Individuals are entitled to naturalise as a German citizen if they fulfill all the following criteria: In Ecuador, for example, some state officers used the argument a few years ago that the place of conception, and not the place of birth, has to be taken into account when applying jus soli provisions to irregular migrants’ children (an interpretation without any legal fundament and no longer applied).Granting nationality at birth to children born on the territory of a country – the “jus soli” principle – is often seen as an effective tool to prevent statelessness. Birthright citizenship, also referred to as jus soli which is Latin to mean right of the soil, is the right of citizenship that one acquires for being born in a particular country regardless of the nationality of their parents. In brief: jus soli is a useful tool but not a magic wand that clears away statelessness. consisting of both the mother's and the father's surnames if the parents are unmarried, or if the parents are married but do not share a surname). Jus soli has been hardly used in most European countries for centuries, but in recent decades, an increasing number of European states have introduced limited and/or conditional jus soli provisions in their law. By right of soil or Jus Soli means that you are born within the borders of Germany, so in German soil and that is how you get your citizenship.
Introducing jus soli-related provisions and safeguards also reflects the way in which European societies have changed in recent decades, and the important role immigration now plays in many countries of the continent. It also includes a section on the Constitution of the Federal State in which the applicant resides. Those among them who take up residence in Germany after May 8, 1945, are automatically considered German citizens. Germany: prior to 2000 Germany had its nationality law based entirely on jus sanguinis, but now children born on or after 1 January 2000 to non-ethnic German descent parents acquire German citizenship at birth, if at least one parent has a permanent residence permit (and had this status for at least three years) and the parent was residing in Germany for at least eight years. All people with the exception of EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals, must fulfill requirements and fall into one of these categories for getting German citizenship. If they acquire another citizenship at birth, they can usually continue to hold this.Exceptions to the normal residence requirements include:A person born of a parent with German citizenship at the time of the child's birth is a German citizen. In theory, the jus soli rule of citizenship stands in sharp contrast to the jus sanguinis rule, which grants citizenship only if one or both parents hold citizenship. However, an exemption is granted to German citizens by descent who are born abroad and have a double-barreled surname, providing that their surname format is permitted under the law of their country of birth and the laws of any other countries of which either parent is a citizen.Children born on or after 1 January 2000 to non-German parents acquire German citizenship at birth if at least one parent:An individual who does not have legal capacity is entitled to naturalise as a German citizen merely through ordinary residence in Germany for at least 8 years—and does not have to fulfil the other criteria (e.g., adequate command of the German language and ability to support themselves without recourse to benefits).Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland pflegte aufgrund des anfänglichen Alleinvertretungsanspruchs ein außenpolitisch und völkerrechtlich zwiespältiges Verhältnis zur DDR, was sich in der Gesetzgebung niederschlug. Finally, some problematic practices (contrary to national law but still applied by authorities) have also been reported. Both regulations, (1) and (2), allowed a considerable numbers of Poles and Israelis, residing in Poland and Israel, to be concurrently German citizens.Under transitional arrangements in the 1999 reforms (effective 1 January 2000), children who were born in Germany in 1990 or later, and would have been German had the law change been in force at the time, were entitled to be naturalized as German citizens.The examination tests a person's knowledge of the German Constitution, the Rule of Law and the basic democratic concepts behind modern German society.