Posted 4 Aug 2019 On 2.8.2019, 17:08:52, hamburger jambo said: Yes i now have dual nationality.They gave a form to take with my when i apply for my ID card and passport which states quite cleary i can keep my British passport.Just waiting for my invitation to attend a reception held in the Hamburg rathaus Thanks for the congrats everyone Good for you. More passports can't hurt. Good to keep your options open anyway. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 4 Aug 2019 On 09/05/2019, 21:11:18, Berlinexpatnine said: I made the appointment earlier this week. The Pankow system for giving out naturalization appointments is not for the faint of heart. They offer new appointments at a certain time of day on two days out of the week. Typically something like 4 or 6 new appointments are offered. When they open up the new appointments, you literally have less than 5 seconds to snatch one and try to fill out the robot detector question. This was about the 4th time my wife and I had tried to get an appointment over the past few weeks, and we each had 10 browser tabs open in order to hit refresh on each of them in turn to find the moment when the new appointments opened up. We then each went for a different appointment, but I was the only one to get to the robot detector question. I think I might have actually stumbled in answering the robot question but it gave me another chance and I got an appointment one month in the future. Anyway, it's an absurd situation, and good luck to anyone else trying to get an appointment in Pankow. Went through it, took me weeks to manage it, had to change my browser to chrome and set up auto refresh. Shockingly stressful. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Aug 2019 On 7/30/2019, 3:16:14, Acton said: I have a German wife who is proud to be German and I am proud to be British. Seems as if pride is nothing to be proud of these days. Maybe I should start a new movement? MBGA!! Do you think it might catch on? Just because someone is getting dual nationality doesn't mean they aren't proud to be from their original country. It just means that it makes it easier for them to remain/work/retire in another EU country of their choice. This is no different from people living in the UK who have Irish parents/grandparents who have applied for an Irish passport. They are still British and may well live in the UK for the rest of their lives but they have the option of working/living/retiring in the EU if necessary. This can also be the case if people have plans to retire abroad. At the moment people can retire from the UK to Spain, Portugal, etc. without any problems however after Brexit it will be more difficult and probably more expensive for non-EU citizens to retire in an EU country. I don't know if you have checked the requirements for an Unbefristeter Aufenthaltserlaubnis (permanent residency) in Germany as a non-EU citizen then it is pretty much the same as the requirements for citizenship. It may differ from state to state but in Cologne for permanent residency is (https://www.stadt-koeln.de/service/produkt/unbefristeter-aufenthaltstitel-niederlassungserlaubnis-1) - Gültiger Nationalpass, inklusive Kopien aller bedruckten Seiten - Besitz einer Aufenthaltserlaubnis seit mindestens 5 Jahren - Aktuelles biometrietaugliches Passphoto - Nachweis bezüglich der Sicherstellung des Lebensunterhaltes - Nachweise über einen ausreichenden Krankenversicherungsschutz - Nachweise über Rentenversicherung. Es müssen mindestens 60 Monate Pflichtbeiträge oder freiwillige Beiträge zur gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung geleistet worden sein. - Nachweis über ausreichende Kenntnisse der deutschen Sprache - Integrationsnachweise - Nachweise über ausreichenden Wohnraum For citizenship the requirements are (https://www.stadt-koeln.de/service/produkt/einbuergerung-den-deutschen-staatsverband-1) - Einbürgerungsantrag - Passfoto - Lebenslauf - Nationalpass oder Reiseausweis - Geburtsurkunde - Nachweis der Deutschkenntnisse - Nachweis der staatsbürgerlichen Kenntnisse - Einkommensnachweis So in both cases you are still going to have to pass the B1 German exam, Integration exam and provide evidence that you are able to support yourself financially as well as having pension contributions. The only difference is for the citizenship you need to have lived in Germany for 8 years and with citizenship it means you can live/work/retire in any EU country. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Aug 2019 Im proud to be German and British! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Aug 2019 I have to admit that I am now much less proud (and even somewhat embarrassed) to be British due to Brexit. But I am proud to be German as I have myself have chosen to become German. PS. Is it just a coincidence that the German National Elf have become really bad since I decided to go for Citizenship? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Aug 2019 Well, having looked into my ancestry I am only British because almost all of my ancestors were so poor and desperate that they moved to the UK to live in semi-poverty and try to get a better life for their families. Which they achieved. That's something to be proud of. I'm not proud of having some imaginary British or German traits. But I am proud of having filled in all those bloody forms and managing to get dual citizenship on time And I just got my voting letter for the Saxon parliament; it is somehow very pleasing to be a full, voting citizen. Acton, if you do just have a permit for EU residents then I believe you will have until the end of 2020 to apply for the one for non-EU residents. I'd check with https://britishingermany.org or attend one of the British Embassy's information evenings. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 5 Aug 2019 @dj_jay_smith I know what you mean about the German football team, crossed my mind too... