What does the law say?
§12a StAG governs when prior convictions are harmful to your application. Under § 12a Abs. 1 StAG, the following are disregarded: fines of up to 90 Tagessätze (daily rates), as well as prison sentences of up to three months that were suspended on probation and remitted after the probation period expired. Educational and disciplinary measures under the German Juvenile Courts Act (Jugendgerichtsgesetz) are also disregarded. If there are several convictions, fines and prison sentences are added together (one daily rate = one day of imprisonment). If the limit is exceeded only slightly, the authority decides on a case-by-case basis.
When is a criminal record harmful?
As a rule, the following are harmful: prison sentences of more than three months (or exceeding three months when several convictions are added together), convictions for antisemitic, racist or other inhuman acts (where such a motive was established in the judgment, § 12a Abs. 1 S. 2 StAG i.V.m. § 46 Abs. 2 S. 2 StGB), as well as convictions above the minor-offence thresholds. By contrast, a short prison sentence of up to three months that was suspended on probation and remitted after probation is not harmful. Criminal investigations that did not lead to a conviction can also be relevant.
What can you do?
If your conviction is a borderline case: seek advice from a lawyer. The authority has discretion and weighs the circumstances. Expungement periods: once the statutory expungement period has expired, the conviction is deleted from the Federal Central Criminal Register (Bundeszentralregister) and is then treated as if it did not exist.
Frequently asked questions
How long until a conviction is expunged?
It depends on the severity of the sentence: fines of up to 90 Tagessätze (daily rates): 5 years. Prison sentences of up to 1 year: 10 years. Prison sentences of 1–3 years: 15 years. Once expunged, the conviction is treated as if it did not exist.
Do I have to declare a foreign conviction?
Yes — criminal offences committed abroad must also be declared. Providing false information is a separate ground for exclusion in its own right.
What if the proceedings were discontinued?
Discontinued proceedings without a conviction are as a rule not harmful. Penal orders (Strafbefehle) count the same as convictions.
Criminal proceedings are pending against me — can I still be naturalised?
Pending criminal proceedings do not automatically lead to a rejection — however, the authority may not yet decide on your naturalisation while such proceedings are ongoing. Under § 12a Abs. 3 StAG, the decision is suspended until the proceedings are concluded (in the event of a conviction, until the judgment becomes final). How the proceedings ultimately affect your application depends on their outcome: if they are discontinued, or if any resulting penalty stays below the thresholds of § 12a Abs. 1 StAG (e.g. a fine of up to 90 Tagessätze / daily rates), it is irrelevant for naturalisation. An assessment of your specific individual case is made solely by the naturalisation authority (Einbürgerungsbehörde); for an individual legal evaluation, a lawyer is the right person to consult.