Applying for German Citizenship - Personal experience

I am currently in the process of preparing my application for German Citizenship, and will share my progress to this page. I am applying at my local Bürgeramt, who will send it to the Landkreis Esslingen for further processing. Search online for Einbürgerung + your town or Landkreis

Step	Action	Details	Time Frame
1	Einbürgerungstest	I made an appointment at the VHS Stuttgart. This was in July 2023. I had to enrol for the test in person and got a date for the test in September 2023. I used the apps listed on the website to prepare and I found they prepared you very well for the test.	The result was sent to me via post within 3 weeks
2	Beratungsgesrpäch at the Bügeramt	I contacted the Bürgeramt on 19 January 2024 via E-Mail to arrange an appointment, and they made one for me on 24 January 2024. During this consultation session, the official (Beamtin) went through the list of required documents with me and explained the application process. I received an application form as a hard copy. It was made very clear that if I apply before the new law is implemented, I still have to renounce my South African citizenship. Note: Many Bürgerämter now ask people not to come for a Beratungsgespräch, as they are a bit overwhelmed with requests.
3	Apply for Retention of my South African citizenship	Even though this may or may not be needed, I decided to do it anyway to cover all my bases. We applied for these the same time as the other doucmentation from South Africa. The turnaround time was about a week, but we waited for the rest of the documentation pack to be finalised before having it sent to Germany. See info on the different options below.	1 Week
4	Gather the needed documents	We used a company in South Africa to help us apply for our Retention letters, Unabridged Birth Certificates and Unabridged Marriage Certificate. The UBC and UMC had to be apostilled. We applied on 9 May 2024 and received the apostilled documents via DHL courier in Germany on 16 September 2024. We did have issues with my UBC, as my ID number was not on it. We received the electronic copy on 13 June 2024, and asked them to apply for a corrected UBC. This meant my application was in the back of the queue and we realised it is going to take too long so we asked them to have the documentation apostilled as is and send it to us in Germany. On 18 September I received an electronic copy of my correct UBC, the original document will now be apostilled and send to us via courier. The next step is to have the UBC and UMC translated in German.	4 Months
5	Document translation	The requirement for our Behörde is that the UBC and UMC must be translated by a sworn translator. This is now our next step
6	Get German Documents
7	Submit application

Apply for documentation from South Africa

There are 4 ways to obtain documentation from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in South Africa

Apply in person in South Africa. There is always a wait period for the documents, sometimes months. You can collect it in person or give someone authorisation to collect on your behalf
Give authorisation to another person to apply and collect on your behalf. Currently, you can only make appointments to apply for and collect IDs and passports, for the rest you must queue at the Home Affairs offices.
Apply for your documentation in Germany at the South African Embassy in Berlin or the Consulate in Munich. In many cases, you can either apply in person or send it via post. This will then be sent to South Africa via the diplomatic bag. Depending on the documents being sent, you can pay extra to have them courier them for you. Applying via the consular services takes much longer and you will have to supply additional documentation
Apply using a Company. This is the easiest way, but there are more costs involved. Shop around for the best prices, but be careful and only use trusted companies. You are giving very personal information to these companies and it can be abused.

To my knowledge, and also required by our Bürgeramt, all documents from the DHA must be apostilled and translated to German. Translations should be done by a sworn or certified translator in Germany. As per the list of documents needed – “Please note the following for foreign birth certificates: National birth certificates must have an apostille or legalisation mark and be translated by a publicly appointed and sworn translator. ” I am assuming that the Marriage certificate must also be apostilled, although they do not specifically ask for it “Current marriage certificate or current certified copy of the marriage register “
Feedback from people who are currently applying for German citizenship is that each office has its own requirements in terms of apostil and translation of documents. So we advise you to make sure before paying for something they do not need. The risk is always that they might need it apostilled and translated further down the process.

Companies that can assist with documentation

Apostil

Get South African apostilles, police clearances, birth/marriage certificates, legalisations and much more quickly and efficiently through our legal service. We have helped thousands of people

Doc Assist

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Apply for retention of South African citizenship

As mentioned there are 4 ways to apply for documentation from South Africa. If you apply via the consular services in Germany, you need to do it in person (appointment needed) and submit the following documents:

Form BI-1664
Form BI-529 / DHA-529
The applicant’s original South African unabridged birth certificate. A photocopy of the document must also be submitted. The original document will be given back to the applicant
Written confirmation from the relevant authorities of the country, whose citizenship the applicant intends to acquire, that the applicant has not yet acquired the citizenship of that country. If not in English, such document must be translated into English and certified as a correct translation by a sworn translator (vereidigter Übersetzer/Dolmetscher) at the expense of the applicant. This “Staatsangehörigkeitsausweise, Negativbescheinigungen or Erweiterte Meldebescheinigung” can be obtained at the Bürgeramt or the Landeratamt. Some offices allow you to apply online for this.
The applicant’s original South African passport. A photocopy of the passport page with the applicant’s biometric data/photograph and residence permit / Chipkarte for Germany, as applicable, must also be submitted. The applicant’s original passport must be submitted regardless of whether it is still valid or expired. The original document will be given back to the applicant.
The applicant’s original South African unabridged birth certificate. A photocopy of the document must also be submitted. The original document will be given back to the applicant

If you apply through a company, you need to submit a BI-1664 form, a BI-529 form, a letter stating why you want to keep your SA citizenship and a copy of your South African ID. Uptil now most did not ask for the Confrimation letter from Germany, but it seems this has now become a requirement. The company you use will be able to inform you better.
Applying in South Africa – I assume you need to submit the same when doing it in person. If a family member/friend applies on your behalf you must also submit an authorisation letter. Depending on where in SA you apply, and you are prepared to wait a bit, it is possible to get the document on the same day.

Note – This document is not needed by the German authorities, this is for your own record.

Unabridged Birth certificate

As mentioned there are 4 ways to apply for documentation from South Africa. If you apply via the consular services in Germany, you need to submit the following documents:

Form BI-154
Form BI-529 / DHA-529 (Determination of Citizenship)
The applicant’s South African birth certificate or birth record, if available. A photocopy of the document must also be submitted. The original document will be given back to the applicant.
in respect of applicants who do not have a South African birth certificate or birth record, form DHA-24. • This form may not be downloaded i.e. is available to the applicant to complete when he or she applies to person.
The applicant’s original South African passport. A photocopy of the passport page with the applicant’s biometric data/photograph and residence permit / Chipkarte for Germany, as applicable, must also be submitted. The applicant’s original passport must be submitted regardless of whether it is valid or expired. The original document will be given back to the applicant.
The applicant’s original South African unabridged birth certificate. A photocopy of the document must also be submitted. The original document will be given back to the applicant

If you apply through a company, you must submit a BI-154 form and a copy of your South African ID.
Applying in South Africa – I assume you need to submit the same when doing it in person. If a family member/friend applies on your behalf you must also submit an authorisation letter.

Unabridged Marriage certificate

As mentioned there are 4 ways to apply for documentation from South Africa. If you apply via the consular services in Germany, you need to submit the following documents:

Form BI-130
A letter from the applicant. The letter must be signed and dated by the applicant and confirm the applicant’s contact details (residential address, mobile phone number and email address) and that the certificate is to be certified with an apostille in terms of the 1961 Hague Convention.
The applicant’s South African birth certificate or birth record, if available. A photocopy of the document must also be submitted. The original document will be given back to the applicant.
Both spouses’ original passports or identity documents. A photocopy of each document must also be submitted. The original documents will be given back to the applicants.
A copy of the South African abridged or unabridged marriage certificate, if available

If you apply through a company, you must submit a DHA-130 form and a copy of both spouses’ South African IDs.
Applying in South Africa – I assume you need to submit the same when doing it in person. If a family member/friend applies on your behalf you will have to submit an authorisation letter as well.

Note: On the list of required documents I received, it does not explicitly state that the Marriage certificate must be apostilled, but I would rather not take the chance that they do not accept it without an apostille.

Apostille

An Apostille is a confirmation of authenticity and allows for a document (for example a birth certificate) to be accepted by authorities in another country. Documents from the DHA can only be apostilled by DIRCO
More information on Apostilles and legalisation can be found here.
Apostil has a great page which explains the difference between a DIRCO and a High Court apostille.
From our understanding, documents older than 12 months cannot be apostilled. Please confirm this with DIRCO.

Legalising Documents

Depending on the situation, you might need to have documentation authenticated, certified, or make certified copies thereof. Document authentication South Africa and Germany are both

Translations

It is crucial to understand the different types of translations that my be required for documentation

Translating documents

When seeking translation services in Germany, it’s crucial to understand the different types of translators, each specializing in various fields, to ensure your documents meet

Example of documents needed

The following is a list of the possible documents that might be needed, depending on your situation. I got the list during the Beratungsgespräch at our Bürgeramt in Leinfelden. They will send the application to Esslingen to process.