not-yet-drafted law with real skepticism.