Permanent residence permit
Your path to a permanent right of residence in Germany
All requirements for a permanent residence permit explained simply and clearly
The settlement permit allows you to stay in Germany indefinitely. It basically serves to consolidate your residence. A settlement permit allows you to live and work in Germany without restrictions: You can pursue employment as an employee as well as self-employment. Under certain conditions, it is also possible to obtain an EU permanent residence permit, which facilitates access to the entire European labor market.
Overview
Basics of the permanent residence permit
There is no one permanent residence permit that fits all foreigners. The requirements for obtaining permanent residence depend on which residence title you currently have. In addition to the general requirements of Section 5 of the Residence Act (AufenthG) (clarification of identity, fulfillment of the passport requirement, etc.), you must generally meet the following requirements in accordance with Section 9 (2) AufenthG:
- Five-year legal residence in Germany
- Secure livelihood including sufficient living space
- Sufficient pension provision
- No conflicting reasons of public safety or order
- Language skills
- Basic knowledge of the legal and social order
However, certain exemptions apply for skilled workers, in particular holders of an EU Blue Card, for spouses or children of Germans and for spouses of foreigners with permanent residence. We will explain these simplifications below, together with the requirements that generally apply to a permanent residence permit.
Five-year legal residence
To obtain a permanent residence permit, you must have lived legally in Germany for five years, i.e. have a (temporary) residence permit. Short trips abroad are harmless.
However, as mentioned above, there are special regulations in the Residence Act that allow you to be granted a settlement permit even if you have not been in Germany for five years.
The box on the right shows the groups of people for whom it is possible to obtain a permanent residence permit even before five years of residence.
Special regulations
- Skilled workers (without an EU Blue Card): 3 years or 2 years if they have completed their studies or vocational training in Germany in accordance with Section 18c (1) AufenthG
- EU Blue Card: 27 months with basic German language skills (level A1) or 21 months with sufficient language skills (level B1) in accordance with Section 18c (2) AufenthG
- Spouses of skilled workers with a settlement permit pursuant to Section 18c AufenthG who themselves work at least 20 hours per week: 3 years pursuant to Section 9 (3a) AufenthG
- Foreign civil servants: 3 years pursuant to Section 19c (4) sentence 3 AufenthG
- Self-employed persons: 3 years pursuant to Section 21 (4) sentence 2 AufenthG
- Persons entitled to asylum: Recognition of periods of residence in the asylum procedure pursuant to Section 26 (3) AufenthG
- Family members of Germans: 3 years pursuant to Section 28 (2) AufenthG
Secured livelihood
You must be able to support yourself and your family members. Pursuant to Section 2 (3) AufenthG, your means of subsistence are deemed to be secure if you are able to cover them, including adequate health insurance cover, without recourse to public funds.
NOT considered a use of public funds is the receipt of:
- Child benefit
- Child supplement
- Parenting Benefit
- Parenting Benefit
- Unemployment benefit I
- BAföG
If you receive these benefits, you can still obtain a settlement permit.
There is also some relief for certain groups of applicants with regard to securing their livelihood.
Special regulations apply to:
- Foreigners who have held a residence permit for family reasons for at least five years (§ 35 para. 3 sentence 1 no. 3 AufenthG): If they are in vocational training or studying at a university, the receipt of state benefits is harmless
- Family members of Germans who are listed in Section 28 (1) AufenthG: As a rule, they must only be able to cover their own needs
- Married to holders of a settlement permit or EU permanent residence permit after the marriage has ended in divorce(Section 31 (3) AufenthG): Their livelihood can only be secured by maintenance payments from the ex-spouse
- People with a physical, mental or psychological illness or disability (Section 9 (2) sentence 6 AufenthG) do not have to secure their own livelihood if they are unable to do so due to their illness or disability
- Persons entitled to asylum(§ 25 Para. 1 AufenthG) and recognized refugees(§ 25 Para. 2 S. 1 Alt. 1 AufenthG) who have had a residence permit for five years : Livelihood must be predominantly secured, unless they are already of retirement age
- Persons entitled to asylum(§ 25 Para. 1 AufenthG) and recognized refugees(§ 25 Para. 2 S. 1 Alt. 1 AufenthG, § 3 Para. 1 AsylG) with language skills at level C1 who have had a residence permit for three years : Livelihood must be secured for the most part
In order to secure your livelihood, you must also be able to prove that you and your family have sufficient living space available. Two factors play a role in determining whether your living space is sufficient: the condition and the occupancy, i.e. the size of the home in relation to the number of occupants. Sufficient living space is always available if 12 square meters of living space are available for each family member over the age of six and 10 square meters for each family member under the age of six and if ancillary rooms (kitchen, bathroom, WC) can be used to an appropriate extent. Infants under two years of age are not included in the calculation of living space. It is generally unproblematic to fall short of the calculated apartment size by around 10%.
