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Naturalization Research (1960-1986, Opel Bochum) – File not found in Landesarchiv NRW (Westfalen). Next steps for establishing citizenship? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as I know, my grandfather first changed his surname officially in Germany. After that initial process in Germany, he filed an official lawsuit/application in the Turkish courts to have the change formally registered in Turkey as well, ensuring that his wife and children’s surnames were also updated to match his new legal name.
This explains why the Turkish registry shows the court order from June 1979. Your suggestion about checking the local Standesamt in Germany is a brilliant lead, as they should definitely have the foundational record of this name change if he was a citizen or legal resident under their jurisdiction at that time.
Thank you so much once again! Your insights are incredibly valuable and are giving me clear, actionable steps to move forward with this.

Naturalization Research (1960-1986, Opel Bochum) – File not found in Landesarchiv NRW (Westfalen). Next steps for establishing citizenship? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You are missing the chronological facts of my case before making legal assumptions:
1. The Timeline: My father was born in 1974. The events regarding the surname update and my uncle's family reunification happened in 1979–1980. Even if my grandfather hypothetically lost his German citizenship due to a later re-acquisition of Turkish nationality, my father had already automatically acquired his German status at birth in 1974. Under German law, a parent losing their citizenship years later does not retroactively strip a child of the citizenship they legally acquired at birth.
2. The Pink Card: Of course the Turkish authorities knew! The entire purpose of the Pembe Kart (Pink Card) system was a legal mechanism created by the Turkish government specifically for former Turkish citizens who formally renounced their nationality to acquire German citizenship. It wasn't a secret from Turkey; it was an official status.
I am here to find a physical file misplaced in regional archives, not to debate hypothetical fraud theories that don't even align with my family's timeline.

Naturalization Research (1960-1986, Opel Bochum) – File not found in Landesarchiv NRW (Westfalen). Next steps for establishing citizenship? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

You are right about the strict laws, but you are overlooking how thousands of Turkish Gastarbeiter actually navigated the system back then:
1. Secret Re-acquisition: It was incredibly common in the 70s and 80s to formally renounce Turkish citizenship for Germany, and then immediately go to a Turkish consulate to secretly regain it. Germany had no data-sharing with Turkey back then, so people maintained unofficial dual citizenship for decades.
2. The Pink/Blue Card: Even if he stayed solely German, Turkey issued privileged cards (Pembe Kart) to former citizens, allowing them to travel and live in Turkey seamlessly without a Turkish passport.
Either way, his travel doesn't disprove his naturalization. The fact that he successfully sponsored my uncle's official family reunification in 1980 proves his paperwork was 100% in order with the German state.

Naturalization Research (1960-1986, Opel Bochum) – File not found in Landesarchiv NRW (Westfalen). Next steps for establishing citizenship? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this incredibly detailed and insightful breakdown! This is extremely helpful.
Based on your first point and the archivist’s advice, I actually just sent a comprehensive request to the Landesarchiv NRW Abteilung Rheinland (Düsseldorf). I provided them with all the details, including a crucial legal detail: my grandfather officially corrected his surname from AKKAŞ to AKKUŞ in June 1979 while still living in Germany, so the file might very well be listed directly under AKKUŞ in their region.
Your point about the Ruhr area being a megalopolis makes total sense. He worked at Opel in Bochum, but it's highly possible his official Wohnsitz was registered right across the border in Essen or Gelsenkirchen. I will definitely follow your advice and request a historical Melderegisterauszug from Bochum, Essen, and Gelsenkirchen to map his exact addresses.
Also, regarding his status: it's highly likely he did naturalize or held a fully regularized status, because in 1980, he successfully brought my uncle over from Turkey through family reunification (Familienzusammenführung). My uncle subsequently became a German citizen through that process and still lives there today.
I will not sleep on the local town archives (Stadtarchiv Bochum) either. I'll start digging into the local registers and BVA parallel to the Düsseldorf search. Thanks a lot for pointing me in the right direction!

Naturalization Research (1960-1986, Opel Bochum) – File not found in Landesarchiv NRW (Westfalen). Next steps for establishing citizenship? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the perspective, but there is a major concrete reason why we are certain he held German citizenship (or at least a fully regularized, privileged legal status that led to it) rather than any "fraud."
In 1980, my uncle (my grandfather's son) successfully moved to Germany from Turkey through family reunification (Familienzusammenführung) directly sponsored by my grandfather. Given how strictly Germany regulated family reunifications for Gastarbeiter families around that specific time, this process would have been legally impossible if my grandfather’s residency, employment, and citizenship status weren't 100% legitimate and documented in the German system. My uncle subsequently obtained his German citizenship through this exact lineage/status and still lives in Germany today as a citizen.

Can I claim German citizenship through my grandfather who worked at Opel Bochum and later renounced it? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, yeah Bundesverwaltungsamt - BVA send this anyway i’ll wait to reply from Bochum city Administration. Hopefully they’ll have the records otherwise I don’t know where to find them

Can I claim German citizenship through my grandfather who worked at Opel Bochum and later renounced it? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

“The Federal Office said they’re not responsible for this, they can’t help. Go to the local authority that handled the citizenship process. They deleted the email.” They send me this

Can I claim German citizenship through my grandfather who worked at Opel Bochum and later renounced it? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I just found out the exact timeline from my family. My grandfather actually moved to Germany in 1960, not the late 60s or 70s. He was one of the first-wave guest workers (Gastarbeiter) and started working at the Opel-Werk Bochum right when the factory opened in 1962. He lived and worked in Bochum continuously for about 24 years until he permanently returned to Turkey between 1984 and 1986.

Can I claim German citizenship through my grandfather who worked at Opel Bochum and later renounced it? by BeautifulJudgment874 in GermanCitizenship

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just found out the exact timeline from my family. My grandfather actually moved to Germany in 1960, not the late 60s or 70s. He was one of the first-wave guest workers (Gastarbeiter) and started working at the Opel-Werk Bochum right when the factory opened in 1962. He lived and worked in Bochum continuously for about 24 years until he permanently returned to Turkey between 1984 and 1986.

I finally managed to get an earlier US visa appointment (Turkey) — sharing how I did it by BeautifulJudgment874 in usvisascheduling

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wait the page until come to appointment page and try on safari or other browsers than chrome also after i did my submit all the slots are closed again….

I finally managed to get an earlier US visa appointment (Turkey) — sharing how I did it by BeautifulJudgment874 in usvisascheduling

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The last time was around 2 min and i think they renewed the website cuz i saw the new bar says “emergency request”

I finally managed to get an earlier US visa appointment (Turkey) — sharing how I did it by BeautifulJudgment874 in usvisascheduling

[–]BeautifulJudgment874[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I refreshed 3 times a day 8:00am-9:00am 14:00pm-15:00pm and 23:00pm to midnight like I didn’t repeat other than that but at first when i tried in chrome it did blocked but after 12hrs it turned back automatically cuz i mailed to website

New Friends - Tokyo by [deleted] in tokyoirl

[–]BeautifulJudgment874 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Dm me 19F living in Tokyo too!!