Help me understand why no "direct to passport" for my two kids?
Hi,
I've read lots of posts and thought I had a handle on the rules for German citizenship under StAG 5, and thought my kids could go "direct to passport." But I just got a call from the German embassy in Washington following up to my email telling me my two kids can't go "direct to passport" and they need to go through the standard application process through their respective consulates to the Bundesverwaltungsamt (BVA).
Background: I was born in the US 1968 to a German mom married to my US father. My mom is still a German citizen and has US Permanent Resident card. I applied for my German citizenship via the Staatsangehörigkeit durch Erklärung process, received my citizenship certificate in 2024, and my Reisepass in 2025.
I thought that since the new laws corrected the previous discriminatory laws, that I was in essence a German citizen since birth. Which meant that my kids were also citizens at their birth (1997 and 1998). Please help me understand what I am misinterpreting?
Vielen Dank!