A young man named Vladimir (name changed) came to our law firm asking for help going through the procedure of renouncing his Ukrainian citizenship. As a small child, Vladimir had moved to Germany together with his parents, where he finished school and enrolled at university. The family had no relatives left in Ukraine, and since then they had never once returned to their home country. Over the years, Vladimir had not only forgotten his native language, but in general knew almost nothing about Ukraine, and identified far more with German culture than with Ukrainian culture. At a certain point, once the restrictions that came with his status as a foreigner in Germany became a burden, the young man decided to obtain German citizenship. As is well known, to obtain German citizenship, a foreign national must renounce whatever citizenship they currently hold. This procedure is not complicated in itself. But in our client's case, some difficulties arose.
Even before coming to us, the young man had gathered all the necessary documents, including a certificate guaranteeing the possibility of obtaining German citizenship (Einbürgerungszusicherung), confirming that he could be granted German citizenship once he renounced his Ukrainian citizenship. An application to renounce Ukrainian citizenship was then filed. Although Vladimir met, on the whole, every prerequisite for obtaining German citizenship, he was nevertheless refused on his application to renounce Ukrainian citizenship.
Naturalization Requirements
Naturalization in Germany generally requires at least 5-8 years of lawful residence, knowledge of German, and passing a test on the basics of life in the country (Einbürgerungstest).
The whole issue stems from the fact that Ukraine has mandatory military duty. Under Ukraine's Law "On Military Duty and Military Service" of 25 March 1992, No. 2232-XII, men aged 20 to 27 are called up for mandatory service. Under Article 65 of the Constitution and Article 1(1) of the Law "On Military Duty and Military Service," defending the country, its independence, and its territorial integrity is a constitutional obligation of every Ukrainian citizen. Since Vladimir was 23 and held Ukrainian citizenship, this was precisely the basis for the refusal. The consulate demanded a certificate proving either a deferral from conscription or an exemption from military service. Article 17 of the Law "On Military Duty and Military Service" lists the full set of categories of persons who can obtain a deferral from the army or are not subject to conscription at all. Those eligible for a deferral include: men with two or more children or a pregnant wife; those with temporary health issues; full-time students at vocational schools, universities, and theological seminaries; conscripts who are the sole breadwinner in their family; teachers, doctors, clergy, police officers, reservists, and other persons listed in Article 17. Article 18 of the same law, in turn, defines the persons who can obtain a complete exemption from military service. These include persons: found medically unfit for military service; who have turned 27; who served in the armed forces of another state before acquiring Ukrainian citizenship; who were awarded an officer's or command rank after graduating from a higher education institution; convicted of a crime and sentenced to imprisonment or restriction of liberty, including with release from serving the sentence; and other persons listed in Article 18.
Vladimir clearly could not obtain an exemption from the army, since he did not fall into any of the listed categories, and a deferral seemed unlikely as well. But we weren't even thinking along those lines. Delving into Ukrainian law, we found provisions establishing that our client did not need to obtain any exemption or deferral from military service at all. He was not obligated to serve in the Ukrainian army in the first place.
The fact is that officials often don't fully grasp the details of a case and take a fairly superficial approach to each one. The same thing happened with our client — there is simply no other way to explain their refusal. But their demand, which was essentially impossible to fulfill, could actually work in our favor. Since renouncing Ukrainian citizenship was impossible, we decided to approach the German naturalization authority with an application for Vladimir to be admitted to German citizenship while keeping his previous citizenship. In doing so, we relied on § 12 of Germany's Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz — StAG). Under this provision, a foreign national may be admitted to German citizenship if the foreign state refused permission to renounce citizenship for reasons beyond the foreign national's control, made it conditional on unacceptable terms, or failed to decide on a properly filed renunciation application within a reasonable time (§ 12(1), second sentence, No. 3).
However, we received a refusal from the naturalization authority regarding the application to grant citizenship. But we did not give up — especially since we already had a similar case in our own practice in which a favorable decision had been issued. Digging through our archives, we found that older case, in which a higher authority — the Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sport (Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport) — had resolved a similar case in the foreign national's favor. Accordingly, we submitted a renewed application together with a cover letter citing this precedent, insisting that the naturalization authority review our client Vladimir's application in the same way. Which, to the young man's great relief, the authority ultimately did.
Vladimir came to our law firm in time, so we didn't have to correct any mistakes on his part, and that had a beneficial effect on the outcome of the case. Looking back over our extensive experience with these kinds of matters, we've seen time and again that a lawyer's involvement from the very first step — without having to undo mistakes clients have already made trying to handle things on their own — leads to a positive outcome much faster. So it's better not to waste precious time, and to seek professional legal help as soon as possible.
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