The state, as a social institution, represents an enduring legal bond between a person and the state, expressed through a set of mutual rights and obligations. Citizenship was originally associated with certain privileges and statuses unavailable to non-citizens of a given state. Over time, however, the international community developed a strategy of cooperation and a mechanism for every state to respect fundamental human rights and freedoms, and as a result, the list of special rights reserved exclusively for a particular country's citizens has narrowed considerably, often coming down to the right to take part in the political life of society — in particular, in governing that society and state (voting rights, the right to hold public office, and so on). A citizen, for their part, undertakes to comply with the laws and regulations established by state institutions, to respect the rights and freedoms of others, to pay taxes and other levies, and so forth. In many states, one of the main obligations is also the duty to defend one's country and undergo the corresponding military training — an obligation that very often proves problematic for that country's citizens to fulfill.
Our client Petro (name changed) was born in Ukraine but, while still a child, moved together with his mother to permanently settle in Poland, where he finished school successfully and began thinking about university. After carefully researching a wide range of universities, our client settled on one of Germany's older institutions, since Petro already had a fairly good command of German, and his frequent trips to Germany had made him feel that this was a place where he would feel completely at home.
Dual Citizenship
Since 2024, Germany has allowed most naturalizing citizens to keep their previous citizenship — though exceptions still apply for certain countries (§§ 10-12 StAG).
After completing his studies, our client found a good job, started a family with a German national, and later obtained a permanent settlement permit in Germany. A few more years on, Petro decided to consult our law firm about the possibility of obtaining German citizenship.
Our lawyer explained to the client that, to assess whether Petro met the requirements set out under German law for obtaining citizenship, it was first necessary to request the case file from the relevant government authorities. The fact is that clients typically cannot recall the entire chronology of events related to their move and residence in Germany. What's more, facts that may seem insignificant to clients — and which they may not even think to mention during their conversation with the lawyer — can actually be of tremendous importance to a lawyer skilled at gathering the arguments and evidence needed to support a client's legal position. For this reason, reviewing the case file is, in the lawyer's view, essential in every case.
Having obtained and carefully reviewed the necessary information, our lawyer gave Petro the good news that he could confidently start the naturalization process, since he met every necessary prerequisite for obtaining German citizenship — except one: renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship. Under § 10 of Germany's Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz), a foreign national must not only have lived permanently in Germany for at least eight years, know the basics of Germany's legal and social order, and have an adequate command of German, but must also give up their previous citizenship.
Petro explained that he had not been to Ukraine in more than 15 years and was ready to renounce his Ukrainian citizenship without any hesitation, but did not know the procedure for doing so. Our lawyer, who has many years of experience with these matters, explained to Petro that, to renounce his Ukrainian citizenship, he would first need to register with the consulate and obtain permission to reside permanently in Germany. In order to reach a favorable decision on granting that permission, the Ukrainian consulate in Germany sends the necessary inquiries to Ukrainian government bodies to determine whether the applicant has any outstanding debts or is subject to any criminal proceedings.
Petro said he couldn't possibly have any outstanding debts in Ukraine, since he had left the country as a child, and that criminal proceedings were similarly out of the question. However, the lawyer explained that Ukraine, like many other former Soviet countries, has mandatory military duty, meaning Petro would need to register with the military and obtain a military service record book.
Under ordinary circumstances, this would only have meant a bit of extra hassle, but given that part of Ukraine's territory has been recognized as temporarily occupied and hostilities are ongoing elsewhere in the country, registering for military service could simply be dangerous for a young man of conscription age.
This situation greatly upset Petro, and he even considered postponing the German naturalization process to a later date. But our lawyer told him that there was, in fact, a way out.
The reason is that, under § 12 of Germany's Nationality Act, renouncing another citizenship is not mandatory for obtaining German citizenship if renouncing that other citizenship is impossible or would involve particularly severe hardship. Based on this provision, the lawyer suggested that Petro take advantage of this option and also file a petition to obtain German citizenship while keeping his Ukrainian citizenship. Our client was delighted by this possibility and instructed the lawyer to proceed accordingly.
Since the naturalization process is often quite cumbersome and takes a considerable amount of time, our lawyer decided to act on both fronts at once — submitting a petition to the relevant district authority for Petro to be granted German citizenship, while simultaneously starting to build the argument needed to support a petition to let our client keep his Ukrainian citizenship.
To do so, the lawyer first sent an inquiry to the consular section of the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany requesting official clarification on the procedure for renouncing Ukrainian citizenship. The response received from Ukraine's consulate in Germany clearly stated that, to renounce his Ukrainian citizenship, our client first needed to obtain permission from the competent Ukrainian authorities to permanently reside in Germany. The fact that Petro had lived in Poland for a long time had no bearing on the matter. The applicant's case is reviewed by several ministries and agencies, and, for persons of conscription age, inquiries are also sent to regional military registration offices. Only once all the necessary Ukrainian government bodies have reviewed the case with a favorable outcome can the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany issue a decision granting permission for permanent residence in Germany. After that, the applicant must deregister their residence in Ukraine and surrender their internal Ukrainian passport, and only then is the permanent-residence procedure considered complete, entitling a Ukrainian citizen to apply to renounce Ukrainian citizenship, provided they have a guarantee of acquiring German citizenship. Taken together, these procedures can take around two years.
In addition, the lawyer gathered official information about the partial mobilization in Ukraine and about the fact that the head of state declaring martial law could not be ruled out either.
Based on the information and evidence gathered, the lawyer drew up a formal petition requesting that Petro be granted German citizenship while keeping his Ukrainian citizenship, pursuant to § 12 of Germany's Nationality Act. In that petition, the lawyer first explained the difficulties involved in the procedure for renouncing Ukrainian citizenship, citing the official document received from the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany.
The lawyer also cited numerous sources of information indicating that hostilities were ongoing in eastern Ukraine, and that the general deterioration of the international situation — particularly in relations with Russia — had made it necessary to introduce partial mobilization in Ukraine, requiring all persons of conscription age to undergo mandatory military training.
Our lawyer placed particular emphasis on the fact that, under Ukrainian Ministry of Defense guidance, persons aged 20 to 50 called up during mobilization could be forcibly detained when crossing the Ukrainian border. Moreover, under Article 336 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, evading conscription during mobilization is punishable by two to five years' imprisonment.
It was also noted that, since Petro considered himself a pacifist and rejected any form of violent action, performing military duty in Ukraine was categorically unacceptable to our client.
In this way, the lawyer thoroughly argued that our client's arrival in Ukraine and the processing of the necessary documents there would pose a danger to his life and health, and on that basis asked that the petition be granted.
The competent district authority, having carefully examined all the evidence submitted by our lawyer and considered the arguments in detail, concluded that the circumstances genuinely prevented Petro from renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship, and granted the lawyer's petition, allowing our client to keep his original citizenship. Some time later, the process of Petro obtaining German citizenship was successfully completed, and our client became a new citizen of Germany.
This example from our law firm's practice clearly shows that even in situations where all the circumstances seem to be against you, an experienced lawyer can find the right solution — one most favorable to you — leading to a quick and effective achievement of your goal.
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