European passport for Israelis: comparing the citizenship laws of Germany and Austria
Michael Decker
Michael Decker
Sophie Cooperman
Oded Ger did an excellent job by reviewing a modeling contract I was offered. Explained the bad clauses in the contract, and their possible consequences. Thank you for your amazing job, your professionalism, your consultation and honesty. You showed me from your experience how it can be done differently. It was the best decision choosing you as my lawyer.
I highly recommend this firm, especially Oded Ger.
Andreas Kelling
We have been working with Decker, Pex & Co - Law Firm in Tel Aviv for many years very well. Because we appreciated their lawyers services, we recommended businesses and individuals again and again to go there as well.
Greg Olson
We highly recommend Adv. Mike Decker and have know him for many years. He has helped our family with many battles over the years. We recently received our permanent residency after 23 years in Israel. We so much appreciate Mike’s representation of us.
Prima Lorenzo
I admire the Austrian citizenship team in Tel-Aviv branch! They deserve more then 5 stars!! They are very friendly and professional. I've got Austrian citizenship in 4 months for all family members which consists of 12 people! The entire team is very friendly and responsive. They are always answering questions and support during the process. I recommend to everyone. Was 100% satisfied.
Amir Abt
The best lawyer firm I’ve had dealt with. I would like to thank Anat Levi and Ariel Galili from the Jerusalem branch for all of their efforts and patience, we could not have been Able to reach to where we are now without them
Joshua Pex was both an amazing human being and an inspiring human rights attorney. I reported directly to him for various activities I performed as in intern. I was impressed with his incredibly solid character. He is trustworthy, fair, and goes above and beyond to advocate for the vulnerable. He is completely trustworthy and high caliber in his work. His partners and employees are very blessed to work with him. I am honored to know them.
Heather Lebrun
Kfir Cohen
We were searching for a law firm that will be honest with us and really work hard for a satisfying result, it wasn't an easy task
We found them online; they were the only law firm from all of our searchings which were completely honest and NOT gave us just what we wanted to hear
Using them guaranteed honesty above all. A legal team that is friendly and cares for a superb result
They really care about helping their customers without any other interest
Nadia gave us service behind what we expected; she was professional which lead to fast and easy process with great result
We definitely recommend using them
Israel iluz
We were very satisfied with the service of Nehama. She was very professional in all her dealings and kept us informed all the way.
We highly recommend this law firm. They proved to be reliable, efficient and pleasant to work with.
Priscilla Moses
competent consulting, fast processing, reliable, warm & good team. highly recommended
Dumitrascu Cristina
Best lawyer house from Israel! I couldn’t dealt with my situation without their professionalism and effectiveness. Their dedication to every legal aspect and their drive it’s how a true lawyer house can be!
Working in European market and international now, I couldn’t dare to let myself wide my wings on countries unknown to me. Definitely they’ll be the lawyers representing me, my business at every international aspect and on personal development.
When you hear Decker,Pex,Ofir &Co, you hear 10+ class services, luxurious professionals, confidentiality and exclusive attention to your needs.
Halvor Ronning
Courteous, clear, efficient service.
Josh W-S
The firm had a quick response to my last-minute needs, they were helpful in communicating with me in English, and they fulfilled my needs in a timely fashion.
Genaan Abdelall
I cannot recommend Nechama enough! Her expertise, professionalism, and dedication to her clients is unparalleled. From the moment I reached out to her, she provided clear and concise communication, and helped me navigate through a complex legal issue with ease.
Throughout the entire process, Nechama went above and beyond to ensure that I was informed and comfortable with every decision. She demonstrated a deep knowledge of the law, and was able to offer sound advice that ultimately led to a positive outcome.
What sets Nechama apart is her compassionate and empathetic approach to her clients. She truly cares about the well-being of her clients, and it shows in the way she handles every case.
If you are in need of a lawyer, I highly recommend Nechama.
Yossi Montrose
Very knowledgeable and professional
Morgan Jones
The team at Decker, Pex & Co have been awesome to work with in helping our US company establish banking in Israel and in providing counsel for legal needs in Israel. I highly recommend!
Arielle Bosch
Incredibly knowledgeable, approachable, accessible, and evident across the board that they truly care about the people they are helping. They are quick to respond, engaged, and obviously top-notch lawyers. I couldn't recommend them highly enough. Thank you, Joshua and Itamar for your help with our Joint Life Application. You were a calming energy during a storm - always breathed a sigh of relief after speaking with you. It is so difficult to get straight answers from the Misrad Hapnim, but you guys are straight shooters. I appreciate your candor and evident integrity. Hope to work with you in the future, and will send everyone I know in need of legal aid your way. Thank you for your guidance and support.
