Dual citizenship important question

No one is going to question you at all. Why would they? There is no reason to tell the folks at the Passport Control anything at all. Just give them your American Passport, get it stamped, walk out of the airport. They truly do not care that you don't have a German passport.

Thank you so much for replying so quickly. I also would assume that they would not care so much, but that brings me to a second issue. My mother is going with me, and so is my 14 year old brother. As I said, my mother is a German citizen and my brother just like me is a dual citizen. We were trying to figure out what lines to stand in upon reaching the airport (eu or non-eu). At first, we thought that my brother would come with me to the non-eu line and show our American passports while my mother would be in the other line to show her German passport. But, as my brother is a minor, we did not know if this would look suspicious for him to be with me and not my mother. To get to the point, what line should we go in? Should my brother and I go to the non-eu, my mother go to eu, or should we all go in one line? I’m so confused, I apologize for long rambling questions. We haven’t traveled in 12 years and have concerns.

This very simple --- You are an US citizen traveling on a US passport and you go to the non-EU line. You minor brother would stay with your mother and she will show her German passport as a German citizen to the EU line. And her son's US passport will be accepted in the EU line because it is her son. As a US citizen with a US passport the German immigration office will not deny you admission. You are over thinking this.

I know I’m over thinking, I do that with everything haha... thank you so much for replying. My mind feels far more at ease. I will absolutely do what you recommended, it seems most logical. I’ve had some people tell me today that my brother and I could be in deep water for not having the German passport, but I also believe I will be good with just my U.S. one. Once again thank you, I appreciate it so much! :) :)

....my brother and I could be in deep water for not having the German passport.... Why ?? What is the explanation? If you are a US citizen, you are not required to be a German citizen at the same time.

I have dual citizenship with the US/UK and I hope I can ease your mind some. You are visiting Germany as a U.S citizen. Just because your mother is German and father American, you do not have to have a German passport to visit Germany. In fact, unless you plan on living in Germany or wanting to explore Europe for more than 89 days then you really have no reason to get a German passport. I can only assume the German consulate would "recommend" you have a German passport so that you can prove German citizenship - but this again is only necessary if you were to stay more than 89 days or want to move there. It is not necessary for a 20 day vacation! When you get to passport control in Germany go through the lines that says outside EU citizens. You will walk up to the passport control officer handover you U.S. passport, answer basic questions about your visit, and move through. There is no reason to explain that your mother has German citizenship and your therefore have it, but don't have a passport. Don't complicate the matter. They are not going to deny you entry. When I visit the UK, I must use my American passport to exit and enter the US. I can't use my UK passport to do this. The only benefit I have with having a UK passport is that I can use it between EU countries and I do have proof that I am a UK citizen if I decided to stay over the 89 days. In fact, for several years, I let my UK passport lapse (because the cost was sky high getting it from the UK consulate in Washington) and I never got denied entry to the Uk just because I didn't have a UK passport at the time. My children are UK citizens by the mere fact they have a British mother, but they do not have Uk Passports. This has never been a problem in the 20+ years we have travelled to the UK. If you mother has kept her German passport then she can go through the shorter line at passport control and she can probably take family members through this line even without German passports, but keep it simple. Line up in the longer line for US citizens, show your US passport and have a great time! Do not even worry about this at all.

To Frank: yeah.. people have told me it could be an issue if we get a rude person in the passport lines that questions us. For instance, I was told that as a dual citizen, you should always have each passport with you and upon exiting and entering America, use the US passport, and upon entering and exiting Germany, use a German passport. But from your reply and the others on here, I doubt I will face any issues. You all have helped me feel so much better and more confident. :)

To mpaulyn:
Thank you for your reply :) it makes me feel so much better to see other people who have been in a similar situation as me. I will show my mother your and the others replies in the morning, and I know this will all ease her mind as well. We’ve been so worried all day long about all of this haha. But this will all help her and I feel better! Thank you so much :)

Oh and just to show you all one reason why we worried, I read many articles but one in particular says that dual nationals “cannot enter the US with a German passport and the other way around. They must present the German passport to enter Germany and the US passport to enter the US”. That’s why I was so worried.

A lot of opinions here but very rare fact driven.

Responsible for immigration / passport checks is the Bundespolizei (German federal police).

On their website you can find a clear statement about acceptance of identity documents (German only ... for what reason ever):

First sentence: "Deutsche Staatsangehörige haben grundsätzlich einen gültigen Pass mitzuführen, wenn sie aus Deutschland ausreisen oder nach Deutschland einreisen."

Translated with Deepl: "German citizens must in principle carry a valid passport with them when they leave Germany or enter Germany."

So, my interpretation on this: as a dual citizen - not living in Germany - you shall have minimum a German passport provided from the German embassy in the country you live in.

If this occur to a problem on your travel I do not know. Normally I would recommend to contact federal police before the journey.

I apologize for being a little bit frank German order here but opinions will not help you.

I disagree. My daughter and my grandsons have dual citizenship German / US and they always present their US passports only when going through immigration in Munich. The German passports are hidden somewhere in the luggage just for the (unlikely) case they would need it in Germany.

The sentence quoted by you is exclusively relevant for German only citizens.

I would argue that the OP and her brother are not dual citizens. They may be entitled to dual citizenship but have to apply for it. Otherwise how would the German authorities know? So at the moment they are US citizens only. As the mother is a German citizen I would queue together as a family in the EU line. Border control often prefer families to enter together.

I would argue that the OP and her brother are not dual citizens. They may be entitled to dual citizenship but have to apply for it.

