Settlement permit for family members of Germans
Under certain conditions, family members of Germans can apply for a settlement permit after three years of residence.
Description
The settlement permit is a residence permit of indefinite duration which allows you to live and work in Germany without any restrictions on time or location.
Spouses and registered civil partners, children and parents of German nationals can obtain a settlement permit after three years’ residence, provided that they continue to live as a family unit with the German national.
Application and appointment You can submit your application and the required documents online:
- Please upload your documents as PDF files where possible.
- Once you have submitted your application, a confirmation message will appear on screen. You can save this as a PDF file for your records.
- This confirmation states that your current residence permit remains valid in Germany beyond its previous expiry date and that you may continue to work to the same extent as before (legal fiction).
- You can present this confirmation as proof to the authorities or at your place of work.
- Once your application has been assessed, you will be given an appointment.
Requirements
- You have been living in Munich for three years with a residence permit to live in a family partnership with a German child, parent, spouse or partner (in accordance with Section 28 (1) AufenthG).
- The family partnership with the German person has existed for three years and continues to exist in Munich.
- Your livelihood is secured.
- You have sufficient knowledge of German (level B 1).
- You have sufficient health insurance.
- You have no criminal record.
Required documents
A fully completed application for a settlement permit
- A valid passport or passport substitute
- A recent biometric passport photograph, submitted digitally by a certified photography studio or chemist’s. Alternatively, you may use one of the photo terminals at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service Centre for a fee.
Evidence of sufficient means of support If you are married or in a registered civil partnership, the evidence of means of support may also be provided by your partner. For children in education (school, vocational training, university), evidence must be provided by the parents.
For employees
- Payslips (earnings statements for the last three months)
- Confirmation of employment
- Declaration regarding means of support
For the self-employed/freelancers
- Proof of profit after tax (latest income tax assessment) and
- For the self-employed: a current profit and loss account from a tax adviser or a current business statement,
- For freelancers: current profit and loss account from a tax adviser, fee agreement, invoices for commissioned work and bank statements relating to these invoices
- Proof of health insurance (your statutory health insurance card or the insurance policy for private health insurance)
- Business registration (if required under trade law)
- Declaration regarding means of support
Evidence of benefits such as parental allowance, child benefit, child supplement, childcare allowance and maintenance payments may also be attached. You must be able to cover your living expenses without public benefits under Book II or XII of the Social Code (Unemployment Benefit II or social assistance).
Proof of monthly accommodation costs:
- Declaration regarding cohabitation
- For rented accommodation: tenancy agreement stating the size of the flat in square metres and bank statements showing the rent amount, or a certificate of accommodation
- For owner-occupied flats: Purchase contract stating the size of the flat in square metres and, where applicable, proof of mortgage repayments and of the monthly housing allowance/service charge.
Proof of sufficient German language skills
- Five school reports or
- A certificate of a German school, vocational or higher education qualification, or
- A certificate of German language proficiency in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) at level B1 or above, or
- other proof of language proficiency
Please note
- The documents submitted (such as proof of identity and language certificates) will be checked for authenticity. We will consistently report any forgeries to the police.
- If we require any further documents, we will write to you.
Questions & Answers
- For spouses and civil partners: Both spouses/partners must come together to the appointment at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service Office to submit the required declaration of marital status.
- The third-country national parent of a German child must have parental authority.
Your settlement permit is still valid even if your previous passport has expired and you have already received a new passport. You will need to show your old and new passports and your previous settlement permit. You can find information on passport transfer here.
As a rule, your residence permit expires if:
- You leave the country for a reason that is not only temporary, for example:
- Attending school abroad
- Working abroad
- Caring for a family member abroad
- Marriage abroad
- Settling abroad
- You leave Germany and do not re-enter within six months or a longer period specified by the Service Centre for Immigration and Naturalisation (exception: you complete compulsory military service in your home country and re-enter Germany within three months of completing it).
Further information can be found here.
Legal basis
§ Section 28 (2) Residence Act (AufenthG)
Contact
Servicestelle für Zuwanderung und Einbürgerung
Website
Telephone
Postal address
Servicestelle für Zuwanderung und Einbürgerung
Ruppertstraße 19
80466 München
Address
Ruppertstraße 19
80337 München
Lagehinweis: Eingang A
Room: Servicepoint, Bereich 31, 3. Stock
By appointment only