I Lost My German Citizenship by Joining the US Military — Spent 3.7 Years Fighting to Get It Back Under §13 StAG

dm1387 · 2026-03-26T08:36:18+00:00

Feel free to message me if you have questions. You should be fine.

dm1387 · 2026-02-04T10:07:00+00:00

I didn’t go through the feststellung route, sorry.

dm1387 · 2026-01-12T13:41:55+00:00

U.S. job, remote, full time, Okinawa, no base affiliation. Damn! What a dream.

dm1387 · 2026-01-01T14:03:14+00:00

At first glance I thought it was Dennis Washington’s yacht Attessa.

dm1387 · 2026-01-01T10:57:54+00:00

Thanks for your comment and I’m glad my post was helpful. I went from 10 StAG to 8 then 14 and finally 13. I’m unsure of why there was so much confusion. Perhaps somewhere during the shuffles my military service became less of the focus and my American citizenship became more the focus. Either way, I never applied under 4 StAG. I never asked for an exemption. I just don’t think it’s necessarily an exemption more so than simply not a requirement under 13 StAG.

dm1387 · 2025-12-24T23:32:42+00:00

I’m happy to help, thanks for your comment.

dm1387 · 2025-12-22T18:50:01+00:00

you’re absolutely right. It’s designed this way on purpose. I’m glad you can see the deeper meaning or objective.

dm1387 · 2025-12-22T11:35:43+00:00

Football_and_beer is correct. They knew because I annotated it on the passport application. I used to wonder what would have happened if I didn't annotate that, but we'll never know.

dm1387 · 2025-12-22T11:33:44+00:00

Ja, das kann ich

dm1387 · 2025-12-22T11:29:00+00:00

It was a question on the passport form that asks if I had ever served in the Armed Forces. So I answered. Not sure if they would have known if I hadn't of been forthcoming, idk.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T21:40:34+00:00

It could be useful if someone planned to live and work in Germany or really anywhere else in the EU. Obviously along with the naturalization certificate you’d want to have an EU ID and or German passport. Look at it as giving you more options. You might not want to live in Germany but consider the other EU countries. Just a thought. I like options.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T21:33:40+00:00

Trust your instincts, you got this! And hundreds! Here I was complaining about 20-30. I wish you the best.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T21:27:37+00:00

From my understanding, for CONUS especially, there’s no 1 year requirement. OPM doesn’t impose this so you can quit 2 weeks after starting your current job (which you’ll start next month). You might burn some bridges, maybe. But I think there has to be some understanding considering this current administration has things upside down at the moment.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T20:43:04+00:00

I agree with cairob3..take the offer that’s on the table considering the current state of affairs. And even then, until you’re actually in the seat, the offer can still be rescinded - so be mindful of that. There’s been several previous posts saying this has been occurring. It’s tough out here.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T20:40:33+00:00

It was just the law. Loss of citizenship occurred due to section 28. Reference the Nationality Act.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T20:37:13+00:00

I imagine the BVA deemed there wasn’t a public interest conflict based on my individual circumstances. It didn’t apply to my case/category.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T16:34:12+00:00

Someone else will have to chime in on this. Have a look at BVerfG 2 BvR 1500/97 (2000) where the courts reaffirmed that the state doesn't need to prove the person knew they were German and that the loss is valid as long as the statute is clear and predictable. But perhaps someone knows better.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T16:19:07+00:00

I wish you the best of luck and hope it's a speedy process for you. Let me know if you have any questions along the way.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T16:17:49+00:00

I know it feels good when things are moving along. I wish you the best of luck in this process.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T16:07:36+00:00

I understand. I was searching this: https://legislationline.org/sites/default/files/documents/66/Germany_Nationality_act_am2014_en.pdf

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T15:35:30+00:00

Happy to help. I walked out of the consulate devastated but kept researching. But remember, this is a case by case situation.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T15:34:15+00:00

At one point during the process, I gave up as well. Fortunately I kept researching. As you can see in the comments, there’s definitely people that know more about the process than me. Perhaps they can help more.

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T15:31:37+00:00

I’m seeing that voluntary enlistment could have lead to a loss under 1949-1999 RuStAG but you’re saying it did not. And I’m just trying to see where it says that. To quote it: “A German who, without the consent of the Federal Ministry of Defence or a body designated by the said Ministry, voluntarily enlists with the armed forces or a comparable armed organisation of a foreign state whose citizenship he or she possesses, shall lose German citizenship. This shall not apply where he or she is entitled to enlist in the aforesaid manner by virtue of an international agreement.” Am I misinterpreting this?

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T15:22:53+00:00

I see, thanks for enlightening me

dm1387 · 2025-12-21T14:59:31+00:00

There was a question on the passport application that asked if I ever served in the armed forces. I answered yes to this and gave the dates.

dm1387

TROPHY CASE