This guide explains how to get an Ausländerbehörde appointment, and what to do if you can’t find one.
You need an Ausländerbehörde appointment to…3
- Apply for a residence permit
- Renew or change your current residence permit
- Convert your National Visa into a residence permit
If you go to the Ausländerbehörde without an appointment, they will not help you.7
How to get an appointment
Since August 2024, there is no appointment booking system. The only way to get an Ausländerbehörde appointment is to use their contact form.2
Send your documents and wait
Use the contact form, send your complete residence permit application, and wait.6 It takes a few weeks to a few months to get an answer. This is the only way to get an appointment.
If you have a residence permit or a National Visa, send your documents 8 weeks before it expires, not sooner.1 You must send your application before your residence permit expires.5 If your visa or residence permit expires soon, sending your documents usually allows you to stay in Germany.
To send your documents…
- Use the contact form
Write a message in German. If you don’t speak German, use Deepl. Your message must include…- What you want to do
- The expiration date of your visa or residence permit
- If your residence permit expires soon, ask for a Fiktionsbescheinigung19 – More information
- Attach your application documents
Send all the required documents. Complete applications are processed faster.19 You can only upload 5 small documents. If possible, use PDF documents. You can merge PDF documents or make PDFs smaller online. If you have too many documents, send them by post.25 - Send your message
If you get an error (Anti-Spam-Schutz), it’s because you took too long to send your message. Just send it again. After you send the message, click Zusammenfassung ausdrucken to print the confirmation message. This is a proof of your residence permit application. You might not get a confirmation email.13 - Wait
It takes a few weeks to a few months to get an answer. While you wait, you can usually stay in Germany, even if your residence permit expires. If you wait more than 3 months, you can sue the Ausländerbehörde. - Get an Ausländerbehörde appointment
After they process your application, they will email you. Usually, when they contact you, it means that your residence permit is approved.11 They usually give you an appointment to bring missing documents or scan your fingerprints. You should get your residence permit around 8 weeks after the appointment.
You can send your residence permit application by registered mail, but it’s not better or faster.19 Do not fax your application.15 Use the contact form.
If you apply for a Blue Card, don’t use the contact form. There is a different form for the Blue Card.
Book an appointment online
You can’t book an appointment online. The Ausländerbehörde disabled its appointment system in August 2024. You must use the contact form, send your documents, and wait for a reply. It can take a few months.
Other solutions
- Use the Business Immigration Service (BIS)
You can apply for a work visa or a Blue Card through BIS. It’s usually faster. Your employer or your relocation service must register for this service. It’s free. – More information - Apply in another city
If you are a Berlin resident, you must go to the Berlin Ausländerbehörde. If you register your address in another city, you can apply at the Ausländerbehörde there. Immigration offices in small cities are often faster.4 - Hire a lawyer
Lawyers can’t get an appointment faster, but they can pressure the Ausländerbehörde to process a case faster. A lawyer can also sue the Ausländerbehörde when they are too slow. – Find a lawyer
If your residence permit expires soon
It takes months to get a residence permit. Your current visa or residence permit might expire while you wait for the Ausländerbehörde. Don’t panic! Usually, you can usually stay in Germany.17
If you have a residence permit or a National Visa
You can stay in Germany after your residence permit or National Visa expires if…
- You sent your application documents
You must submit a complete residence permit application before your residence permit or National Visa expires.5 - or you booked an Ausländerbehörde appointment
You must book the appointment before your residence permit or National Visa expires.16 The appointment can be after it expires.
While you wait for the Ausländerbehörde…
- Work or study like before
After you send a residence permit application, the conditions of your current residence permit or National Visa still apply. You can work or study like before. Look on your Zusatzblatt to know what you are allowed to do. Some employers don’t know that, and they might think they have to fire you. - Do not leave Germany
You might be unable to re-enter Germany with an expired residence permit or National Visa. Citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom or the United States can usually travel. Others need a Fiktionsbescheinigung.
Travel with an expired residence permit
Everyone else
If you are a citizen of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom or the United States, you can stay in Germany for 90 days without a visa.10 You can stay longer if…
- You have an Ausländerbehörde appointment and you booked the appointment in your first 90 days in Germany
- or you sent your application documents in your first 90 days in Germany
You need a residence permit to work, study or freelance. If you don’t have one, you must wait.
If you have a Schengen visa, you must leave Germany before it expires. You can rarely extend a Schengen visa.14 You can rarely convert a Schengen visa to a residence permit. You can’t get a Fiktionsbescheinigung.23
Before your appointment
Read your appointment confirmation and follow the instructions. Usually, you must…
- Prepare your documents
When you go to your appointment, bring every document that you have not already sent. Bring everything useful. If you forget a document, it can delay your application by a few weeks. Print your documents on A4 paper. Don’t staple the pages together. - Hire a translator (optional)
Some Ausländerbehörde employees only speak German. If you don’t speak German, bring a translator with you. I recommend Red Tape Translation. If you hire a relocation consultant or an immigration lawyer, they can also translate for you.
