Merkel's gift: a German passport for people from Poland and the East who lived or were born in Germany

Before stepping down from power in Germany, the Chancellor granted hundreds of thousands of Israelis the opportunity to obtain German citizenship and with it a European passport.

Advocate and notary Dr. Yuval Chen explains the changes and emphasizes the big question - who is entitled to this?

Dr. Yuval Chen, in collaboration with Zap Legal

28/11/2021

Sunday, 28 November 2021, 15:26 Updated: 15:30

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It is no secret that the entrance ticket to the EU passes through the passport of one of the EU countries and if you already get a passport from one of them, it would be best if it is from the strongest country in the EU - Germany.

The German passport opens up a whole world of options throughout the Union, including opening businesses, facilitating mortgage obtaining, opening bank accounts, almost free tuition, receiving scholarships, jobs and employment, financial grants for parenting and raising children, quality education and more, and provides very significant relief and benefits in Anglo-Saxon countries , Such as a visa to the United States.

Even if these options are not relevant to the applicant at the moment, they can be very relevant to his or her future or future offspring.

German citizenship also for immigrants from Poland and Eastern countries

The condition for obtaining German citizenship was until recently proof of a blood relationship to a father or grandfather, who was a German citizen and had his citizenship revoked by the Nazis.

Most of those who did not meet the conditions for obtaining German citizenship could not prove German citizenship of the father or grandfather, or were "only" descendants of someone born or living in Germany, but did not hold German citizenship.

How?

In the 1920s, many Jews emigrated from Poland and Eastern Europe and settled in Germany, where they had children.

Most of them lived in Germany with their original foreign citizenship and with the rise of the Nazis to power, many of those Jews fled Germany.

All their descendants, who applied for a German passport after World War II and in recent years, were denied, on the grounds that although their ancestors lived in Germany, their citizenship was not German, as a German citizen was only born to a person holding German citizenship no matter where he was born.

Merkel's gift (Photo: Paul, Yoav Dodkevich)

The new law that allows you to hold German citizenship

Before Angela Merkel left the post of Chancellor, a law was recently enacted in Germany that now allows (subject to certain conditions) the descendants of those immigrants from Eastern Europe, whose center of life was in Germany and they were born there, to receive German citizenship and the desired passport. Or the grandfather, mother or grandmother held German citizenship at the time.

Recent political changes in Germany, the entry of a new interior minister and the removal of Chancellor Merkel from power and the anticipation of hundreds of thousands of Israeli applications for German passports may once again lead to tougher conditions.

Thus, it is advisable for anyone who can prove a blood relationship to a person who at the time of Hitler or before him was the center of his life in Germany, to hurry up and apply for German citizenship.

How is it recommended to apply for German citizenship?

As in any field, here too there are "farmers" who believe that their command of the German language allows them to deal with a legal matter. It is advisable to apply for German citizenship accompanied by a law firm that specializes in German law and is completely fluent in the German language. It is recommended that these lawyers have a legal education from a university in Germany, who know how to quote from judgments in Germany, which are able to refer the responsible party in Germany to sections of law and interpretations of local courts.

Lawyers who know how to file objections and locate old documents in Germany, and who have the ability and tools to argue with the responsible official in Germany. Legal knowledge from a university in Germany and command of the German language, generates in the official in Germany great respect and listening to the lawyer who specializes in the field and submits for his clients an application for German citizenship.

The author is Dr. Yuval Chen, a lawyer and notary, who has handled thousands of applications for German citizenship since 1997. For more details and a consultation call: 053-9374954

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