Extending your Residence Permit as an International Student in Germany

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All international students in Germany are supposed to apply for the extension of their residence permit  before the end of their visa expiry period in order to further stay in Germany for completing their studies. International students are supposed to send a list documents preferably 20 days to 1 month before their visa expiry date to their city’s foreigner’s office. The detailed list of documents are as follows-

  1. Existing Visa Stamp Page
  2. 1 Biometric photo
  3. Blocked account confirmation or Declaration Page for 1 year
  4. City Registration Document Page
  5. University Enrollment Document
  6. Course history certificate(In some cases)
  7. Duly-Filled in Application for extension of Residence Permit
  8. Passport front & Back Pages Signed Copy
  9. Residence Contract/Subcontract document with owner’s seal or sign.
  10. Health Insurance Certificate especially showcasing insurance starting date and social security number.

After sending these documents to the respective city’s foreigners’ office (“Ausländerbehörde”), one can expect a response within 7-15 working days depending upon the city’s population and demand regarding any requirement of further documents. After successful verification of all documents, the city’s foreigners office will book an appointment in their office in one of the next possible available slots for recording Biometrics, signature and  passport verification. The most important documents required on the day of your appointment at  foreigners office are: appointment email letter for entry, Passport, 1 appropriate Biometric photo along with a card fee depending upon the city, either to be paid in cash or by Giro card in one of the vending machines inside the office.

After the appointment date, one can expect to receive letters from the city’s foreigners’ office within a few weeks regarding residence permit card collection date and a virtual residence permit card letter with two confidential pin-codes. The virtual residence permit letter has to be treated cautiously as it’s also extremely important and highly confidential. In the meantime, the appointment letter for residence permit card collection acts as a temporary permit to stay in Germany in case your visa has expired in the meantime. Finally, on the day when your residence permit card is to be collected, you have to go to the foreigners’ office at the appointment time with  your passport and the appointment letter. The authorised officials will then check the appointment letter, verify & process the original passport and ask for a few declarations. After this check, the new residence permit card, declaration letters in cases of card loss along with the associated work permit letters are finally issued to the respective applicant.

Written by Anurag Bhattacharjee

(Master’s Student OVGU Magdeburg)

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