Tired of the constant refreshing of the LEA Berlin website? Seeing site outages almost every day? We’re over it too. Here’s another solution to your problem, even if you’re only here as a tourist.
You’ve probably asked us if we can book an appointment for you on your behalf for the Landesamt für Einwanderung (foreigner’s office).
If you’re a freelancer, a job-seeker, a language learner or a uni student, we don’t have any special tricks or shortcuts – we are on the same website with you, getting just as frustrated as you are.
BUT…. you can apply by email or post for any permit. Even if you entered Germany without a residence title (e.g. you entered as a tourist without a visa and are using your 90 days in the Schengen area), as long as you are residing legally in Germany when you send and date the application, your stay in Germany will remain legal until the foreigner’s office has made a decision on your case … or at least until the date of the appointment they offer you. This is outlined here in Section 81 (3) of the Residency Act:
(3) Beantragt ein Ausländer, der sich rechtmäßig im Bundesgebiet aufhält, ohne einen Aufenthaltstitel zu besitzen, die Erteilung eines Aufenthaltstitels, gilt sein Aufenthalt bis zur Entscheidung der Ausländerbehörde als erlaubt.
(3) If a foreigner who is legally resident in the federal territory and does not possess a residence title applies for the issuance of a residence title, his or her residence is deemed to be permitted up to the time of the decision by the foreigners authority.
You have the right to simply post or email your complete application. You don’t have to muck around with the awful website! You always did have this right, even before Corona. Sending an email or a letter (registered mail) containing a complete application is “applying for a residence permit”. You will not find this information clearly anywhere on the Berlin.de website, or if you do, please let me know so I can link to it.
Pre-Corona, we had great success in booking appointments at the foreigner’s office. Those days are gone, at least for the foreseeable future. So we’d like to offer you something different – a consulting call to help you prepare your written application. During the hour, we will
- Answer any questions you have
- Anticipate obstacles you might encounter
- Send you a short, customised cover letter in German
- Send you a customised checklist of documents to include (if you’ve already gathered them, please share your screen and we’ll take a look at them!)
- Give you the correct email address for the right department, so you can send it by email in advance
- Tell you exactly where to post it by registered mail
Your job will be to
- Copy and paste our cover letter into an email and press send
- Print everything out, put the application in an envelope and post it.
You can then sit back, knowing that you are safe to remain in Germany until you hear back from the office – be it in 3 days or 3 months. Experience shows that this technique is the most successful for getting an appointment offered to you quickly.
If you booked Take a Translator (85) + Appointment booking with Red Tape Translation for the foreigner’s office, here’s what I’d recommend we do with it:
- Use the 85 EUR for a 60-minute consult and apply by email and post with your complete documents
- We’ll refund you the appointment booking fee
- Relax, knowing you’re fine to stay in Germany for as long as it takes to hear back, even if your tourist time is coming to an end
- Book Take a Translator once you hear back from the office with an appointment
Any questions? We’re always happy to help.
Does this mean that you have to surrender your passport, as one of the documents that you need to send by post? What if your time under visa waiver or your tourist time is coming to an end and you need it in order to leave the country?
No, you send a copy of your passport, by email, by post or both. They invite you to an appointment to approve the permit and sight your original passport.