Retirement provision
In order to obtain a permanent residence permit, you must have adequate retirement provisions. You must therefore not only be able to prove that your livelihood is currently secure, but also that it will be secure in old age.
This is generally proven if you have paid compulsory or voluntary contributions to the statutory pension insurance scheme for at least 5 years. Alternatively, it may also be sufficient if you have comparable private pension insurance or are entitled to comparable benefits.
If in your case it is possible to obtain a permanent residence permit after less than 5 years of residence in Germany, for example because you are a skilled worker and/or have an EU Blue Card, you must generally only be able to prove that you have paid into a pension insurance scheme for this period.
If you do not know exactly how many monthly contributions you have already paid into the pension insurance scheme, you can request an insurance history from Deutsche Rentenversicherung. This is regularly sent to legally insured persons in accordance with § 149 Para. 3 Social Security Code VI. This insurance history is also sufficient proof for the authorities.
The law provides for a simplification for spouses living together: A foreigner can obtain permanent residence even if only his or her spouse has sufficient pension provision.
Language skills
In order to obtain a permanent residence permit for Germany, you must provide proof of German language skills. Language skills are essential for integration into German society. Against this background, a language level of B1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is generally required to obtain a permanent residence permit.
You can provide proof of this language level in various ways. One way to obtain a B1 language certificate is to take the German Test for Immigrants (Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer - DTZ). The DTZ is a language test that was developed specifically for immigrants and serves as the final language part of the integration course. This means that if you have successfully completed an official integration course, you have also passed the DTZ. You can find more information about the DTZ here on the BAMF website.
In certain cases, you can also prove your language skills without a special certificate. This is the case, for example, if you...
- have obtained a German university degree,
- have successfully attended a German school for four years,
- have a German school-leaving certificate, or
- were successfully transferred to a secondary school after the 10th grade.
In addition, in some special cases, lower requirements apply to your language skills. These exceptional cases are summarized in the box.
Special regulations apply to:
- Holders of an EU Blue Card: language level A1 in accordance with Section 18c (2) sentence 1 AufenthG
- Persons entitled to asylum and recognized refugees: language level A2 according to § 26 para. 3 sentence 1 AufenthG
- Foreigners who were not entitled to participate in an integration course due to a recognizably low need for integration or for whom participation is permanently impossible or unreasonable: Simple oral communication is sufficient in accordance with § 9 para. 2 sentence 5 AufenthG
- Foreigners who were already in possession of a residence permit or residence authorization before 01 January 2005 : Simple verbal notification is sufficient in accordance with § 104 Para. 2 S. 1 AufenthG
- People with a physical, mental or psychological illness or disability: No knowledge of German required if they are unable to acquire this due to their disability in accordance with Section 9 (2) sentence 3 AufenthG
- Minor children who have already held a residence permit for family reasons for five years on their 16th birthday: No knowledge of German required according to § 35 para. 1 sentence 1 AufenthG
- Foreigners for whom the refusal of a settlement permit would constitute a hardship: German language skills can be waived in accordance with Section 9 (2) sentence 4 AufenthG
Basic knowledge of the legal and social order
In addition to knowledge of the German language, you must also have knowledge of the legal and social order and general living conditions in Germany in order to obtain a settlement permit. However, the law only requires basic knowledge here, so the requirements are not too high.
The easiest way to prove this basic knowledge is by successfully completing an integration course (which has already helped you to prove your language skills due to the German test it contains). Alternatively, you can also take the "Living in Germany" test or a naturalization test. You can find everything you need to know about the naturalization test here.
As with language skills, you can also prove your basic knowledge of the legal and social system with a German school or university degree instead. In addition, some exceptions apply again, which we have summarized for you in the box opposite.
