German nationality law

German nationality law is the law governing the acquisition, transmission and loss of German citizenship. The law is based on a mixture of the principles of jus sanguinis and jus soli. In other words, one usually acquires German citizenship if a parent is a German citizen, irrespective of place of birth, or by birth in Germany to parents with foreign nationality if certain requirements are fulfilled. Naturalisation is also possible for foreign nationals after six to eight years of legal residence in Germany. However, non-EU and non-Swiss citizens must usually renounce their old citizenship before being naturalised in Germany. Citizens of other EU countries and of Switzerland usually can keep their old citizenship (see section "Dual citizenship"). Some EU countries do not allow dual citizenship even with other EU countries.