These are shared experiences by people who recently went through a German Citizenship application process. You can share yours with us via an easy-to-fill-in forms found on this page
Application for Retention of SA Citizenship
Carla shared on 16 September 2024
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Please indicate how you applied for retention |
I made use of a Documentation Company |
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Please indicate which documents you had to submit for your retention application |
Form BI-1664, Form BI-529 , Copy of your South African ID or passport, Letter as to why you want to retain your SA citizenship |
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Which of the above documents needed to be apostilled or translated |
None |
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If you use a company to assist with obtaining documents from South Africa, can you give an indication of the related costs and timeframe |
R3080 |
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Please describe the process of legalising (apostille) the documents |
There was no need for this. This document is not needed by the German authorities |
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Any tips that you can give |
See if you can negotiate discount if you order this with other documents like Birth or Marriage certificates |
Danny shared on 20 August 2024
Please indicate how you applied for retention | I made use of a Documentation Company |
Please indicate which documents you had to submit for your retention application | Form BI-1664, Form BI-529 |
Which of the above documents needed to be apostilled or translated | None |
If you use a company to assist with obtaining documents from South Africa, can you give an indication of the related costs and timeframe Cost | R3200. |
Time frame | 5-7 working days. |
Please describe the process of legalising (apostille) the documents | N/A |
Any tips that you can give | I used a company called Docnetics. |
Marc shared his application for Retention experience with us on 30.06.2024
| Please indicate how you applied for retention | I made use of a Documentation Company |
| Please indicate which documents you had to submit for your retention application | Form BI-1664, Form BI-529, Certified copy of your South African ID or passport, Certified copy of unabridged South African birth certificate |
| Which of the above documents need to be apostilled or translated | The birth certificate was apostled, not sure if it was a requirement for the application of a retention letter or not. I was not sure if the apostle of the retention letter was required however I decided to do it to be safe and not have to send documents back to South Africa. |
| If you use a company to assist with obtaining documents from South Africa, can you give an indication of the related costs and timeframe | ZAR3840 ~ +- EUR190. This includes the Apostle of the retention letter. It excludes courier costs because I had paid this already with my birth certificate and documents would be sent together. |
| Please describe the process of legalising (apostille) the documents | Doc Assist supported the process of application and Apostle. |
| Any tips that you can give | Using a company is much easier even though there is a cost. The letter itself took 10 days from the day of payment to the company. The apostle process is in progress and is expected to take 6-8 weeks. |
Documentation for Germany
Shared by Carla 16 September 2024
Did you go for a “Beratungsgespräch” | Yes |
What documents did you need from South Africa for the German Citizenship application | Unabridged Birth Certificate and Marriage certificate |
Which of the above documents need to be apostilled or translated | UBC and UMC |
Did you use a company to assist with obtaining documents from South Africa, if so who, and can you give an indication of the related costs and timeframe? | Yes, we used Doc Assist. It took 4 months from application to receiving them here in Germany. We needed 2 x Retention letters, 2 UBC, 2 UMC and have the UBC & UMC apostilled. Included in the price was shipment via DHL – We paid R16 570.00 after receiving a discount |
Any tips that you can give | See if you can negotiate a discount for doing a package |
Marc shared his application experience with us on 30.06.2024
Did you go for a “Beratungsgespräch” | No |
What documents did you need from South Africa for the German Citizenship application | Unabridged Birth Certificate, Marriage certificate / civil partnership certificate/ copy from the family register. |
Which of the above documents need to be apostilled or translated | Unabridged Birth and unabridged marriage certificate… |
Did you use a company to assist with obtaining documents from South Africa, if so who, and can you give an indication of the related costs and timeframe | Doc Assist for the birth certificate – ZAR4470 (EUR220) including apostil. 6 weeks for the Certificate to be issued and 10 weeks for apostle. |
Any tips that you can give | Using a company really simplifies the process.. apply for retention letters and certificates with the same company to avoid double courier costs. |