Stuart Safft
I am delighted to report that my wife and I have just obtained our Israeli citizenship. We will be forever grateful for all of the help, guidance and support which Ariel Galili of Decker, Pex & Co. provided through this process.
I am a Jewish, 80-year-old American, and my wife is not Jewish. We had started the process on our own back in November 2020 via the Jewish Agency and Nefesh B’Nefesh, but soon became entangled in the delays and often-changing regulations due to Covid-19. The pandemic also caused delays in obtaining the required apostilles for various documents from various state agencies and the US State Department.
We found Decker, Pex & Co. On the internet and began working with Ariel in late November 2021. Ariel did a superb job of leading us through the process, helping us to understand which documents were essential, which would most likely be required, and which, though included on the list of required documents, were rarely required. He helped us several times to understand what was likely and unlikely to occur as “the next step.” Helping us manage our expectations was extremely useful to us.
Besides his knowing the laws, regulations and procedures, Ariel also made us feel that he was truly interested in helping us to successfully work through this process in as smooth, timely, and frustration-free manner as possible.
My wife and I strongly recommend anyone planning to go through this process seriously consider hiring Decker, Pex, Ofir & Co. and, specifically, Ariel Galili.
Dongdiet & Nellie
We are very happy with the services. Somehow they managed to translate the law lingo into language we actually understand 😉 and their outstanding YouTube videos helped us to have a better grasp of what process we had to go through. Their patience, clear explanation and experience are very valuable. It's also very nice to know that you will receive response promptly; it made us feel we can really trust their services. We recommend all those looking for immigration lawyers to get in touch.
Shurouq Hajyassin
We were very satisfied with the consultation we had.
You were very straightforward with us , You tried to help us in every way you could . we really appreciate that.
And of course the fast reply we got from you on our emails and the appointment you gave us .
You deserve more than 5 stars????
Lilian Granovsky
I can highly recommend these services!
Every time we turned to Joshua we always got a professional quick and helpful respond.
lynn vonne
Excellent service, very friendly and helpful, fast responding and very patient. Highly recommend. I will choose them again next time if needed.
Paul Prince
The team of lawyers and assistants are incredibly professional. Aiming to give their clients the advice possible regarding the normative and the law of Israel. With well trained and professional secretary at the front desk to the lawyers team, I could say that I had one of the most professional services possible. I'm super glad of choosing Joshua Pex of Law office for immigration solution, lawyers to advise in my case, to me, it is remarkable.
Наталья Мажуга
Great lawyers Joshua Pex and Nechama and Michael Deker who really want to help you and I have very trustful relationships with them. All my cases they took they won. Thank you and let’s keep working together
Marce Ruth St. Rey
Party time in the heart, my beloved husband received his residence after so much time of battles and faith. Gratitude, God has blessed us with wonderful beings who have accompanied us, including a "precious angel" who touched our hearts, our excellent and fantastic lawyer: Maria Chernin Dekel, sweet and wonderful human being, who has guided us and stayed On our side. side in this intense legal transit whom we bless on every occasion. God bless you dear Maria, you have exceeded your professional duty by containing us and collaborating with us in hard times, very hard, for that we want to thank you publicly, you are unique!!!
We bless and thank the entire team at Decker Pex Tal Ofir Law Firm.
Esty A
I had a consultation with Batya and she was very helpful. She made sure I understood all the information I needed, and was patient with me in gathering documents I needed.
Michael Soffer
I would like to recommend Attorney Yehuda Elcharar. He assisted both me and my company in a complex lawsuit. He handled negotiations that led to a favorable outcome much quicker than expected.
I am extremely pleased with choosing Attorney Elcharar. Many thanks also to the office team, Oz and Chaya, for their assistance throughout the entire process.
Thanks again ????
David De La Rosa
Very friendly, professional, and effective, highly recommended
TarcisioePotira Freitas
I really recommend the law office's services. The service is very professional and efficient, the price is right. I am satisfied with the services I needed and happy to have known them.
Shaltiel Devorah
Mr. Joshua Pex is knowledgeable and Professional. I really appreciate his courteous and direct approach.
