Anuscheh Farahat and Kay Hailbronner under Section 10 of the law. Section 12a gives an implicit indication of the kinds of criminal convictions which are to be tolerated. In December 2014 the aforementioned significant easing of the ‘option duty’ to a significant degree and the exception of a vast majority of ius soli children came into force. Whilst the ‘option duty’ has not been abolished in general, in its amended version it applies only to ius soli ‘children’ who were not been raised in Germany. Children who were born and raised in Germany do not have to opt between German and their foreign nationality. Section 29 para. 1a of the Nationality Act stipulates that a person must have fulfilled eight years of residence in Germany before turning 21, have attended a German school for at least six years, have graduated from a German school or completed a professional education in Germany to count as having been ‘raised in Germany’. The new law acknowledges sociological membership in various ways. Even if none of the enumerated criteria are satisfied, a ius soli ‘child’ may still be able to prove a comparable close link to Germany. However, this requires that the duty to opt would impose a particular hardship in the individual case. Under the new ‘optional model’, the citizenship administration will have to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a child is exempt from the ‘option duty’ and can keep both citizenships. Accordingly, the new Section 34 requires registry offices to provide citizenship authorities with the necessary information to decide whether or not the duty to opt applies in a particular case. This includes inter alia information concerning previous addresses in Germany and the dates when the person moved to Germany or left Germany for the last time respectively. The latest amendment of the ‘option model’ has again enhanced the acceptance of dual nationality in Germany. However, there remain elements in German nationality law which seek to limit the effects of dual nationality in the long run. Already in its 2000 reform, the German legislator abolished the so-called national clause (Inlandsklausel). Since 1 January 2000, the acquisition of a foreign nationality based on an application leads to the automatic loss of German nationality even if the national retains domicile on German territory. In contrast, according to the former legal situation, German nationality was lost only when the national did not keep his or her habitual residence in Germany (see Section 25 para. 1 of the Imperial Nationality Act). 45 Second, automatic loss of German nationality also results from voluntary entry in a foreign army without permission of the German Ministry of Defence, if the national possesses the nationality of this foreign state in addition to his or her German nationality. Apart from these amendments, the modes of losing German nationality were not affected by the reform of 1999/2000. German nationality is lost by release from citizenship upon request if a person has applied for the acquisition of a foreign nationality and when the conferment of this nationality is assured; by voluntary renunciation of German nationality by a dual or a multiple national; or by adoption by a foreign national if the foreign nationality is thereby acquired. By its 2009 reform, the legislator introduced two qualifications regarding withdrawal and loss of nationality. These qualifications revolved around the consequences of loss or withdrawal of nationality for third persons, namely children. According to Section 17 para. 2 of the Nationality Act, children may only be liable to lose their German nationality up to the age of five. Before that, children are considered too young actually to develop legitimate expectations regarding the continuation of their nationality. A second amendment in the course of the 2009 reform clarified that naturalisation may only be withdrawn on the basis of illegal acquisition if the naturalisation has been achieved by 45 Reichs- und Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz (RuStAG) of 22 July, 1913, Imperial Law Gazette, p. 583. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/5 - © 2020 Author(s) 19