BERLIN (AP) — Germany's foreign ministry is proposing that Britons who apply for German citizenship before the end of the Brexit transition period should be able to keep both passports.

The ministry on Tuesday confirmed a report by Politico, which quoted from a draft bill called the "Transitional Brexit Act."

The bill proposes treating Britain as a European Union country for German domestic purposes in the time between Britain's departure from the bloc on March 30, 2019, and the end of the proposed transition period on Dec. 31, 2020.

Under current rules Britons would have to give up their U.K. citizenship if their German citizenship is approved after the transition period. The draft law would ensure that the date of their application counts, to avoid people missing out from bureaucratic tardiness.