Alexander P Gutterman
EU PASSPORT ! Big news! Thanks to Michael Decker and the other good people at the law office, as well as to the virtue of my ancestors, the cruelty of the Inquisition, reparations issued in the Iberian Peninsula, and etc, I am delighted to be on track for Portuguese and European Union Citizenship! A truly incredible development and one which brings me deep joy.
Jacob Newberry
A really excellent firm. They knew exactly how to handle my situation effectively and efficiently, and we got the result I needed without much fuss. Adi Berger was a wonderful advocate for me and I am deeply grateful for her help!
Schruuf
We were very pleased and content with the services of this law firm. They supported us 100% and solved our case successfully, we couldn't be happier.
Michael and Ariellah Waizman
For Advocate Joshua Pex.
We were in a devastating situation when my wife received an order from the immigration office to leave Israel within 30 days, without any explanation, after we have been married and in the process for six and a half years. We heard of Advocate Pex through a friend of a friend. We contacted Mr. Pex and he was ready to help us when he heard of our situation.
The service is amazing! Always ready to assist without regard to the time it takes. The advice Mr. Pex gave us was great, such as what to do, he gave useful links, and advice about which officials to contact. The price for the service was great!
The process until we received the extension for another year for my wife was not long (3 months). Things started moving once Mr. Pex came into the picture.
We highly recommend Advocate Joshua Pex! We achieved our goal and the fear of deportation has been lifted!
Matthias Oppliger
I have been receiving services from this Law Firm for several years now and I want to say THANK YOU to the team, especially Joshua Pex. They are doing outstanding work. The services I have received for both our Israeli non profit association but also our social business have helped us solve many issues at hand and provided solutions in complicated situations. Personally, I am grateful for support in visa issues as a foreigner living now in Israel for many years.
Eden Weiss
Extrmely friendly, professional and helpful. A big thank you to Irina especially from the Jerusalem office. Highly Recommended.
Sergei m Vashkevich
We came to Mr. Joshua with so many questions (and most of all, with so many concerns and worries) …
When we explained our case to him, first of all, he calmed us down and helped us to see the big picture, which took away our fears;
Then he presented us with a detailed explanation and a few options to explore, and a timeline, how things work and necessary steps to undertake on our part,
We thank and highly recommend Mr. Joshua for showing us so much empathy, care and professionalism (!)
YK C
We had a pleasure of working with Irena Rosenberg who assisted in getting our two U.S. born children registered in Israel and supported visa process for my wife in 2021. During the pandemic, my wife and I decided to move to Israel where I am originally from after living in the U.S. for over 20 years, but we had no idea how to go about securing visas before and after arriving in Israel. Irena is knowledgeable, reliable and competent lawyer who always had answers to all our questions which made us feel confident that everything would be fine with her assistance. We are now happily living in Israel and are so grateful to have Irena who is a genuinely nice person as our lawyer.
Michelle Long
Josh has been helping me on and off for a few years now. I have needed legal advice and assistance with immigration due to a complex situation of mine, and he has been extremely available and responsive, honest and clear about my route and how to proceed. Very much recommended!
Sveta Vashkevich
We (myself and my husband) came to Mr. Joshua Pex – for his professional advice – and we received such human warmth and caring attitude, that our hearts melted …
His attention to our details and our situation peculiarities, combined with his professionalism and knowledge, helped us to map out what needs to be done on our part: we appreciate and recommend You, Mr. Joshua!
Tomer Hila Birnbach
I received a recommendation from friends about the firm, and indeed every word is correct, a service team, professional, welcoming, a fair price for the work I requested, I am satisfied
Adi Katina
Great Team. With no doubt, this office is actually thee best-leading office in Israel. Simply put, if you want your case to win, just join them, hand in your documents, and celebrate the victory.
Kindest regards,
Adi k.
Gáspár Erőss
If you need to solve any complicated legal issue in Israel, don't hesitate to contact them. Otherwise you will loose hours/days/weeks with things that they can solve in minutes. They helped me to obtain my expert working visa in Israel and even after that they responded further questions and gave me advices related to administrative issues in Israel which saved me a lot of time. Irena Rosenberg and Michael Decker worked on my case, they are very professional and helpful. They will not let you down, feel free to contact them.
Lauma Zariņa
This is definitely the best lawyer I know!!! very honest and super helpful he really helped me a lot dealing with immigration issues in Israel and it was very successful!