During your appointment
Go to the Ausländerbehörde
Go to the correct Ausländerbehörde: Friedrich-Krause-Ufer, Keplerstraße or Fasanenstraße. Arrive early. You need enough time to find the correct waiting room. If you are late, they might refuse to help you.20
Print your appointment confirmation and bring it. You need it to enter the Ausländerbehörde.3
Inside the Ausländerbehörde, Find the right office, floor and room. This information is on your appointment confirmation. The security staff can also help you.
Sit in the correct waiting room. Wait until the television calls your number. Go to the office number (Platz) you see on the television.
Go to your interview
The Ausländerbehörde employee will ask for your documents one by one. After a few minutes, they will send you back to the waiting room. A few minutes later, you must go back to the same office.
During your appointment, ask for a Fiktionsbescheinigung. It’s a temporary residence permit. You might need it to travel outside of Germany.
What is a Fiktionsbescheinigung?
They might ask you to pay a fee. You must pay it at a payment machine. The machine is somewhere else in the Ausländerbehörde.
How to pay the residence permit fee
If they approve your residence permit, they must print the plastic card. You will get a second appointment to collect your residence permit in around 8 weeks. You might get a temporary document that confirms that your residence permit was approved. It allows you to start working, but it’s not a valid travel document. It does not allow you to leave and re-enter Germany.
Pay the fee
When your residence permit is approved, you must pay a fee: 100€ for a new residence permit, 96€ for a renewal, or 37€ to 147€ for permanent residence.
- If you must pay now, they will give you a plastic payment card (Kassenkarte). Bring that card to a payment machine (Kassenautomat). Follow the signs to find the payment machines. These machines accept cash, EC cards, Visa and Mastercard.9 If your card is not accepted, you must get cash from an ATM.
- If you must pay later, you will get an invoice by post. You will have 30 days to pay.21 They might also ask you to pay during your next Ausländerbehörde visit.
After you pay, you can go home. Keep your receipt; residence permit fees are tax-deductible.
After your appointment
Give feedback
Tell me how your Ausländerbehörde appointment went. Your feedback helps thousands of people plan their residence permit application.
If your application is approved
Go to your second Ausländerbehörde appointment to pick up your new residence permit. Bring your passport and your old residence permit.
Your residence permit is a plastic card. The expiration date is written on it. Check if the information on your card is correct. The Ausländerbehörde sometimes makes mistakes.
You might also get a Zusatzblatt. It describes the conditions of your residence permit. For example, it might say that you can change employers, or that self-employment is allowed.
You will also get a letter with the activation code for your eID. You need it to activate the eID function of your residence permit. This lets you use your residence permit to log into online government services.
How to activate the eID function
If your application is rejected
If some documents are missing, you have 2 options:
- Send the missing documents by email
If you have the missing documents at home, ask if you can email them. You will pay the fee and give your fingerprints, so you don’t need another Ausländerbehörde visit.26 - or get another appointment
They will give you another appointment in a few days. It gives you time to prepare the missing documents.
If your current visa or residence permit expires soon, ask for a Fiktionsbescheinigung. It lets you stay in Germany a bit longer. If they refuse, you can insist. You have the right to get one.
If you get a rejection letter, it will ask for more information, or tell you why your application was rejected. You have 1 month to respond or appeal. If this happens, hire an immigration lawyer to help you.
If you don’t get an answer
After you submit your residence permit application, the Ausländerbehörde has 3 months to make a decision.24 If you don’t get an answer, you can sue the Ausländerbehörde. It does not always help.
If the Ausländerbehörde can’t reach you because you changed your address, they will post the information here.
Contact the Ausländerbehörde
The Ausländerbehörde is really hard to contact. They removed emails and fax numbers from their website. You must use the contact form.22
To contact the Ausländerbehörde…
- Use the contact form
Use the contact form to contact your department. Do not email or fax the Ausländerbehörde. - Wait a few weeks
The Ausländerbehörde takes weeks or months to answer.
Fax the Ausländerbehörde
Fax does not work.12 Do not fax the Ausländerbehörde. It’s not better or faster. Use the contact form.
Sue the Ausländerbehörde
After you submit your residence permit application, the Ausländerbehörde has 3 months to make a decision. If you don’t get an answer after 3 months, you can sue the Ausländerbehörde for inaction.8 This is called an Untätigkeitsklage nach § 75 VwGO. Usually, it makes them move faster.18
In most cases, the state pays for your legal expenses. In other cases, it costs around 400€, because the Ausländerbehörde reacts without going to court. An immigration lawyer can help you do this.
Need help?
Where to ask immigration questions
Sources and footnotes
-
anwalt.de, se-legal.de, anwalt-diedrich.de, Red Tape Translation ⤴
-
Kathleen Parker at Red Tape Translation (July 2023), Sebastian Hoffmann at Touring Artists (July 2023), Emily Archer at Archer Relocation (November 2023) ⤴
-
Fiona Macdonald, immigration lawyer (August 2023) ⤴
-
Multiple relocation consultants (October 2023) ⤴
-
Multiple relocation consultants, an Ausländerbehörde employee (October 2023) ⤴
-
Fem.os (September 2019), reddit.com/r/germany, facebook.com, Auswärtiges Amt, gesetze-im-internet.de, Berlin.de ⤴
-
Kathleen Parker at Red Tape Translation (December 2023) ⤴
