Your German residence permit: appointments, extensions, and the Fiktionsbescheinigung

Start before your permit expires, two to three months ahead. You complete the online form at your local Ausländerbehörde and the office sends you an appointment, which can be weeks or months away. Submitting your application before the permit expires protects you, because your current permit then stays valid until they decide. Bring your passport, current permit, a biometric photo, proof of health insurance, your Anmeldung (address registration), and proof of your purpose of stay.

The core documents are usually:

• The completed application form, filled in online in most cities.
• Passport and your current residence permit (the eAT card).
• A recent biometric photo and proof of health insurance.
• Your registration (Meldebescheinigung) and often your rental contract.
• Proof of purpose: a job contract and recent payslips, university enrolment, or proof of income.
• The fee, usually around 100 euro, paid at the office or online depending on your city.

In most cities you cannot book a slot yourself. You submit a request through the Ausländerbehörde's online form and the office sends you a date, often weeks or months later.

• How you get one depends on the city: in Berlin and Hamburg you submit a request form and the office sends you a date, while in Munich you can book a slot online directly.
• Expect a wait of weeks to months, and check back for newly released or cancelled slots.
• In some cities the responsible office depends on the district where you are registered, so use the one for your address.
• If your date falls after your permit expires, a Fiktionsbescheinigung covers the gap, as long as you applied in time.

Each city runs its own Ausländerbehörde and portal, so check the office for your city. In Berlin, for example, you can browse every case and see which ones have an online application on the LEA's list of services.

A Fiktionsbescheinigung is a provisional certificate the Ausländerbehörde issues when your permit has expired or is about to, and your application is still being decided. It is a paper document that stands in for your residence permit and keeps your stay legal in the meantime. You normally get one because you applied to extend before your permit expired.

What matters most is the box it ticks, because that sets your rights:

• It continues your legal residence under the continuation rule (Fortgeltungswirkung, § 81 AufenthG).
• Work is only allowed if the certificate says so: look for whether "Erwerbstätigkeit gestattet" (employment permitted) is ticked. It usually matches what your previous permit allowed.
• Travel outside the Schengen area can be restricted while you only hold a Fiktionsbescheinigung, so check before booking trips abroad.
• It is temporary, often valid for a few months, and can be renewed if the decision is not ready.
• You can show it to an employer, landlord, or bank as proof that your stay and rights continue.

Yes, as long as you submit your extension application before your current permit expires. That triggers the continuation rule (Fortgeltungswirkung, § 81 AufenthG): your previous permit keeps running until the Ausländerbehörde decides, so you can keep working, keep renting, and keep living exactly as before.

Applying after the permit has already expired is treated differently. You lose the automatic continuation, so there is a gap where you may not have legal status or the right to work, and the Ausländerbehörde only lets the certificate apply at its discretion, to avoid hardship. That gap can also count against later applications such as permanent residence or citizenship, which look at continuous lawful residence, so contact the office at once, explain the delay, and consider legal advice.

Requirements vary by city, so always check your own office's list, but most appointments need your passport, current permit, a recent biometric photo, proof of health insurance, your registration, and proof of your purpose of stay. Bring originals and a copy of each.

• Passport, current residence permit, biometric photo.
• Health insurance proof and your Anmeldung or Meldebescheinigung.
• Job contract and payslips, enrolment, or proof of income.

A Verpflichtungserklärung is a formal declaration in which a sponsor who lives in Germany commits to cover your living costs. It is used for some visas, the Opportunity Card, and family visits. The sponsor signs it at the Ausländerbehörde or Bürgeramt (citizens' office) and proves they earn enough to support you.

Choose the Blue Card if you already have a job offer that meets the salary threshold and you have a recognised degree. Choose the Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) if you do not have an offer yet, because it is a points-based permit that lets you come to Germany to look for work.

• Blue Card: qualifying job offer plus a recognised degree, leads faster to permanent residence.
• Opportunity Card: no job offer needed, points based on qualifications, age, language, and experience.

For the situations that qualify for an EU Blue Card and how to apply, check your local Ausländerbehörde. In Berlin, for example, the LEA lists the cases at berlin.de/einwanderung (EU Blue Card cases).

The eAT (elektronischer Aufenthaltstitel) is a credit-card-sized permit with a chip. You apply at the Ausländerbehörde, give your fingerprints and photo, and collect the card a few weeks later. A separate letter with your PIN arrives by post, and you need it for the card's online functions.

Register your new address (Anmeldung) first. The Ausländerbehörde for your new city then becomes responsible, and your file is transferred between offices, which can be slow. You usually need a new appointment at the new office, so start that as soon as you have moved.

A residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) is temporary and tied to a purpose such as work or study. A settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) is permanent and usually possible after about five years, and sooner for skilled workers and Blue Card holders. The Daueraufenthalt-EU is a permanent status recognised across the EU. The right one depends on how long you have been here and your situation.

