Initial information on the SCI

You must fulfil certain requirements to be able to apply to the Service Office for Immigration and Citizenship.

• You must be registered in Munich. Further information on registering your place of residence in Munich.

If you are not from the European Union (EU), Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you will require a visa to enter Germany in most cases. You must apply for this visa at the relevant German embassy or consulate in your home country.

Citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, South Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the USA do not require a visa to enter Germany. You must apply for a residence permit within 90 days of entering the country.

EU and EEA citizens are also visa-free and do not require a residence permit or work permit.

If you are a national of a country listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (e.g. Western Balkans) and are travelling to Germany for a tourist stay without a visa or are in possession of a Schengen visa, please note the following: If you are planning a longer-term stay in Germany (more than 90 days), for example for family reunification or to take up gainful employment, a national D-visa is required.

To apply for a national D-visa, you must contact the relevant German embassy or consulate in your home country before travelling to Germany. If the Service Office for Immigration and Citizenship is involved, our processing time is up to six months. The German diplomatic mission abroad decides on the entry application.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Federal Foreign Office.
You can find an overview of German missions abroad on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

Please submit your application online. All services that we offer online can be found in the online services of the Service Office for Immigration and Citizenship.

Here we have outlined our processing procedure for you. Please note our processing times.

1. First you have to register in Munich.
2. Then you can apply for a residence permit online. Please select the suitable online application.
3. Your application will be checked by the Service Office for Immigration and Citizenship. If necessary, missing documents will be requested from you.
4. You will receive an appointment from us by e-mail with an invitation for a personal interview. At this appointment, your fingerprints will be taken for your electronic residence permit.
5. The electronic residence permit will be created at the Federal Printing Office and sent to the Service Office for Immigration and Citizenship.
6. The electronic residence permit will then be sent to you by post. If you wish, you can collect your electronic residence permit from the Service Office for Immigration and Citizenship.

Here we have provided you with an overview on how to apply for an electronic residence permit (eAT).

We have summarised helpful tips for you here to speed up your application process:

• Apply for your residence permit in good time. We recommend submitting it three months before your previous residence permit expires.
• Please note our processing times of 10 to 12 weeks for temporary residence permits. The processing time for an application for a settlement permit is 6 months. The processing time for naturalisation applications is 12 to 18 months.
• We recommend that you use our online services. If possible, please upload your documents as a PDF file. If you apply online, we will send you a confirmation in PDF format to download that we have received your application. You can present this as confirmation to your employer and other authorities.
• Please check independently via our website whether you fulfil the relevant requirements for your residence permit and have the required documents ready when submitting your online application.
• After your application has been checked, you will receive an appointment from us for a personal interview. Your electronic residence permit (eAT) will be ordered at this appointment. Once your residence permit has been ordered, it will take six to eight weeks to print your document.
• Please understand that we cannot process any enquiries about the status of your application during the processing time stated on the Internet.
• If you have any questions, please read through our service pages and our  FAQs first. This may clarify one or two questions by itself.

Please submit your application online. All services that we offer online can be found in the online services of the Foreigners Office.

For telephone enquiries and information, please call our service hotline on 089 233-96010.

You can reach us from:

• Monday to Thursday: 7.30 a.m. – 3.30 p.m.
• Friday: 7.30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

If you do not have a sufficiently valid residence permit but need urgent help due to an emergency, you can book an emergency appointment. The emergency appointment booking is only available for students, graduates and self-employed.

An emergency is, for example:

• Impending loss of employment
• Impending loss of benefits (e.g. unemployment benefit or student loan)
• Urgent travel for personal or professional reasons within the next seven days (e.g. business trip, illness, death)

The Service Office for Immigration and Citizenship checks and decides whether an emergency exists. Only proven emergencies can be processed.

We are currently trialling a new system for issuing residence permits. As part of this pilot project, customers whose surname begins with the letters A to O can visit us with appointment. This does not have to be an emergency. You can book the appointment online.

Customers whose surname begins with the letters P to Z can continue to visit us at Entrance A (Ruppertstraße 19) without an appointment.

Please note this information.

Here you will find a list of frequently asked questions:

• Frequently asked questions and answers

Here you will find all useful information for refugees from Ukraine:

• Information for refugees from Ukraine