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Residence Permit
You will receive an appointment with the Ausländerbehörde [Immigration Office] after having registered your address. The invitation and the application form will be sent to you by post, so please make sure your name is indicated on your letter box. Please be aware that this process can take a few weeks and that the appointments at the Ausländerbehörde can be scheduled for a few months in the future.
The type of residence permit you will receive usually
depends directly on the type of visa you were issued. You
should, therefore, pay attention to the type of residence
permit you would like when applying for your visa. The
following types of permit might be suitable for your:
§ 18b – Skilled Workers
Holding a University Degree/BlueCard
It is stated in § 18 b (1) of the
Residence Act that "[s]killed workers holding a
university degree may be granted a temporary residence
permit to perform skilled work for which their training
qualifies them."
In short, this means that you would usually qualify for
this type of residence permit as a postdoc or PhD student.
Depending on what field you work in, how many hours you
work and what your pay is, you might also qualify for the
so-called BlueCard, which is described in section (2).
Depending on your field of research, your annual pay will need to be
€56,800, or €44,304 if you work in natural sciences,
mathematics, IT, or are an engineer.
If you have held a BlueCard in another EU country
for a minimum of 18 months, you and your family can enter
Germany without a visa and apply for a German BlueCard once
you have arrived
§ 18d – Research
The residence permits based on § 18b and § 18d are somewhat
interchangeable for some people, so it is important to find
out which best fits your needs. For instance, should your
employment contract include an extended research stay in
another EU country, this residence permit will allow you to
live in other EU countries without a visa for six months
(please be aware that usually you have to notify countries
of your stay nevertheless and some bureaucratic processes
may be necessary).
If you are a scholarship holder intending to come to
Germany for research purposes but do not have an employment
contract with the University of Siegen, this residence
permit should be suited for your needs.
Please note that you will
need a hosting agreement for the visa attached to this type
of residence permit. Please contact us for more
information.
§ 16b – Further Education
This residence permit is sometimes given to PhD students
who work less than 20 hours a week: You are allowed to work for a max. of 120 full or 240 half days on this type of residence permit. As it is more suitable for 'regular' students, however, we recommend
trying to apply for one of the above-mentioned types.
§ 18c – Permanent Settlement
Permit for Skilled Workers
In order to receive a permanent settlement permit, you will
need to have held a residence permit in Germany for a certain
amount of time – the exact amount of time depends on the
residence permit you have –, have paid into the pension scheme
and will generally need to have a working contract in order to
sustain a living. You will also need at least a B1 level of
German.
Please contact us for further information on the differences between the types of residence permits, to find out more about your eligibility for a certain type of permit, what to do in case your permit runs out in a few months and you do not yet have a new job, and for documents needed for the visa application.