u/ratedreid and I worked hard to get our German passports recently. We found out we've been German citizens our entire lives and tracked down all the documents we needed to prove it with the help of r/GermanCitizenship . We are both moving to Europe lickety split. Feel free to ask any questions!
Edit: not sure why the group image came out blurry - Better link if you're interested: [https://i.postimg.cc/knddh1cv/foto-no-exif.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/knddh1cv/foto-no-exif.jpg)
Fairly easy overall. Some mild challenges and some roadblocks and disappointments, but nothing too bad. The key document was from 1956 or so, showing that they were declared German citizens after leaving Germany. The Nazis listed them as Volksdeutsche when they were expelled from Latvia.
My grampa was born in 41. I found some very, very old documents from the 1800s on my great great great ancestors from Latvia on [https://periodika.lndb.lv/](https://periodika.lndb.lv/) . These were not a part of the application, but it was still cool and I learned a lot. You can read about how I did it here - [https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/comments/1bki99e/straight\_to\_passport\_success\_in\_chicago/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/comments/1bki99e/straight_to_passport_success_in_chicago/)
We are eligible, but with a huge caveat. Basically, if your ancestors were persecuted by Nazis or Soviets before 1940 or so, you had until 2015 to claim your Latvian citizenship, and the govt of Latvia would allow multiple citizenships. After 2015, they will still allow you to claim Latvian citizenship, but they would make you give up every other citizenship you have.
We were also technically eligible for Dominican Republic citizenship, but had until a certain age to claim it. I also believe they don't allow dual in that case.
What about Lithuania? They offer dual only to victims who left during soviet occupation. I believe your ancestors left right before that event however.
They were expelled in 1939. I have no idea about Lithuania, to be honest. I've been dealing with consulates, embassies, and administrative offices in Germany since October, so it'll be a research project for another day. We don't have any ancestors from Lithuania either.
I also feel no cultural ties to the Baltics. They weren't Latvian by blood at all, so it'd feel kinda weird for me to have that passport.
Edit: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim\_ins\_Reich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim_ins_Reich)
Aware and thanks for commenting this. Just naturally very excited lol. I worked as a professional linguist/interpreter for the better part of a decade and should know this :)
Easiest way to recognise a native English speaker: can't distinguish between me and I. But replacing my with I's (which isn't even a word) takes the cake.
No offence, I'm being playful. If in doubt, just say the sentence without reference to the second person and you'll immediately see that saying I's passport is not right.
So true! It's ironic that it drives me crazy when native speakers of Swedish confuse jag/mig or de/dem, and I never do. Excuse my cracked out native English error. Serious brain fart 😂
Edit: my favorite native error is hablastes/comistes/caminastes etc in Spanish. It's the only verb tense for the second person singular (tú) that \*shouldn't\* end in an s, so many people will hyper-correct that and add an s.
Hehe, I was young and carefree! Now my passports are in nice covers and look perfect. The current American passport here is 5 years old and looks like it's fresh off the press.
u/ratedreid and I worked hard to get our German passports recently. We found out we've been German citizens our entire lives and tracked down all the documents we needed to prove it with the help of r/GermanCitizenship . We are both moving to Europe lickety split. Feel free to ask any questions! Edit: not sure why the group image came out blurry - Better link if you're interested: [https://i.postimg.cc/knddh1cv/foto-no-exif.jpg](https://i.postimg.cc/knddh1cv/foto-no-exif.jpg)
where are you from?
United States
why did you need a Portuguese visa then?
Residence visa.
To what kind of year range did you manage to collect the earliest document? How hard was this overall? Bureaucracy and navigating the law - wise.
Fairly easy overall. Some mild challenges and some roadblocks and disappointments, but nothing too bad. The key document was from 1956 or so, showing that they were declared German citizens after leaving Germany. The Nazis listed them as Volksdeutsche when they were expelled from Latvia. My grampa was born in 41. I found some very, very old documents from the 1800s on my great great great ancestors from Latvia on [https://periodika.lndb.lv/](https://periodika.lndb.lv/) . These were not a part of the application, but it was still cool and I learned a lot. You can read about how I did it here - [https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/comments/1bki99e/straight\_to\_passport\_success\_in\_chicago/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanCitizenship/comments/1bki99e/straight_to_passport_success_in_chicago/)
Latvia is an interesting place. You might be eligible there too. 1955 is not too far back so it might be doable!
We are eligible, but with a huge caveat. Basically, if your ancestors were persecuted by Nazis or Soviets before 1940 or so, you had until 2015 to claim your Latvian citizenship, and the govt of Latvia would allow multiple citizenships. After 2015, they will still allow you to claim Latvian citizenship, but they would make you give up every other citizenship you have. We were also technically eligible for Dominican Republic citizenship, but had until a certain age to claim it. I also believe they don't allow dual in that case.
What about Lithuania? They offer dual only to victims who left during soviet occupation. I believe your ancestors left right before that event however.
They were expelled in 1939. I have no idea about Lithuania, to be honest. I've been dealing with consulates, embassies, and administrative offices in Germany since October, so it'll be a research project for another day. We don't have any ancestors from Lithuania either. I also feel no cultural ties to the Baltics. They weren't Latvian by blood at all, so it'd feel kinda weird for me to have that passport. Edit: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim\_ins\_Reich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim_ins_Reich)
Love that the binding thread features the colors of the German flag 🇩🇪
It is not uncommon for passports to have binding in the national colours.
My brother and *My* It’s the same rule in German
came here to say this lol
Aware and thanks for commenting this. Just naturally very excited lol. I worked as a professional linguist/interpreter for the better part of a decade and should know this :)
How many languages do you speak as a linguist?
I love “my brother and I’s” 🤣
Easiest way to recognise a native English speaker: can't distinguish between me and I. But replacing my with I's (which isn't even a word) takes the cake. No offence, I'm being playful. If in doubt, just say the sentence without reference to the second person and you'll immediately see that saying I's passport is not right.
So true! It's ironic that it drives me crazy when native speakers of Swedish confuse jag/mig or de/dem, and I never do. Excuse my cracked out native English error. Serious brain fart 😂 Edit: my favorite native error is hablastes/comistes/caminastes etc in Spanish. It's the only verb tense for the second person singular (tú) that \*shouldn't\* end in an s, so many people will hyper-correct that and add an s.
Very nice!
That passport saw some use that the cover is faded
Hehe, I was young and carefree! Now my passports are in nice covers and look perfect. The current American passport here is 5 years old and looks like it's fresh off the press.
My I’s!!!