Kazakhstani man seeks ethnicity change to move to Germany

Collage by Kursiv.media; photo editor: Dastan Shanay

A court in Astana has heard a case filed by a citizen seeking to change his recorded ethnicity to that of his grandmother in order to participate in Germany’s resettlement program.

The man attempted to change his ethnicity from Italian to German but was denied, as his father is ethnically Italian and his mother is Russian. In Kazakhstan, ethnicity is typically determined based on parental background. As a result, he appealed the decision in court.

During the hearing, the plaintiff stated that his paternal grandmother is of German origin and argued that Kazakhstani law allows for changes in ethnicity under certain circumstances.

«The plaintiff intends to participate in Germany’s late repatriation program for ethnic Germans and states that he speaks German and has relatives in Germany,» the court said in a statement.

The court ultimately ruled that, in such cases, the ethnic background of other relatives may also be taken into account, and ordered that the procedure for changing his recorded ethnicity be completed based on these considerations. The decision has not yet entered into force.