GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian von Oertzen and Philipp Windeknecht, Flick Gocke Schaumburg
7. Citizenship and Residency 7.1 Requirements for Domicile, Residency and Citizenship In general, German citizenship can be awarded auto - matically by law or upon the request of an individual by administrative act. By law, German citizenship will be passed to children by way of kinship if one of the parents of the child is a German citizen. Another way of obtaining German citizenship is by way of adoption by at least one Ger - man citizen. With certain prerequisites, citizenship can be acquired by administrative act if a person has immigrated law - fully to Germany and has had their habitual abode in Germany for longer than eight years. The same applies if an individual is willing to abandon their former citi - zenship and has a spouse or a registered partner with German citizenship. Alternatively, citizenship can be acquired if the individual has custody of a child who has German citizenship. Former German nationals who were deprived of their citizenship by arbitrary expatriations by the Nazi regime on political, racial and religious grounds between 1933 and 1945, and their descendants, may apply for naturalisation (without further requirements). Tax Residency German tax residency may be obtained by maintain - ing a dwelling in Germany or by staying in Germany, when the stay is not merely temporary (generally, a stay of six months without interruptions suffices). 7.2 Expeditious Citizenship Citizens of the EU will be treated favourably in obtain - ing German citizenship as a result of the unity principle promoted by the EU. On the one hand, they will not need to acquire a resi - dence permit, but will be able to acquire this auto - matically if an application is filed with the responsible authorities. On the other hand, citizens of the EU are not required to drop their previous citizenship when obtaining German citizenship, thus gaining dual citi -
zenship. Otherwise, EU citizens are held to the same standards as citizens of other countries.
8. Planning for Minors, Adults with Disabilities and Elders 8.1 Special Planning Mechanisms A last will can be designed to focus especially on the needs of disabled children. In these cases, parents tend to consider specific provisions that ensure full support of the disabled child by state subsidy after their death, while keeping the estate itself untouched with regard to the day-to-day support of the child. This objective is reached by pairing a preliminary/posterior heirship with an executorship. 8.2 Appointment of a Guardian A guardian, conservator, or similar representative can only be appointed by a court and remains subject to court supervision, including reporting obligations. Since a 2023 reform, German law has strengthened the self-determination rights of people in need of sup - port, tightened rules on managing and transferring a ward’s assets (including corporate shares), and intro - duced a limited right for spouses to make healthcare decisions for an incapacitated partner in emergencies. 8.3 Planning for Incapacity German law provides several mechanisms to establish a legally secure framework in the event of future men - tal incapacity. A statutory emergency representation right for spouses has been codified in Section 1358 of the German Civil Code ( Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch or BGB). However, its scope is limited and subject to strict statutory requirements. For this reason, a lasting power of attorney ( Vorsorgevollmacht ) is generally the preferred instrument in practice. Owing to its broader scope and greater acceptance in legal and commer - cial transactions, it is considerably more effective than Section 1358 BGB. In addition, an advance health - care directive ( Patientenverfügung ) pursuant to Sec - tion 1827 BGB enables individuals to determine in advance how medical treatment and healthcare deci - sions should be handled if they are no longer capable of making such decisions themselves. Furthermore, corporate governance documents, such as sharehold - ers’ agreements or articles of association, should be
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