How to get an Ausländerbehörde appointment

By Nicolas Bouliane Verified by 2 experts

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

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 a few weeks.6 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…

  1. Use the contact form
    Write a message in German. If you don’t speak German, use Deepl. Your message must include…
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Wait a few weeks
    You must wait weeks or 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.
  5. 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 4 to 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 or email 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.

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

Your 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.

Berlin Ausländerbehörde appointment room

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 4 to 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.

Ausländerbehörde Kassenautomat
Ausländerbehörde Kassenautomat
Payment machines at the Ausländerbehörde

After your appointment

Give feedback

Your feedback helps me improve the information on this website. It will help 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…

  1. Use the contact form
    Use the contact form to contact your department. Do not email or fax the Ausländerbehörde.
  2. Wait a few weeks
    The Ausländerbehörde answers in a few weeks to a few months. You might never get an 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.

English-speaking lawyers

Need help?

Where to ask immigration questions

Sources and footnotes

  1. Berlin.de, Berlin.de ⤴

  2. Berlin.de (August 2024) ⤴

  3. reddit.com, Berlin.de, Berlin.de ⤴

  4. Reddit.com ⤴

  5. Berlin.de ⤴

  6. Berlin.de, Red Tape Translation ⤴

  7. Berlin.de ⤴

  8. anwalt.de, se-legal.de, anwalt-diedrich.de, Red Tape Translation ⤴

  9. berlin.de, reddit.com ⤴

  10. §41 AufenthG ⤴

  11. Kathleen Parker at Red Tape Translation (July 2023), Sebastian Hoffmann at Touring Artists (July 2023), Emily Archer at Archer Relocation (November 2023) ⤴

  12. Facebook, Facebook, Facebook ⤴

  13. Twitter (December 2023) ⤴

  14. berlin.de, se-legal.de, se-legal.de, Auswärtiges Amt ⤴

  15. Berlin.de (September 2023) ⤴

  16. Touring Artists ⤴

  17. Berlin.de, Berlin.de, §81 Abs. 3 AufenthG, Reddit.com ⤴

  18. Fiona Macdonald, immigration lawyer ⤴

  19. Fiona Macdonald, immigration lawyer (August 2023) ⤴

  20. c/o Germany ⤴

  21. Multiple relocation consultants (October 2023) ⤴

  22. Multiple relocation consultants, an Ausländerbehörde employee (October 2023) ⤴

  23. Fem.os (September 2019), reddit.com/r/germany, facebook.com, Auswärtiges Amt, gesetze-im-internet.de, Berlin.de ⤴

  24. §75 VwGO ⤴

  25. Red Tape Translation ⤴

  26. Kathleen Parker at Red Tape Translation (December 2023) ⤴