• Aufenthaltserlaubnis: temporary, purpose-bound, must be renewed.
• Niederlassungserlaubnis: permanent, often after five years, sometimes sooner with a Blue Card and language skills.
• Daueraufenthalt-EU: permanent status you can carry to other EU countries. If you later want to live in another EU country (for work, study, family, and similar reasons), that country must treat you as an EU long-term resident and give you a simplified path to a residence permit.

It varies a lot by city, from a few weeks to several months. Permanent residence often takes longer than a simple extension. Apply early, keep your Fiktionsbescheinigung if your permit expires while you wait, and follow up in writing if you hear nothing after the time the office quoted.

Often yes. Many people switch, for example from a student permit to a work permit, or from a job-seeker permit to a work permit, by applying at the Ausländerbehörde with the documents for the new purpose. Whether you can do it from inside Germany depends on your current permit, so confirm with the office first.

What happens depends on the status you hold. As a general rule, losing or changing a job does not end your right to stay overnight, but you usually must inform the Ausländerbehörde, and you are often given time to find new work. The section numbers below refer to the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz, AufenthG) and, for EU citizens, the Freedom of Movement Act (Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU, FreizügG/EU). Confirm your own case with the Ausländerbehörde or a lawyer.

EU and EEA citizens

You do not hold a residence permit at all. You have freedom of movement (§ 2 FreizügG/EU). If you lose your job you keep your worker status: after more than one year of employment it continues for as long as you are involuntarily unemployed and registered as a jobseeker, and if you worked less than a year it continues for at least six months (§ 2 Abs. 3 FreizügG/EU). Register as a jobseeker with the Agentur für Arbeit to protect it.

Persons with a residence permit for employment

A skilled-worker permit (§ 18a for professions with vocational training, § 18b for academic professions) is tied to the purpose of employment. If you lose your job, tell the Ausländerbehörde. In practice you are usually given time to find a new job in the same field, and the permit can be shortened only through a formal decision (§ 7 Abs. 2 AufenthG). A new qualifying job normally lets you keep an equivalent permit.

Persons with an EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card (§ 18g AufenthG) gives more protection. Short periods of unemployment do not end it: as a rule up to three months, and longer once you have held the Blue Card for a while. You must report unemployment to the Ausländerbehörde. Changing employer in the first year generally needs the authority to be notified, and after that it is easier.

Persons with a residence permit for vocational training

A training permit (§ 16a AufenthG) is tied to your Ausbildung. If the training ends early, you are usually given a period, commonly up to six months, to look for another training place. After you finish, you can get time to look for a job that matches your qualification (§ 20 AufenthG).

Persons with other residence permits

If your permit is not based on your job, losing the job may not affect your status. Family permits (§§ 28, 30 AufenthG) depend on the family relationship, not the job. Student permits (§ 16b AufenthG) allow limited work, so your studies, not the job, are what matter. Humanitarian and other permits have their own rules. Check the legal basis printed on your permit and confirm with the Ausländerbehörde.

A Blue Card is tied to qualified employment, but it does allow job changes, and this becomes easier once you are established. Unemployment does not end it instantly.

• In the early phase, a job change may need the Ausländerbehörde to agree. Later it is usually simpler.
• If you lose your job, tell the office promptly. You are generally given time to find new qualifying work.
• Keep your salary and role above the Blue Card requirements, which are set each year, so check the current figure.

It depends on your permit. There is a general five-year route and faster routes for skilled workers and EU Blue Card holders. In each case you also need to have paid into the pension system (Rentenversicherung) for that period, plus a secure income, enough German, and adequate housing.

• Standard route (§ 9 AufenthG): after five years holding a residence permit, with 60 months of pension contributions and German at B1.
• Skilled workers (§ 18c Abs. 1 AufenthG): after three years in skilled employment, with 36 months of pension contributions and German at B1. This drops to two years, with 24 months of contributions, if you completed your vocational training or a degree in Germany.
• EU Blue Card (§ 18c Abs. 2 AufenthG): after 21 months with German at B1, or 27 months with German at A1, again with pension contributions for that period.

Time on a valid permit counts toward these periods, while long gaps abroad or without a valid status can interrupt them. Some part-time and Werkstudent months count if pension contributions were paid. You also need to show a basic knowledge of the German legal and social system, usually through the same test used for citizenship.

A residence permit can lapse if you move away for a long time. As a rule, leaving Germany for more than six months without agreeing a longer absence with the Ausländerbehörde can end your permit.

• Deregistering your address (Abmeldung) does not by itself cancel your permit, but a long absence can.
• If you plan a long trip, ask the Ausländerbehörde in advance whether your permit stays valid.
• If you are leaving for good, see our guide to Anmeldung and Abmeldung for the deregistration steps.