
Red Tape Translation received an interesting question about booking appointments at the Ausländerbehörde (LABO), and we thought we’d throw it out there for discussion.
An American citizen was not able to get an appointment before his current permit expired. Those pesky appointment times go like hotcakes, and sometimes, there isn’t one available for 6-8 weeks.
Luckily, that’s not such a huge problem. If you can’t get an appointment before your current permit runs out, your current permit will remain valid until the date of your appointment. Whatever working conditions currently apply to you will also apply until your appointment. All you have to do is print out the appointment confirmation and carry it around with your passport, should anyone ask. You can read that on the official LABO website here.
Prima! “That’s a load off”, thought our American friend. But as he flicked through the official appointment calendar, he noticed that he could book an appointment for June 2014, thus extending his current permit for twelve whole months without a single nod of approval from the Ausländerbehörde. Could this actually be true? Doubtful, he visited Die Beauftragte für Integration und Migration, a place where foreigners can get advice about everything immigration and integration. On his first visit, the case worker there agreed that this was true. A second visit proved less helpful.
In the meanwhile, Red Tape Translation emailed LABO to see what the official word there was. Could the American really extend his current permit for twelve months just by booking an appointment? A Fiktionsbescheinigung (bridging visa) would have given him three months max. The email response from our contact at the Ausländerbehörde was unfortunately completely irrelevant to the question at hand.
Red Tape Translation then turned to a legal source, Andreas Moser, a German lawyer with a special interest in international and immigration law. Andreas explained that if it was possible to book and confirm an appointment through the LABO website, then our friend has done everything right. But, if LABO later notices an IT glitch or a loophole, they could always cancel his appointment and rebook it at an earlier date. Additionally, this twelve month extension might not prove extraordinarily useful. For example, the extension is not suitable for travel outside of Germany – he couldn’t explore Europe and hope to get back in to Germany. Also, a university or an employer might hesitate to accept his appointment booking confirmation as a valid permit, which could cause problems at work or school in Berlin. So aside from buying himself some time, he might just be prolonging the inevitable.
Please note: A tourist visa in Berlin (Schengen Visa) is not a residency permit (Aufenthaltstitel). You cannot “extend” a tourist visa by booking an appointment, because you never had a “permit” to begin with. If you can’t get an appointment before your Schengen Visa runs out, go and wait in line.
Update June 2014: When booking an appointment on the LABO website, they now request that you book the next available appointment. I recently accompanied someone who had booked an appointment a few months in advance (thinking they would wait until after Christmas to get it sorted out, even though there were appointments available in December) and they got an earful from the case worker!
About the Author: Kathleen Parker attends appointments at the Ausländerbehörde with English speakers who need a translator in person at the Auslanderbehorde. She can also be found at the Arbeitsagentur, Bürgeramt, Standesamt, and other meetings, and she offers German – English translations.
Hey. I know it is still possible to book an appointment and remain in Germany under the same working conditions until the scheduled appointment. My question is, is it possible to rebook the appointment for a later date shortly before its original scheduled date and remain under the same conditions and to continue working until the date of the rebooked appointment?
Hi Alex, the problem with that is that you would most likely be rebooking outside of the validity of your original permit. E.g. your original permit has expired by the time you make the re-booking. I wouldn’t risk it, and if you can’t attend the initial appointment, I’d have a really good reason why (e.g. a medical certificate).
Does the same apply to a non-EU spouse joining their EU spouse? As a US citizen, the non-EU spouse has 90 days visa-free but can’t get an appointment until after the 90 days have expired. Will their rights also be extended until the appointment for their first residence permit?
Hi James. This is a huge issue at the moment – I know spouses who have to wait 8-9 months for their appointment at the Ausländerbehörde! It’s not a problem in terms of sitting tight until the spouse gets seen on the day, even if it means overstaying the tourist visa, but the spouses are restricted from traveling overseas because getting into Germany again is an issue. So, I hope your spouse (or you) like hanging out in the Federal Republic! Cheers, Kathleen
hi, I really need an advice of what we should do. I am a Filipino national who got married to German national in Philippines. When I applied for a Schengen visa for a visit in 3 months, I was not qualified to have a spouse visa since our marriage was not registered as it needs the PSA Marriage Certificate first before we could possibly register it. So, I paid for 60 Euro for the Schengen C Visa. Later did I know that I am pregnant. I am in Germany right now and I am 22 weeks pregnant. My visa will expire in a month and we are considering of extending my Schengen visa for the sake of our first baby.
I wonder if there is a chance or way for my visa to be extended so I can stay longer here to give birth.
We are now filling the form of the Registration of Marriage in the townhall of my husband as we finally have our PSA Marriage Certificate now.
My main question is, what should we do inorder for my visa to be extended without leaving Germany?
Hi Betche,
Congratulations on your marriage and pregnancy! There are too many factors here, I can’t give you any advice. I’d advise contacting an immigration lawyer. Cheers and good luck! Kathleen