I highly recommend
Many Israelis looking for an opportunity to obtain an additional passport find that they are eligible for German or Austrian citizenship because their family was persecuted by the Nazis. In recent years, the two strongest economies in Europe, Germany and Austria, have decided to expand the eligibility of Nazi persecution victims and their descendants to receive Austrian or German citizenship. There are points of similarity between the legal situations of the two countries, but there are also some significant differences. In this article we will explain the similarities and differences between the citizenship laws of Germany and Austria.
Why were amendments required in the citizenship laws of Germany and Austria?
The Jews who lived in Austria and Germany before and during World War II can be divided into two categories: those who had citizenship in the country they lived in, and those who did not. Those who were citizens of Germany or Austria before the Nazis came to power, and lost their citizenship due to anti-Semitic laws, were usually entitled to get it back after the war was over and the laws were updated.
On the other hand, until recently there was no option for obtaining citizenship for some descendants of Nazi persecution victims, such as those whose origin was only from female German/Austrian citizens on the mother’s side. This was a terrible injustice reminiscent of the infamous racial laws. After Austria and Germany recognized this, both countries passed extensive amendments to the legislation, and now they approve the acquisition of citizenship without discrimination based on the sex of the original persecution victim.
Who can obtain citizenship?
To be eligible for an Austrian passport or a German passport by descent, you must be a descendant of a Nazi persecution victim who was a resident of the relevant country. Please note that eligibility is only for direct descendants, that is, you must be the child, grandchild or great-grandchild of the victim. It is not possible to obtain citizenship based on extended family relations, such as cousins of Nazi persecution victims.
How is eligibility for citizenship proven?
In order to prove that you are really descendants of Jews who lived in Germany or Austria in the past, you will need to find documents proving that your ancestors lived there. You’ll have to present birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, university diplomas, travel documents, exit documents from one of the countries or any other official document.
If you are not sure how to prepare a proper application or where to look for the required documents, you can contact a law office that specializes in the field. Submitting a proper application that includes all the required documents will improve the chances of it being approved.
Differences between the process of obtaining Austrian citizenship and German citizenship
There are quite a few similarities between the process of obtaining a German passport and an Austrian passport. For example, in both cases you need to attach documents that support the application for citizenship and there is no requirement to give up existing citizenship. However, there are a number of differences between the two countries that can affect your eligibility.
Which years can the citizenship application be submitted for?
One of the significant differences between Germany and Austria is the period for which each of the countries is willing to grant citizenship. According to Austrian law, citizenship can be obtained for people who were residents of Austria and fled from it in the years 1933-1955. On the other hand, the German law ends the eligibility period on May 8, 1945 (about ten years earlier than Austria).
Since World War II ended in 1945, there is logic in Germany’s decision to end the eligibility period in that year. However, Austria decided to allow a longer period of time due to the understanding that for many, the official end of the war was not the end of hardship. Many Jews remained in Austria even after the war to look for relatives with whom contact had been lost, or because they were unable to leave due to physical or psychological injuries.
Status of the original resident
Germany grants citizenship to anyone who was a German resident in the relevant years and was forced to leave the country due to Nazi persecution. In contrast, Austria also grants citizenship to those who were residents without citizenship at all, or resided in the territory of modern-day Austria with the citizenship of one of the countries that belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including Romania, Hungary and Poland.
Career army service in the IDF
If you are a soldier in career service or a volunteer in the IDF, you will not be able to apply for an Austrian passport as long as you are in the Army. Moreover, if you have Austrian citizenship and you enlist in career army service, your citizenship will be revoked and you will not be entitled to reinstate it. After discharge from the IDF, there is no obstacle to applying for Austrian citizenship. On the other hand, in Germany there is no such restriction and even career soldiers can apply for citizenship.
Application processing time
The process of obtaining Austrian citizenship is conducted more quickly and usually approval is granted within 6-8 months. On the other hand, in Germany it is a longer process that requires a wait of about two years and sometimes even longer. Keep in mind that the manner in which the application is submitted, with an emphasis on the quality of the documents attached to it, may affect the amount of time it will take to decide on your case.
Do you need legal assistance?
Those who have the time, ability and mental energy required to deal with a lengthy bureaucratic process can apply for citizenship by themselves. However, if you are not completely sure what to do and how to proceed, you should contact a professional who can handle the request for you.
We at the law office Decker, Pex, Levi, Rosenberg specialize in immigration law and offer our clients full, comprehensive service when it comes to obtaining foreign citizenship. We take part in locating documents in the archives, perform notarization, take care of the translation and make sure that everything goes optimally, starting from submitting the application until you actually receive the passport.
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