Germany has announced plans to bring in measures that will allow Brits considerably more time to apply for dual nationality post Brexit.
The German Foreign Ministry has confirmed that it has prepared a law known as the ‘Brexit-Übergangsgesetz’. This would extend the deadline by which UK nationals would need to apply for German citizenship in order to receive dual nationality.
The draft legislation would give British nationals until 31st December 2020 to apply for German citizenship. The UK is due to leave the EU in March 2019, but under current agreements would remain tied to the Union in a transitional period until the end of 2020.
However, the German authorities have stated that the law to extend the dual citizenship window will only be offered in the event that a satisfactory leaving deal between the UK and EU is reached before March 2019. In the result of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, no extension will be offered.
“In the absence of a Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK, British citizens would no longer be included in the right to dual citizenship once the UK leaves the EU, as benefits for EU citizens would no longer apply to them from that date onwards,” the German Foreign Office press office wrote in a statement.
If the UK does leave the EU with a deal in place, then British nationals will still have the right to free movement and residence in Germany during the transition period. This is regardless as to whether their naturalisation application has been completed by 2020.
Article published 6th August 2018