Sorry, that's not true. German citizenship law is based on the principle of descent, not the territorial principle. So if one of your parents is German, you are German eo ipso as well, without any application. Of course, you can give up German citizenship, but you have to do that explicitly.

Can i ask would the OPs Americans passport say any where about dual citizenship? Cause if it doesnt surely there is no problem?

German citizenship may be passed automatically but it's a tad more nuanced.

https://uk.diplo.de/uk-en/02/citizenship/acquiring-citizenship

Another dual citizen jumping in here before this veers off onto who has the right to dual citizenship in whatever country--

Our family of four traveled with only US passports for a long time because it was cheaper. French Immigration once asked us why we had US passports with such obviously French names and gave a knowingly shrug when we said it was cheaper. Also, few of our stays have been beyond 90 days. But we all have our French identity cards and have used those to enter the country too, if the line is shorter.

So, not knowing if you are a minor or major, it's difficult to tell you if you should go alone to the non-EU line or go with mom to the EU line and let her speak. If you are a major, just go to the non-EU line and answer whatever questions they ask. You don't have to explain anything. Nobody is asking for your citizenship details; they are asking why you are visiting. Just say it's a family visit. You don't have to start talking and explaining anything, just answer what you are asked. If for some odd reason they were to ask why you why you don't have an EU passport, just tell them it's too expensive. All employees understand that.

It doesn't matter on a 20-day trip. If you have a German ID card, go with mom because the line will probably be shorter. If you are a minor, stick with mom and let her handle it.

"A lot of opinions here but very rare fact driven." "Translated with Deepl: "German citizens must in principle carry a valid passport with them when they leave Germany or enter Germany." So, my interpretation on this: as a dual citizen - not living in Germany - you shall have minimum a German passport provided from the German embassy in the country you live in."

This would be relevant if you only had German citizenship. Not dual citizenship. For all those that have chimed in that are dual citizens we are given Annie the most relevant advice for her. As for contacting the police - that is just not necessary. She is not breaking any laws by not having applied for German citizenship. She does not have to. As us dual citizens have explained, the passport control office, will not ask about whether she is a German citizen or not. My US passport has my UK place of birth on it - giving them somewhat of a clue that I maybe a British citizen, but they just don't really ask about it. Annie was born in America so that is not going to be an issue.

Annie - you have nothing to worry about. Your mother I assume either has a German passport and green card or both German and US passports. Which will mean she will have to exit and enter the US on her US passport or use her green card with German passport. She cannot just have a German passport to travel on. She will be denied entry when she returns to the US without proof of permanent U.S. residency.

I appreciate all of the replies from everyone, so much. After reading everything, I agree with the greater majority of you in that I am sure we will be fine with our US passports. As some of you recommended, we will go through a line together as a family group. I think that is most plausible. That way if they have any questions, we can explain it while all together. Thank you all so much and I will try and remember to come back on here after we have made it to Germany to tell you what happened! :)

"It isn't automatic." How true, as that pertains to France and the matter of dual citizenship.

It's not automatic either for a child born overseas to an American mother who is living overseas. The mother has to have lived a certain number of years in the US for the child to have US citizenship. Personal experience.
And get that child registered at the closest US Consulate right away.

There's a case on Expat Forum right now--US mom, non-US kids, family moving back to the States. At 18, the children could be undocumented aliens unless the family finds a solution.

My daughter is a dual citizen and when she was younger, she just went through the line with me with her US passport, though there was one time, when we went through the EU pass control line with her and her German passport because the line was so much shorter. No one seemed to care.
She carries both passports when she goes to the US, because she lives in Germany and she gets questioned about how she managed to stay in Germany for 5 years without a visa stamp. So, she has to show her German passport. It is all a bit weird but it works fine and no one blinks an eye about this.

Hello all! I went to and from Germany without any issues at all. I was worried about so much but everything worked out. My brother and I went into the EU citizens line with my mom and told them we were traveling together as a family and we were only questioned once, to which we explained everything.
Just figured I’d stop by and let you all know this!

Thank you Annie. Now you are more comfortable.

Advice: go get that German passport or identity card and register at the closest consulate asap because that is the best proof you’ll have of your German status in the future. My children were registered in both countries at birth, but if they loose their paperwork, it’s In the thousands today if they ever needed to get new US certification of a US citizen birth abroad. I don’t know what the French charge would be but they would have to provide grandparents’ birth certificates. So if you want to exercise dual citizenship, you should at least get the ID cards, which are usually free.

Good that no issues took place just as you had been told here.

Bottom line...forget what people told you. I don't listen to these sort of fairy tales.

Good to know Annie had no problems.

Hubby is dual national. Birth in Germany and both parents are German. Nationalized US Citizen as an eight year old child with other family members. Obtained US passport with his birthplace as Germany as an adult. No problems with passport control ever.

To obtain a German passport after it expired when he was a child is a complicated procedure and requires all previous documents, including expired German passport. Information is available from US based German consulate.

From the US consulate: All US passport holders require their US passport to reenter the US.

I never understood why the OP would have any problem.

Like the poster aboves husband, I was naturalized as a child--I was born in Austria to Austrian parents. My US passport notes Austria as my place of birth. I have traveled to Europe including Austria many times and have never been questioned.

The only thing that has ever been different is the times I have approached the airline counter in a German speaking country. Often, the person looks at my passport, smiles, then asks if I would prefer to converse in German.

I imagine I could get an Austrian passport if I wanted to jump through the hoops, but I haven't thought of any possible advantage.