If you or your child was born abroad, you may, under certain conditions, apply to have the birth retroactively registered in the German birth registry.

There is no legal obligation to register the birth retroactively. A valid foreign birth certificate (with a translation, legalization, or apostille, if necessary) also serves as proof of birth. Retroactive registration can be advantageous if you need to provide legally binding proof of a name or parentage in Germany.

Furthermore, after the registration, the responsible civil registry office can issue you additional certificates (including multilingual ones) at any time.

The following must also be noted regarding the acquisition of German citizenship for children born abroad:

If the German parent was born abroad after December 31, 1999, the child acquires German citizenship while habitually residing abroad only if an application for registration of the birth in the German birth register is filed within one year of the child’s birth, unless the child would otherwise become stateless. If both parents are German nationals, the aforementioned deadline applies if both German parents were born abroad after December 31, 1999, and have their habitual residence there.

Depending on your marital status and personal circumstances, different documents may be required.

As a general rule, the following documents are required in their original form:

• A complete foreign birth certificate or, if not available, the child’s birth certificate, with a translation, legalization, or apostille if necessary,
• Birth certificates of the parents, with a translation, legalization, or apostille if necessary,
• The parents’ identification documents,
• certificate of naturalization, if applicable,
• or certificate of citizenship, if applicable.

If the mother is or was married:

• Marriage certificate, with a translation, legalization, or apostille if necessary
• and, in the event of divorce: proof of dissolution.

If the parents are not married to each other:

• If applicable, proof of acknowledgment of paternity and the mother’s declaration of consent,
• and, if applicable, proof of joint parental custody.

Additional documents may be required. This depends on the foreign document system and can only be determined after the application has been reviewed.