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 On 5.8.2019, 10:44:15, anne k said: Acton, if you do just have a permit for EU residents then I believe you will have until the end of 2020 to apply for the one for non-EU residents. I'd check with https://britishingermany.org or attend one of the British Embassy's information evenings. Anne, I have a page in my passport which amounts to the same in America as a green card. It is a residence permit which has no expiry date. The German is 'Aufenthaltstitel unbefristet'. This allows me to live and work in Germany. Of course, after Brexit, I'll still be a British citizen and therefore not allowed automatic right to move to other EU countries, but this doesn't matter to me. I have no plans to do so. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 30 minutes ago, Acton said: Of course, after Brexit, I'll still be a British citizen and therefore not allowed automatic right to move to other EU countries, but this doesn't matter to me. I have no plans to do so. Same for me. And if push comes to shove you can anyway take german nationality at some point in the future (for the pedants lets spell it out: and give up your british citizenship at the same time). 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 Having discovered an Irish ancestor, am going the multi citizenship route!! 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 On 8/5/2019, 9:06:10, dj_jay_smith said: But I am proud to be German as I have myself have chosen to become German. You will never be German and the Germans will make sure you know that you are not one of them. Stop embarrassing yourself on this forum. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 Wtf are you on? Are drunk or jealous? DJ speaks rather good German with a very good local accent, his hessische If better than mine! He has every right to be proud.. let's face it, the UK government has made sure that their citizens are embassased to be British! You RF are the one who is an embarrassment... An embarrassment to yourself! I await the nasty replies or emails/SMS etc... 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 2 hours ago, RedMidge said: Having discovered an Irish ancestor, am going the multi citizenship route!! The Gunns go back to the Vikings in the 6th century arriving in Sutherland, Scotland...hoping to find a non-pillaging Dane or Norseman/woman and get in there! Either that or wait for Scottish independence and gather the details of my Glaswegian grandfather! The sky´s the limit!!! Have to feed the dogs first, though! PS: hope you noticed my political correctness...I mentioned Norsewoman!! ) 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 40 minutes ago, john g. said: The Gunns go back to the Vikings Even back then the Gunns were Big Shots! (I'll get my Jack Wolfskin...) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 55 minutes ago, SpiderPig said: You RF are the one who is an embarrassment... An embarrassment to yourself! I await the nasty replies or emails/SMS etc... hmmmmm, Interesting. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 6 Aug 2019 Just a thought...our dogs are Greek..wonder if that´ll work for a Greek passport? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Aug 2019 12 hours ago, RenegadeFurther said: You will never be German and the Germans will make sure you know that you are not one of them. Stop embarrassing yourself on this forum. I am German and have the paperwork to prove it! If I wasn't proud, then I would have no right to be German! And I think you will find that many people on here feel as I do. Proud of their original nationality for sure but just as proud of their adopted German nationality as they had to commit to doing this and it was a choice they made. I admit that Brexit pushed me towards going for citizenship, (I had briefly considered it before) but I still thought long and hard over many months before I started the process to meet the requirements and apply And if everything is so bad here then why do you even bother staying? My mother used to say Quote If you have nothing good to say, then you should say nothing! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Aug 2019 17 hours ago, RenegadeFurther said: Germans will make sure you know that you are not one of them I've seen this asserted on Brits' forums on Facebook too, as "you'll always be a second-class citizen". Erm, no. Even before Brexit was a twinkle in BoJo's eye I was able to access most rights and services exactly like any German citizen due to my being an EU citizen. Why would that get worse now that I'm doubly entitled, so to speak, to whatever any other German is entitled to (just by dint of being a German)? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Aug 2019 19 hours ago, Acton said: Anne, I have a page in my passport which amounts to the same in America as a green card. It is a residence permit which has no expiry date. The German is 'Aufenthaltstitel unbefristet'. This allows me to live and work in Germany. Like most other people who've gone for German citizenship, I too had an Aufenthaltstitel unbefristet, having lived here since 1992. But it was the one for EU citizens and won't count if and when the UK is no longer in the EU. Obviously, if you don't want to have German and thus EU citizenship, then you can still stay on in Germany the same as any other non-EU citizen - but you'll have to apply for a new permit. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 7 Aug 2019 17 hours ago, RenegadeFurther said: Germans will make sure you know that you are not one of them Are you sure? All Germans? There's no magic wand you can wave to make all prejudice go away, and sadly it's a fact of life, wherever you go (ever spent significant time in the UK?!). But do you want to be part of a club that has some unwritten and probably unfair definition of "being one of us" (which you will find in whatever country you go to) or do you seek out open-minded, inclusive people & organizations? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
