When in Germany...  Getting a Residence Permit

Guest Article: Legal Aspects and Requirements
for a German Visa and Residence Permit - Part 2

By Alexander Baron von Engelhardt,
editor of the Legal Guide to Germany (LG2G)

Continued from Part 1

2. Obtaining a Residence Permit
Until the end of 2004 there were several different and confusing permits granting you legal abode in Germany. Now there are only two different titles of abode; one gives you either a conditional and temporary permission to stay, while the other grants you permanent permission to remain. Visas will never grant a status that will enable you to receive permanent residence at some time in the future. Only temporary residency permits will enable you to later obtain permanent residency, and that depends on the purpose of your sojourn.

To obtain a German residence permit, you have to meet several general prerequisites beyond the special ones for your reason of sojourn. These general conditions are listed in §5 AufenthaltsG. These conditions will be briefly explained below. Generally, you...

• have to have meet passport requirements,
• must have an assured means of subsistence (income),
• have entered with the correct visa, if applicable,
• have submitted all the necessary data for the visa application,
• and have given no reason for expulsion.

You will be required to prove (with documentation) that you can by yourself meet the cost of living, and have sufficient health insurance coverage without having to make a claim on public funds. In actual numbers this means a minimum basic income of 345 euros per month in Berlin and the older (western) states of Germany, and 331 euros per month in the newer German states (former GDR). In other words, if you rent an apartment for 400 EUR in Hamburg, you need to show that you can come up with 745 EUR (345+400), or 731 EUR (331+400) in Dresden. Please understand these limits are a minimum. If you can show that you have more funds available or earn more, all the better. You must demonstrate your financial status via bank / credit card statements, tax returns, statement of interest and dividends, etc.

Health insurance is considered sufficient if it includes such benefits as medical treatment by a doctor, dentist treatment, treatment in a hospital, and treatment for childbirth during pregnancy — and all this inside of Germany. Where the insurance company is located is not important, but the coverage must apply to Germany.

German law wants to know for what purpose you want to enter the country. You can obtain a permit for the purposes of:

1. Education (e.g. study or a language course),
2. carrying out gainful employment,
3. opening a business (self-employment, branch of a running company),
4. uniting a family (e.g. the later arrival of a spouse or children).

Usually, you can obtain a residence permit for employment if the following prerequisites have been met:

1. The occupation you wish to take up requires a vocational training qualification and you possess this qualification,
2. you can show that you have a job offer,
3. the granting of a residence permit for your occupational group is envisaged by legal regulations,
4. the German Federal Employment Agency approves of your employment, and
5. no privileged person is qualified for your chosen position. (Besides Germans, “privileged persons” are EU citizens and legal resident aliens.)

Do you want to start a business or engage in self-employment? With the new law, there is (finally the long-missing) explicit regulation on the working migration of self-employed persons to Germany. Generally, you will need to show for a successful application following details:

1. Germany’s higher economic interest or Germany’s special regional need for your project,
2. the expectation of positive effects of your business on the economy,
3. as well as the security of the financing of the intention through equity or a credit promise,
4. no damage to Germany’s overall economic interests is to be expected.

As a rule, Germany will assume that you or your project are of higher economic interest if you can invest at least 500,000 euros and hire five or more employees. Oh, that’s not petty cash for you? Tsk, tsk. But that is not the end of the story! You will now have to show the superior economic interest in a business plan with more scrutiny. The basic idea is to show the workability of your business. Don’t misunderstand, Germany does not want more bankruptcies. Therefore, the authorities will test your case. Perfect criteria would be if you can create “many” jobs (not counting you), and you have “few” competitors in the market.

Let me give you an example or two. If you want to open a new hamburger restaurant, forget it — unless your first name is Ronald. If you want to open a boutique for the latest Indian fashion in an industrialized quarter, stop dreaming. But if you want to open the Indian fashion store on Berlin’s Ku’damm, great idea. In the latter case, you now will only have to show sufficient equity to start the business and that you will not be dependent on welfare.

For more, see the Legal Guide to Germany site by Alexander Baron von Engelhardt

Also see: Requirements for US Citizens - a detailed look at the German visa and residence permit rules for American citizens

BACK > Part 1: The Visa

MORE > Requirements for US Citizens

Guest article copyright © 2008-2009 Alexander Baron von Engelhardt

Web content ©1997-2009 Hyde Flippo

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