Since the possession of several nationalities is only possible in exceptional cases, if you possess other nationalities in addition to the German nationality acquired at birth in Germany, you must in principle declare after reaching the age of 21 whether you wish to retain the German or the foreign nationality (option procedure).

Before you reach the age of 21, you can apply to the nationality authority for binding official proof that you are not subject to an option in Germany and that you do not have to declare after you reach the age of 21 whether you wish to retain the German nationality or the foreign nationalities of the nationalities you acquired at birth in Germany.

The citizenship authority determines the continued existence of German citizenship, among other things, if you have grown up in Germany. You are considered to have "grown up in Germany" if you have

• have or had your center of life in Germany for eight years,
• have attended school in Germany for six years
• have a school-leaving qualification obtained in Germany or have completed vocational training in Germany, or
• in addition to German citizenship, you have only acquired citizenship of other member states of the European Union or Switzerland by birth.

If the citizenship authority approves your application, it will issue you with a written decision. You then do not need to do anything further and will retain your German citizenship even if you do not give up your foreign citizenships.

If, in addition to your German citizenship, you only have the citizenship of another member state of the European Union or the citizenship of Switzerland, it is obvious to public authorities in Germany that you are not subject to the option requirement. You should then check whether you really have reason to apply for the determination anyway.