Special regulations apply to:
- Foreigners who were not entitled to participate in an integration course due to a recognizably low need for integration or for whom participation is permanently impossible or unreasonable: Simple oral communication is sufficient in accordance with § 9 para. 2 sentence 5 AufenthG
- Foreigners who were already in possession of a residence permit or residence authorization before 01 January 2005: No knowledge of the legal and social order required according to § 104 para. 2 sentence 2 AufenthG
- People with a physical, mental or psychological illness or disability: No knowledge of the legal and social order is required if they are unable to acquire it in accordance with Section 9 (2) sentence 3 AufenthG
- Minor children who have already held a residence permit for family reasons for five years on their 16th birthday: No knowledge of the legal and social order required pursuant to Section 35 (1) sentence 1 AufenthG
- Adults with language level B1 who received a residence permit as a child for family reasons and have now held it for five years: No knowledge of the legal and social order required pursuant to Section 35 (1) sentence 2 AufenthG
- Foreigners for whom the refusal of a permanent residence permit would constitute a hardship: Knowledge of the legal and social order may be waived in accordance with Section 9 (2) sentence 4 AufenthG
No conflicting reasons of public safety or order
The permanent residence permit should only be granted to people who want to and can be part of a free and democratic social order. However, this is not the case for persons who pose a threat to public safety and order. If there are conflicting reasons of public safety and order, a permanent residence permit will therefore not be issued.
This very vague requirement from Section 9 (2) No. 4 AufenthG is difficult to grasp. When exactly do reasons of public security and order prevent the granting of permanent residence?
It goes without saying that minor violations of the law, such as a parking ticket, do not constitute grounds for public safety or order. In contrast, a permanent residence permit would undoubtedly not be granted for a capital offense such as murder. However, there is uncertainty in the area between these two extremes. In principle, the fact that you are considered to have a "criminal record" in Germany can be used as a guide.
Thus, out of consideration remain:
- Educational measures or correctional measures under the Juvenile Courts Act,
- sentences of up to three months' imprisonment that have been suspended and remitted after expiry of the probation period, and
- Convictions to fines of up to 90 daily rates.
It is important to note that a conviction abroad is generally just as relevant as a conviction in Germany. A conviction abroad can only be disregarded in exceptional cases, for example if the offense is not punishable in Germany or if the conviction can be attributed to non-constitutional reasons.
Caution! When applying for a permanent residence permit, you must provide truthful information about your criminal record. Making false statements when applying for a permit is a criminal offense. Please note in particular that you may be considered to have a criminal record in Germany even if you have only been fined, namely if you have been sentenced to more than 90 daily rates.
If you are under investigation or have already been charged, you must also state this in your application. This will usually result in the issue of your permanent residence permit being suspended pending the outcome of these proceedings.
Advantages of permanent residence
The main advantage of the settlement permit is that it is valid indefinitely. This means that it does not have to be reapplied for every few years. Once you have obtained a settlement permit, you no longer need to worry about your future in Germany. This not only gives you security, but also saves you annoying visits to the immigration office, where application fees are always due.
But a settlement permit also offers many other advantages: for example, it allows you to take up any kind of gainful employment, whether employed or self-employed, without the need for a permit. And finally, the settlement permit is to a certain extent the link to naturalization, which in turn offers you numerous advantages. As a naturalized citizen, for example, you can use your German passport to enter many countries worldwide without a visa and enjoy diplomatic protection abroad. Naturalization also gives you a lifelong right of residence in Germany, which does not expire even if you spend long periods abroad. And due to a change in the law in 2024, citizens of most countries will even have the option of dual citizenship.
The settlement permit is the link to naturalization, because naturalization generally requires a residence permit that is not only intended for temporary residence. There are numerous exceptional cases in which you can be naturalized without a settlement permit. However, we still recommend that you apply for a settlement permit (or an EU permanent residence permit) in addition to naturalization if possible. The reason for this is that a temporary residence permit is always issued for a specific purpose. However, if this purpose no longer applies, for example because you lose your job, then your residence permit and therefore your naturalization are also at risk. The settlement permit, on the other hand, is not tied to a specific purpose. This means that you can be naturalized even if you lose your job at a later date or if other unforeseen events occur.
Procedure
Pursuant to Section 81 (1) AufenthG, a permanent residence permit is only issued upon application. You must submit this application to the relevant immigration authority. The responsibility of the foreigners authority depends on your place of residence.
The processing time for issuing the settlement permit depends primarily on the workload of the respective immigration authority. As a rule, you will have to wait approx. 3 months or allow the foreigners authority time so that you can then take legal action. However, the immigration authorities are often overloaded, so that in practice processing can take much longer than three months. In such cases, applicants have the option of bringing an action for failure to act in accordance with § 75 VwGO. Our lawyers will be happy to advise you on this topic.
Regional differences in the application for a permanent residence permit
The formal requirements for applying for permanent residence can vary depending on the location in Germany. While the legal requirements are standardized, the necessary forms, documents and application procedures may vary.
Here you will find general information and instructions on how to apply for a permanent residence permit for the cities of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.