German Citizenship - Your stories - South Africans in Germany

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

Shared by Elizabeth in January 2025

Please indicate how you applied for retention	I did it myself in South Africa
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, Proof of permanent residency in the foreign country
Which of the above documents need to be apostilled or translated	Negativbescheinigung must be translated.
Please describe the process of legalising (apostille) the documents	I had a translated ‘Erweiterte Meldebescheinigung) but it was not accepted. My German permanent residency card was accepted but a little unhappy that I didn’t have (negativbescheinigung)
Any tips that you can give	I did it in Cape Town and everything was very efficient, I got in within a month and authorised my son to collect it. An affidavit for authorisation was done at the police station.

Nic shared in October 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 , Copy of your South African ID or passport
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	R3200.00 and 5 working days
Please describe the process of legalising (apostille) the documents	I had mine Apostille in Pretoria through my father, didn’t cost anything, no identification was needed, just 3 hours of his time
Any tips that you can give	The price is definitely worth the stress of having to try get a fitting appointment through the embassy or consulate. I used Docnetics and they did everything and were friendly while doing it, and also informed me throughout the short 5 working days.

Amy shared in October 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 , Copy of your South African ID or passport, Letter as to why you want to retain your SA citizenship
Which of the above documents needed to be apostilled or translated
If you use a company to assist with obtaining documents from South Africa, can you give an indication of the related costs and timeframe	R4150 and took 8 days
Please describe the process of legalising (apostille) the documents
Any tips that you can give	Although going through a documentation company was more expensive, definitely worth it.

Carla shared on 16 September 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 , Copy of your South African ID or passport, Letter as to why you want to retain your SA citizenship
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	R3080
Please describe the process of legalising (apostille) the documents	There was no need for this. This document is not needed by the German authorities
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.