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‘European again’: How changes to citizenship rules will affect Brits in Germany

When the UK completed the final stage of Brexit at the end of 2020, many Brits in Germany were devastated at the loss of their EU rights. But promises made by Germany's new government to allow dual nationality have given them renewed hope.

Published: 25 March 2022 17:39 CET

A British and German passport. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Britta Pedersen

When the UK narrowly voted to leave the EU in 2016, many British people living abroad didn’t get a say in the change. The UK’s laws previously put an arbitrary limit on voting rights for citizens abroad, meaning anyone who had spent more than 15 years in a foreign country was no longer able to vote in elections back home.

For others who did have a voice, the result of the referendum was equally devastating: many were fearful about their future residence rights in the EU and the ability to continue living the lives they had built. Though the negotiations ended up dragging on, when Brexit finally arrived, the sense of loss was palpable.

In March 2020, when the first part of the exit from the EU was completed, British nationals were stripped of the right to vote in EU and local elections. They were no longer able to apply for EU-only jobs. Then, the final exit from the European Economic Area (EEA) and Customs Union on January 1st, 2021 brought with it the end of their freedom of movement within the EU.

But the German government’s pledge to overhaul nationality laws, including dual citizenship, gives hope to Brits.

In a survey by The Local on the plans earlier this year, several Brits told us they were thrilled to hear of the rule changes and would “definitely” apply for citizenship in the future. The traffic-light coalitions’ plans to ditch an age-old ban on the holding of multiple nationalities has given Brits hope that they can someday regain these rights by applying to become German, while not relinquishing their British passport or identity.

“This will allow me to regain the security of place and home that I had in Germany as an EU citizen prior to Brexit,” said Jay, 44, who lives in Berlin.

Frankfurt resident Rachel, 49, described the government’s plans to allow dual nationality as “fantastic”.

“The very thought of being able to hold dual nationality already makes me feel more German whilst still holding onto my British nationality,” she said. “It also means that I’ll be able to vote in general elections in the future and can regain my freedom of movement.”

Many of the Brits who gave us their thoughts mentioned the same motivation for becoming German: reclaiming the right to live and work in any country within the EU.

While UK citizens who had lived in Germany before Brexit had their right of residence in the country assured by the Withdrawal Agreement, those without German citizenship are essentially “landlocked”, meaning they no longer have automatic residency rights in any other EU country.

“I’ll be able to become European again after Brexit,” 42-year-old Mark Smith in Berlin said of the planned changes to citizenship rules. “I get a chance to regain freedom of movement within the EU.”

A two-class system

When Britain left the EEA and Brits lost their freedom of movement rights, another important change took place overnight in Germany.

Brits who hadn’t been able to apply for German citizenship before this date were (under the current rules) no longer entitled to dual nationality.

Currently, only citizens of EU countries are allowed to keep their previous nationality when becoming a naturalised German. Everyone else, generally, has to choose between their existing passport and a German one, unless they have compelling financial or personal reasons not to.

The rules have so far created a two-class system of Brits in Germany: the some 40,000 who were able to get dual nationality before the cut-off date, and the some 40,000 who weren’t.

An anti-Brexit campaigner holds a placard saying “Brexit was not worth it” outside the UK parliament in London. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/PA Wire | Dominic Lipinksi

For 38-year-old Jack in Berlin, this division runs right through the heart of the family. Jack moved to Germany back in 2017 “hoping Brexit would never happen”. While he had only been in the country for around three years when the UK left the EEA, his husband has lived here for much longer and was able to get citizenship before the cut-off date.

“My husband, who had accumulated enough years in Germany in the past was able to get his German citizenship prior to the Brexit cut-off date, but I was not able to,” he told The Local. “While being technically married to a German citizen, thus rules for becoming a German citizen being easier compared to others, I was still not sure whether I would want to give up my British citizenship.”

Jack says he hopes the changes will come into force quickly so he doesn’t have to live with a passport that doesn’t say European Union on it.

“My current British passport still says European Union on it, but it is going to expire in a few years,” he said.

‘Solemn decision’

While many people jumped at the chance to get their application for citizenship in ahead of Brexit, others were reluctant to make such a major decision on a tight deadline.

This was the case for Simon, a 51-year-old resident of Cologne. Despite having spent 18 years in Germany – and planning to spend the rest of his life here – he struggled with the idea of taking on a new nationality simply because of political decisions made back in the UK.

“I have tremendous respect for Germany,” he told The Local. “It is a wonderful place to live, sophisticated and stimulating culture, excellent quality of life, lovely people. But to take on German citizenship also means taking on the burden of history as well.”

The German flag hangs in a Frankfurt church during a naturalisation ceremony for new Germans. Photo: picture alliance / Fabian Sommer/dpa | Fabian Sommer

Having decided to simply take permanent residency instead of citizenship, he has since come to the conclusion that that he would be happy to become German – in part because of the work Germany has done over the years in coming to terms with its dark history.

“Nevertheless, this is a truly solemn decision,” he said.

For Simon, the planned changes to the dual nationality rules have taken the time pressure off to allow him to mull over the personal and ethical ramifications of becoming German.

“I will definitely take up German citizenship at some point,” he said. “But I will do it on my own terms and my own timeline, not with a gun to my head and on a schedule dictated for by by far the worst, shambolic, low-grade, nasty and insular British regime of modern history.”

‘Committed to Germany’

In the aftermath of the Brexit vote, citizens’ rights group British in Europe and its Germany-based wing British in Germany were established to give Brits in the EU a voice.

Though its primary work was trying to ensure that key rights for citizens were set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, the group also took a strong stance on Germany’s previously strict rules against dual nationality, campaigning for the ban to be lifted ahead of federal elections last September.

“British in Germany wrote to most of the key political parties in Germany before the autumn election and were very encouraged by some of the responses, including from the coalition partners,” British in Germany chair Jane Golding told The Local. “We very much welcome the plans on dual nationality.”

Brexit has always been a highly emotive issue on both sides of the debate, partly because it speaks to people’s sense of identity.

Several respondents to our survey told us how much they had valued the European citizenship they had before, and how desperate they were to regain it.

“I’m so relieved that they are changing the rules,” said 42-year-old Hannover resident Larisa Sharifi. “I hated feeling like my EU citizenship was lost.”

A newly naturalised German citizen holds up her new passport. Photo: picture alliance / Fabian Sommer/dpa | Fabian Sommer

According to British in Germany, the appetite for becoming German is huge among many of the Brits who didn’t make the original cut-off at the end of 2020.

When the new law permitting multiple nationalities comes into force – which could be as early as this year – thousands of Brits will be clamouring to become a citizen of the EU once again.

“We know that many more UK citizens who have residency rights under the Withdrawal Agreement provisions would like to take dual nationality once the laws change,” said Golding.

“Like other third country nationals who have been in Germany for a long time, most feel very integrated, and committed to Germany, and becoming German would allow them to participate even more fully in German society, including voting and standing for election.

“At the same time. keeping their original citizenship is an insurance policy in case, for example, they have to go back to their country of origin to look after elderly relatives in future.”

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INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and Spain-based group EuroCitizens felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of British In Europe

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 4.7 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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