Anuscheh Farahat and Kay Hailbronner descendants as well as adopted children regardless of their age provided that they fulfilled the minimum requirements of discretionary naturalisation according to section 8 of the nationality law. According to the amended Section 13 of the nationality law, only minor children are entitled to the privileged naturalisation procedure since the federal legislator came to the conclusion that there is no public interest in facilitating the naturalisation of adult descendants of former Germans living abroad.33 Minor changes concern the establishment of a register storing all decisions relating to nationality. By a new provision, a legal basis has been created for the storing and processing of decisions relating to the acquisition, existence and loss of nationality, embracing as well the storing of decisions after 31 December 1960. The Bundesverwaltungsamt is responsible for maintaining the register. All nationality authorities are obliged to transmit the relevant personal data on decisions relating to nationality to the register. The nationality authorities are, in addition, obliged to inform the foreign representations of the Federal Republic as well as the local authorities about a naturalisation or loss of nationality. The legislative purpose is to avoid mistakes in the establishment of voter registers or the issuance of passports as a result of the loss of German nationality (as was indicated at a public hearing in the Interior Committee of the Bundestag at 23 May 2007). 34 The acquisition of German nationality of foreigners by birth on German territory on the basis of section 4 para. 3 is also registered on the basis of a new provision in the birth register, in which the birth of a child is documented.35 Contrary to a proposal by the Bundesrat36 this ratification, however, does not contain proof for the existence or nonexistence of German nationality.37 The 2007 reform legislation introduces a new administrative procedure on the determination of the nationality status of a person by application or in the case of a particular public interest. The ex officio procedure maybe started with the purpose of determining formally the nationality status of a person by the nationality authorities. The certificate on existence or non-existence of German nationality has binding force and is subject to appeal. The burden of proof is on the applicant who claims to posses the German nationality. Only in case of a loss of German nationality is it with the nationality authorities to prove the loss of German nationality.38 2.5 The 2009 amendment of nationality law on the loss and withdrawal of nationality The law on amending the nationality law of 5 February 200939 is primarily a reaction to decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Administrative Court on the legal requirements for withdrawing German nationality due to fraud or deceit and to the legal effects of an ex lege loss of nationality or withdrawal of nationality for descendants. Until 33 See BT-Drs. 16/5065, p. 230. In the 42nd session, protocol No. 16/42, p. 60 it has been criticised that the creation of a central register was not necessary and that it would be sufficient to update the registers on the civil status of persons (Personenstandsregister), see also 7th report of the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration, op. cit. December 2007, at p. 47. 35 Personenstandsrechtsreformgesetz of 19 February 2007, BGBl. I, p. 122. 36 BT-Drs. 16/5527, p. 11. 37 For a critical comment see Sturm, Das Standesamt, op. cit. at p. 138, who refers to the legislation of other legal systems defining the legal status of persons also with regard to nationality. 38 See also Sturm, Das deutsche Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht 2001, p. 115. 39 BGBl. 2009 I, p. 158. 34 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/5 - © 2020 Author(s) 13