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In depth
Denaturalization is the legal revocation of a person's citizenship, typically on grounds of fraud, disloyalty, or — historically — persecution. It is the inverse of naturalization.
The most infamous example is the Nazi-era Reichsbürgergesetz (Nuremberg Laws) of 1935, which stripped German Jews of their citizenship. Germany's Article 116 of the Basic Law (1949) restored citizenship to those denaturalized under the Nazi regime and their descendants.
Modern denaturalization is rare in democracies but does occur in cases of citizenship fraud (e.g., lying on a naturalization application). The US, UK, and other countries have denaturalization statutes, but they are rarely used.
Example
Germany's Article 116 restitution process restores citizenship to those denaturalized under the 1935 Reichsbürgergesetz and their descendants.
Related terms
Naturalization is the legal process by which a non-citizen acquires the citizenship of a country, typically after meeting residency, language, and integration requirements.
Article 116 of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) restores German citizenship to those deprived of it by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945, and to their descendants.
The Reichsbürgergesetz (Reich Citizenship Law) of 1935 was the Nazi-era law that stripped German Jews of their citizenship, and whose victims are eligible for Article 116 restitution.
Citizenship by descent (CBD) is the legal right to acquire a country's citizenship through one's ancestors — typically a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent — without being born in that country, based on the principle of jus sanguinis.
Jus sanguinis (Latin for 'right of blood') is the principle that grants citizenship based on the citizenship of one's parents or ancestors, regardless of where one is born.
Jus soli (Latin for 'right of the soil') grants citizenship based on being born in the territory of the state, regardless of the parents' citizenship.