Can You Move Cities While Applying For German Citizenship?

Key Takeaways

• If you have an ongoing naturalization case, a move within your current office’s area keeps it with that office. You only need to update your registered address.
• A move to a district covered by a different naturalization office shifts your case to that office, whether in your state or a new one.
• A domestic move does not restart your naturalization case. It keeps your original filing date, but the new office re-runs checks with the police, immigration authority, and welfare office.
• Moving into Germany during a pending foreign-residence case (Section 13 or 14) is more serious than a domestic move. The Federal Office of Administration loses jurisdiction immediately.
• Fee handling and notification steps vary by state if you move while your case is open.

Table of Contents

How Do You Get German Citizenship?

You can get German citizenship one of six ways.

1. Naturalization
2. Descent
3. Adoption
4. Birth
5. Marriage
6. Declaration, including the Section 5, 13, 15, and Article 116(2) historical-injustice routes

This guide covers what happens to a pending naturalization case when you move while your application is still open. These cases fall under Sections 8 through 10 of the Nationality Act. They are run by state and local offices, not a single national office. So where you live matters while your case is open.

This guide also covers the narrower case of moving into or out of Germany while a foreign-residence case is pending at the Federal Office of Administration. That follows different rules entirely.

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Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

Stay tuned!

Learn something new about Germany every week and make informed decisions with confidence.

What Happens to Your Case When You Move Cities?

The sections below explain each row in full.

Does Moving Within Your City or Region Change Your Case?

No. If you move within the area your current naturalization office covers, your naturalization case stays with that same office. You just need to send your updated residence registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) to that office. You get this certificate from your local registration office (Bürgeramt) when you register your new address there.

In Hessen, for example, a regional authority (Regierungspräsidium) handles naturalization cases across a wide district called a Regierungsbezirk. A move within that district only updates your address on file.

Berlin reaches the same result for a different reason. Hessen’s districts are large geographic areas, but Berlin merged its naturalization offices into one authority for the whole city. Since January 2024, that single citywide office (Landesamt für Einwanderung) has handled every naturalization case in Berlin. A move between neighborhoods does not change who is handling your case.

What Happens When You Move to a Different Authority’s District?

If you move to a district that is different from your current naturalization authority, responsibility for your naturalization case shifts to the office covering your new address.

This follows Section 3(1)(3a) of Germany’s state administrative procedure law, the Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz or VwVfG. A 2013 court ruling confirmed it.

Your new local office can coordinate with agencies in your area more easily than your old office could from a distance. Before it moves your naturalization case forward, it typically requests updated information from:

• The local police
• The immigration authority
• The welfare office

Does Your Case Restart From Zero After a Domestic Move?

No, your naturalization case does not restart after a domestic move. It is still the same underlying file, carried over with your original application date.

But the new office cannot simply pick up where your old office left off. It has to independently confirm you still meet every requirement.

This includes fresh checks with the police, immigration authority, and welfare office, even if your old office ran the same checks months or years earlier.

Should You Move Specifically to Reach a Faster Office?

Be cautious. A move made to chase a faster office is not a guaranteed shortcut.

Processing times vary a lot between states and offices in the same state. Your new office still has to independently reverify your naturalization case from scratch.

That can eat into or erase whatever time you hoped to save.

There’s a second catch. Naturalization authorities check your genuine residence, not just a formal address change. A registration that does not reflect where you live can draw scrutiny before your case counts as transferred.

If your case has stalled and you are weighing a move for that reason, you should ask your current office for the reason first. An immigration lawyer can also weigh in on whether a move would help your specific case, and can file a lawsuit on your behalf if delays continue no matter where you live.

Consult an Immigration Lawyer

• An immigration lawyer can help you accelerate your German citizenship application.
• The lawyer can file a lawsuit on your behalf.
• You can clarify your doubts regarding German citizenship.

Consult a Lawyer

What Happens If You Move Into or Out of Germany During a Pending Case?

Moving into or out of Germany during a pending naturalization case is more serious than a domestic move. For former Germans and their descendants, foreign-residence naturalization cases under Section 13 and Section 14 of the Nationality Act are handled by the Federal Office of Administration, not a state or local authority.

If you move your residence to Germany while one of these cases is still open, the Federal Office loses jurisdiction immediately. Your case gets reviewed fresh under the domestic rules in Sections 8 through 10.

These can differ substantially from the foreign-residence rules your case started under. Even a case that would have been approved from abroad can still be turned down after the switch.

Citizenship assurances issued before the move (Einbürgerungszusicherung) become invalid the moment jurisdiction changes.

The same reversal applies if you emigrate abroad before a domestic case concludes. It applies when the move would put your case under the Federal Office’s jurisdiction.

FAQ