All right, I am a quarter German from two great grandmothers. I don't know the specifics for one (though I could dig that up), but for the other, she was born to two immigrants from Germany, so she was full German. But she was born in the U.S.

Her daughter, my dad's mom, is dead. My dad is half German from that great grandmother and another great grandmother (who is now dead, I don't know that many of the specifics on her, as I said). The paperwork on everyone is accessible.

If I speak German fluently and study mechanical engineering in college (two relevant things I hear), what would be my chance of being able to claim German citizenship?

Children born abroad to one or more German parents who themselves were born abroad on or after 1 January 2000 (entry into force of the revised Nationality Act), will in principle no longer acquire German nationality. The only exceptions to this rule are if the child would otherwise be stateless or if the German parent(s) register(s) the birth with the German mission responsible for where they live within one year of the birth of the child (section 4 (4) of the Nationality Act).
It is now easier for people who have lost their German nationality by choosing to acquire a foreign nationality (section 25 of the Nationality Act) to re-acquire their German nationality provided they move back to Germany and fulfil certain other conditions.

Former Germans may also re-acquire German nationality without having to give up their place of residence abroad. In such cases, the opinion of the local German mission abroad carries considerable weight (section 13 of the Nationality Act).

Just a little addition:

My great grandmother's parents were both German and they didn't naturalize. She was born here. So technically, she was a German citizen, and no one since her has had any citizenship other than the one they were born with.

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Originally Posted by DiesMann

Just a little addition:

My great grandmother's parents were both German and they didn't naturalize. She was born here. So technically, she was a German citizen, and no one since her has had any citizenship other than the one they were born with.

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Children born abroad to one or more German parents who themselves were born abroad on or after 1 January 2000 (entry into force of the revised Nationality Act), will in principle no longer acquire German nationality.
Just a question:
My great-great... grandfather was the Byzantine Emperor John VI. May I claim Byzantine/ or at least East-Roman/citizenship via ancestry?

I was born in 1994. My parents were born way before that.

As to your question, that makes it a question of just how far back. And does your family still speak the language of the Byzantine Empire and follow its culture? My family identifies back to Germany.

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Originally Posted by DiesMann

As to your question, that makes it a question of just how far back. And does your family still speak the language of the Byzantine Empire and follow its culture?

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Hahaha-The Greek language in its Romaic variant is one of many spoken languages/along German, French and Russian/ in my family.

All right, I'll grant you that. Thanks for your time.

I'll keep that law from 2000 in mind, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't apply in this case, since we're all born before 2000. I'll conduct more research behind the 1913 law.

Have a look here-there is plenty of useful information:
REGIERUNGonline - Einbürgerung


... but I read this:
A person born of a parent with German citizenship at the time of the child's birth is a German citizen. Place of birth is not a factor in citizenship determination based on parentage.

Those born after 1 January 1975 are Germans if the mother or father is a German citizen.
Those born before 1 January 1975 could normally only claim German citizenship from the father and not the mother. Exceptions included cases where the parents were unmarried (in which case German mothers could pass on citizenship) or where the German mother applied for the child to be registered as German on or before 31 December 1977.
Children born abroad to one or more German parents who themselves were born abroad on or after 1 January 2000 (entry into force of the revised Nationality Act), will in principle no longer acquire German nationality.
The new law came into effect in 2000 and you cannot base your arguments on the law from 1913.;)



You may consult your case with the German Embassy-
4645 Reservoir Road NW
Washington, DC
(202) 298-4000
... or you may find one of the German Consulates. Their list is here:
German Missions in the United States - Consular Districts
Trust me-they know their "stuff"more than you and me.

All right, sounds good, thanks. But note: my parents were not born on or after 1 January 2000 (obviously).

Thanks for the detailed answer, most appreciated. :)

Would an adult child (b. 1964 in California) of a deceased parent (b. 1929 in California) who himself was a child of someone born in Germany (mother born 1888) be able to claim German citizenship?

Did you ever find out?