Hi everyone - just after a bit of advice / experience from anyone who may have been in a similar situation.
I'm a British doctor living and working in ZH. Wife is German and also lives/works/registered here. We've been married 6 years and have an 18 month old who was born in DE with DE/UK dual citizenship. With looming UK EU exit and half an eye on possible career opportunities later down the line in DE, I've decided to apply for DE citizenship.
I have evidence of residency in Germany totalling around 2.5 years over the last 12 years or so - all as a student or on elective placements in hospital - and have a total of about 4 years in German-speaking Europe. Language is fine - I work in German-speaking hospitals. My main question is how strict they are with the residency requirement (ostensibly 3 years) - are they known to cut some slack when it comes to linguistically well-integrated professionals from the old EU with a German family but living in CH? The rules seem to be phrased deliberately vaguely - perhaps with this in mind...?
Also, in a truly hypothetical world in which I'm still in CH in 10 years' time and would like to add yet another passport to my collection - does anyone know if changing your registered nationality on a B permit in CH resets any particular residency clock (I imagine I would only need to do this in the case of a major EU-meltdown).
And the residency requirement for 3 years must have been 'continuous residence.'
So I'm afraid, you'd not be eligible for German citizenship.
If you acquired German citizenship, you would not have to change the nationality on your B permit, because UK nationals do not have to forgo their British Citizen status when naturalising as German citizens.
I would recommend you contact the German embassy in Bern or the Bürgeramt of the Gemeinde in which you were formerly resident, as they will have a better understanding of the matter.
Totally impossible. One needs the Einbürgerungstest in the Land you live in and the language certificate must be recent if you don't have a German degree. You must be registered resident in Germany one way or another.
"Non‐Germans can also be naturalised while living abroad, provided they have special ties with Germany to justify this (section 14 of the Nationality Act)."
Anyone with experience or further knowledge on this?
"I am a German citizen married to a foreigner. How can my partner acquire German citizenship as well?
"... Naturalisations whilst residing abroad are only possible in few cases; the requirements are strict and according to the Federal Foreign Office’s experiences very rarely met.
"Among others, the essential requirements are thorough knowledge of the German language and strong ties to Germany. It must be ensured that the applicant does and will not rely on public funds. Furthermore, the naturalisation must be in the public interest of the Federal Republic of Germany. Solely private reasons, such as the fact of a marriage to a German partner, usually do not constitute a public interest.
"Please refer to the competent citizenship authority, the Bundesverwaltungsamt (Federal Office of Administration), for further information (in German)."
My German isn't up to investigating this further via the Bundesverwaltungsamt website, but it looks like that would be the place to go to determine how these -- apparently quite exceptional -- naturalization from abroad cases are assessed and decided.