Renew a residence permit

Apply to extend your temporary residence permit, or apply for a different one, before your current permit expires. A timely application normally keeps your existing permit and its conditions in force until the foreigners authority decides. A Fiktionsbescheinigung confirms that effect; it is not your new permit.

In short

• File the application before your temporary title expires and keep proof of submission. Booking an appointment is not by itself proof that an application was filed. A late application does not automatically continue the old title.
• Section 81(4) continues the old title, including its existing work conditions. It does not apply to a short-stay Schengen visa under section 6(1). Expiry of the physical card for an unlimited title is a different matter: check the title and passport with the authority rather than treating card expiry as the end of that right.
• A valid Fiktionsbescheinigung under section 81(4), together with a valid passport or passport substitute, permits re-entry into Germany. A certificate under section 81(3), for a lawful stay without a title while a first application is pending, does not authorise re-entry.
• Section 81(5a) is a separate work rule: the work specified in the future study/training or work title is allowed once the authority initiates issuance of the residence document, until that document is handed over. That permission must be entered on the certificate. Filing alone does not grant permission for that work.
• A child born in Germany who is not given a title automatically must have an application within six months of birth. Section 81 sets no processing deadline for an ordinary extension.

What you need to know

The automatic continuation in section 81(4) applies when you request an extension or a different title before the current title expires. The old title continues from expiry until the decision, with its existing conditions, including restrictions on work. Short-stay Schengen visas under section 6(1) are excluded. If you apply late, the authority may order continuation to avoid undue hardship; it is not automatic.

Section 81(3) concerns a person lawfully in Germany without a residence title who applies for one. The lawful stay is deemed permitted until the decision. If that application is late, the provision instead suspends deportation from the application until the decision. These effects must not be confused with continuation of a previous title.

Under section 81(5), the Fiktionsbescheinigung certifies the application’s legal effect. Berlin’s official explanation confirms the distinction: a valid section 81(4) certificate allows re-entry with a valid passport or passport substitute, whereas a section 81(3) certificate does not authorise re-entry. Berlin’s local appointment procedure is not a nationwide rule.

Section 81(5a) can allow the work specified in a future title for study/training or work from the time the authority initiates issuance of the residence document until that document is handed over. It is separate from keeping an old title’s work permission under section 81(4). Check the wording on the certificate; neither an appointment nor an undecided application gives you a new job permission by itself.

EU/EEA free-movement residence cards and Swiss documents follow their own rules. Use the free-movement page if those rights cover you or your family. For a child born in Germany who does not receive a title automatically, section 81(2) requires an application within six months of birth.

What to do

1. Check the type of title and its expiry date. File the extension or different-title application through the competent Ausländerbehörde’s accepted channel before a temporary title expires. Keep the submitted application and dated receipt; do not rely only on an appointment booking.
2. Request the Fiktionsbescheinigung and check whether section 81(3) or 81(4) is marked. Check the certificate’s validity and its work conditions. If section 81(5a) applies, permission for the work specified in the future title must be recorded there.
3. Keep the certificate, passport and existing residence document together. Before travelling, verify the section 81(4) re-entry conditions and the rules of any destination or transit country. If you hold a section 81(3) certificate or the wording is unclear, obtain advice from the authority before leaving.
4. Report changes relevant to your permit. If the study/training or work for which an affected title was issued ends early, a separate immigration notification may be due within two weeks of learning of it. The job-search page explains that duty separately from employment-agency registration.
5. If the authority refuses the application, read the Bescheid and seek help promptly with the stated remedy and deadline. Filing late does not give section 81(4) continuation automatically.

No appointment, no reply or an expired document

No slot before expiry: do not wait for a booking calendar to open. Find the actual application channel accepted by your office and file the extension or different-title request before expiry. Save the request, attachments, completion confirmation and date. If the channel fails, contact the competent office immediately about an accepted alternative, retain the error evidence and seek advice where the deadline is at risk. A generic enquiry or booking confirmation is not necessarily the required application.

Already submitted, but no reply: gather the existing title and supplementary sheet, passport, application copy, dated submission proof and case reference. Follow the office’s published follow-up instructions. Send a concise status request identifying the file, submission and expiry dates, any missing confirmation and the exact certificate or clarification you need. Attach evidence of urgency, such as an employer’s request or necessary travel. Do not assume that sending repeated fresh applications improves the file.

A document has expired: distinguish a timely application with possible section 81(4) continuation from late/no filing, and distinguish a temporary title from an expired physical card for an unlimited title. If you applied in time, provide that proof and request the appropriate Fiktionsbescheinigung. If you did not, contact the office urgently, explain the dates truthfully and obtain qualified advice about the legal position and any hardship request. Do not assume that a late email restores lawful work or travel. An expired certificate also needs prompt clarification even where an underlying legal effect may continue; do not travel on an expired certificate.

Check whether your own office publishes an emergency service and which evidence qualifies. Munich, for example, points to a separate online emergency appointment route for a missing residence document. This is a local document/emergency process, not automatic approval or a nationwide walk-in entitlement. For work and travel, use the paragraph-specific rules above and obtain clarification of your actual documents.

When delay needs legal help

For ordinary follow-up, keep one dated chronology: application, receipt, document requests and your replies, follow-ups, expiry dates and the concrete harm threatened. A migration adviser can help organise the file; an immigration-law adviser can assess the remedy. Use Legal aid for the distinction and possible cost assistance.

Section 75 VwGO provides an inaction-action route (Untätigkeitsklage) where an application or objection has not been decided within a reasonable period without sufficient reason. Ordinarily it cannot be brought before three months, with special-case exceptions. A sufficient reason can lead the court to suspend proceedings. This is not an unconditional three-month processing deadline or automatic permission after silence.

If a serious consequence cannot wait for an ordinary decision, ask an immigration-law adviser promptly about provisional court protection, including section 123 VwGO where applicable. The suitable remedy and evidence of the right claimed and urgency depend on the case. Do not wait three months merely because you read that number here. A refused application or removal-related measure needs its own immediate remedy assessment; a status enquiry does not protect the deadline in a Bescheid.

Planning a longer absence

Renewing a card and preserving a residence title during a long stay abroad are separate questions. Before departure, ask the Ausländerbehörde about your exact title, purpose and planned dates, including any necessary longer return period or certificate. The permanent-residence guide explains the title-specific absence rules; do not assume that a valid card or pending renewal protects every absence.

Common mistakes

• Applying the day after expiry and expecting automatic continuation. Late filing is the hardship-discretion case.
• Treating any Fiktionsbescheinigung as a re-entry document, without checking section 81(3) versus 81(4).
• Starting a new job merely because the application is pending. Existing conditions and the separate section 81(5a) trigger must be checked.
• Waiting for a renewal reminder, or assuming an appointment booking alone is the application.