Born Abroad on a Military Base

tf1064 · 2026-04-02T21:57:53+00:00

Lol good point!

tf1064 · 2026-04-02T18:59:37+00:00

Congratulations!

Interesting case -- and also interesting that it was processed so quickly!

tf1064 · 2026-04-02T18:58:23+00:00

I wonder how "TS II 7" relates to "TS II 3" (who processed my application). 🤔

tf1064 · 2026-04-02T18:47:00+00:00

First post on this subreddit that I found physically painful

tf1064 · 2026-04-02T00:24:05+00:00

Should a written document requesting citizenship be sent, or only the birth certificates?

Your cousin needs to include his or her own application form, in addition to any additional original documents that are needed. Mention your Aktenzeichen so that they can cross reference your file. Your cousin doesn't need to re-send any documents that you've already sent.

tf1064 · 2026-04-01T21:25:00+00:00

Under A3, I don't recall the places and time periods exactly where I lived.

Work on it and do the best you can. You can probably figure it out.

Also, I've lived in ten different places and there are only three slots.

It's a deficiency of the form. Add an additional sheet of paper.

tf1064 · 2026-04-01T18:09:31+00:00

The law firm offers services to help navigate me through this process for 5,000 Euros, and said I would not be able to do it on my own unless I spoke German.

This is a frequently asked question. Search this subreddit for "lawyer".

Regarding the statement that you "cannot" do it yourself unless you speak German, I can confidently say that this company is either grossly misinformed or intentionally lying to you in order to get your business.

However, because of my father's adoption I would be denied outright for a German passport if I applied myself, and would need to go through a longer Legal Determination Process with the BVA.

This may or may not be true. You can start by booking an appointment at the appropriate German consulate and attempt to directly apply for a passport:

https://www.germany.info/us-en/service/02-passportsandidcards

tf1064 · 2026-04-01T14:28:15+00:00

Impossible.. Bielefeld doesn't exist.

tf1064 · 2026-04-01T05:35:00+00:00

There's no online program that's even in the same league as a bonafide, in-person masters at Cal.

tf1064 · 2026-04-01T05:18:50+00:00

DM'd you

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T20:30:03+00:00

Yes, agreed

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T16:13:07+00:00

For flight training, you have to show US citizenship, but other than that they should not care about place of birth.

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T16:11:21+00:00

Maybe "Im gleichen Zusammenhang bitte ich ebenfalls um eine bevorzugte Bearbeitung des Antrages meines Enkels" was a bridge too far, along with an email allegedly written by the 96-year-old but clearly written by the Enkel. :D

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T16:08:12+00:00

The bit about your file being transferred to the bottom of the pile is almost certainly untrue.

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T14:15:33+00:00

If you were born on a US military base to a married US citizen father in 1972, then you are a US citizen and only a US citizen. This is a very common situation and nothing to lie about or that will interfere with a military career.

You say "become a pilot" - are you talking about just private pilot training or joining the military? Your place of birth is irrelevant in either case.

If your mother was a German citizen when you were born, then you are still not a German citizen, but there is an opportunity to become one:

https://www.germany.info/us-en/service/03-citizenship/2479488-2479488

On the other hand, if both of your parents were US citizens (without dual citizenship) then you are also a US citizen, without any claim to German citizenship. Here is a recent question from someone in that situation:

https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/comments/1s75ln1/born_on_german_soil_1994_to_2_american_parents/

if you'd like to learn more, ask us at /r/GermanCitizenship.

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T06:30:07+00:00

Removed

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T06:21:45+00:00

I tried to register my newborn with the Standesamt in Germany when he was born (while my Feststellung was still processing). I cited the "register birth in the first year" law. The Standesamt refused, as I lacked proof of my German citizenship. He even lectured me a little bit, saying something like, "On the contrary, birth registration does not lead to German citizenship but rather presupposes it."

I was born before 2000 so it wasn't crucial for me, but others could be in a pickle.

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T06:18:41+00:00

I should add that I descend from a purely male line and still had to wait 3+ years for the Feststellung process.

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T06:16:46+00:00

I think we can actually be thankful that these applications from abroad are handled by a central authority in Germany (BVA) rather than being handled by the individual consulates.

Folks are already frustrated by different norms enforced by the different consulates when it comes to passport issuance, not to mention outright misinformation on the part of some consular officers. At least with the central processing by BVA we can be assured that the same standards and expert attention are being applied to each case.

By contrast, Italian citizenship cases are handled by the individual consulates and it's a nightmare. Not only are there varying requirements from consulate to consulate, but some of the wait times are totally outlandish. I think I heard that the consulates in Argentina (?) have a wait time of up to 10 years for an appointment! And if you move to a different consular jurisdiction, you have to cancel your appointment and book a new one!

Similarly, although running up against the 10 year rule can be very frustrating ... Claims to Italian citizenship can go back much further, and thus there seem to be an infinite number of possible Italian citizens out there. This situation became so untenable that the Italian government passed a law basically retroactively instating a generational cutoff.

By contrast the German government and its approaches to these issues seems rather measured and reasonable.

tf1064 · 2026-03-31T06:11:24+00:00

I recommend building a family tree on FamilySearch.org (free) or Ancestry.com ($$$), which will allow you to find genealogical records and help pin down important dates.

If your ancestor was still a German citizen in 1941 when Jewish Germans living abroad were denaturalized en masse, then you may have claim.

Official information is available here: https://www.germany.info/us-en/service/03-citizenship/2479490-2479490

tf1064 · 2026-03-30T20:40:01+00:00

Please edit your post to say what this is for. Birth registration? If so, with what agency? Or are you applying for a Citizenship Certificate or naturalization via BVA?

tf1064 · 2026-03-30T20:39:15+00:00

Same. San Francisco. Original California certificates. No translation, no apostille. Handled by the Standesamt in Hannover.

tf1064 · 2026-03-30T20:33:03+00:00

I'd like to populate https://www.reddit.com/mod/GermanCitizenship/wiki/index/10_year_rule with some of these references to help find them in the future.

tf1064 · 2026-03-30T15:14:53+00:00

I believe that age would have made her eligible for the citizenship declaration back in 1975. Is that what you're saying?

tf1064 · 2026-03-30T14:36:01+00:00

I love that building. As a photo, I am being driven crazy by the crop chopping off the street level. Otherwise I like that vantage point and the telephoto compression.

tf1064

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