No Ausländerbehörde appointment? How to keep your residence permit

Getting an appointment at the Ausländerbehörde (the immigration office) takes months in many German cities, especially Berlin. The good news: no appointment does not mean losing your residence. What the law looks at is the date of your application. This guide explains how to apply on time, what proof to keep, and when something is truly urgent.

This is not legal advice. Rules and processes differ from city to city; always check your own Ausländerbehörde's website too. Last checked: October 2026.

The key rule: application date, not appointment date

Under §81(4) AufenthG, if you apply for an extension or a new permit before your current one expires, your old permit is treated as continuing from expiry until the decision. This is called Fiktionswirkung.

That means:

• You do not need an appointment before expiry; the application just has to arrive in time.
• Meanwhile you can keep working and stay in Germany as before.
• This rule does not apply to Schengen visas.

So when the expiry date gets close: send the application, even if no appointment is available. Ideally 2 to 3 months before expiry.

1. Check how your office takes applications

Every Ausländerbehörde has its own process. Search its website for Verlängerung Aufenthaltstitel. Usually it is one of:

• Online application (Online-Antrag) with document upload
• Contact form (Kontaktformular)
• Email or letter
• Online appointment booking (in cities that still have it)

Berlin (LEA)

• The online booking system (OTV) has been permanently shut down since 2024.
• Most services, such as residence for work or study, have an online application; the rest use the contact form.
• LEA says your message counts as an application. If you send it before expiry, you have Fiktionswirkung.
• Ordinary email has not counted as an application in Berlin since September 2023.
• The office checks your documents and then sends you an appointment. According to Berlin's Willkommenszentrum (April 2026), expect to wait at least 2 to 3 months.

Cities that still have online booking

Cancelled slots open up again; check several times a day and look at every appointment category that fits your case. But do not wait for a slot alone: if expiry is close, send a written application at the same time (in the way your office accepts).

2. Keep the confirmation

You must be able to prove when you applied:

• Save and print the PDF confirmation of your online application. LEA Berlin asks for exactly this.
• For email or the contact form, keep the sent message and its attachments.
• In Berlin, this confirmation together with your passport and current permit shows your residence is still valid, for example to your employer or landlord.

Template for a written application

For cities that accept email or letters (in Berlin, paste the same text into the contact form):

Betreff: Antrag auf Verlängerung meines Aufenthaltstitels, gültig bis [TT.MM.JJJJ]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

hiermit beantrage ich die Verlängerung meines Aufenthaltstitels, der am
[TT.MM.JJJJ] abläuft. Einen Termin vor diesem Datum konnte ich nicht buchen.

Name: [Vorname Nachname]
Geburtsdatum: [TT.MM.JJJJ]
Staatsangehörigkeit: iranisch
Aktueller Aufenthaltstitel: § [z. B. 18g AufenthG], gültig bis [TT.MM.JJJJ]
Aktenzeichen (falls vorhanden): [...]
Adresse: [Straße, PLZ Ort]

Ich bitte um einen Termin und, falls bis zur Entscheidung erforderlich,
um die Ausstellung einer Fiktionsbescheinigung.

Anbei: Kopie von Pass und Aufenthaltstitel, Meldebescheinigung,
Arbeitsvertrag, letzte 3 Gehaltsabrechnungen, Nachweis der Krankenversicherung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[Name], [Telefon]

Check your office's website for the documents your permit type needs, and attach them all the first time.

3. Do not buy appointments

Ausländerbehörde appointments are free. LEA Berlin shut down its online booking precisely because providers were grabbing appointments and reselling them, and it states that appointments offered on websites or social media do not come from the office. Do not pay appointment traders or "booking services".

4. What is a Fiktionsbescheinigung?

A Fiktionsbescheinigung confirms that you have applied and that your residence is valid until the decision.

• Fee: 13 euros under §47 AufenthV. In Berlin 6.50 euros for minors and free for some groups, including people receiving public benefits.
• When it is issued: in Berlin usually at the in-person appointment. If you need it sooner (for work or travel), say so explicitly in your application.
• Travel: according to LEA Berlin, you can travel and re-enter with a Fiktionsbescheinigung under §81(4), but not with one under §81(3). Ask the office before any trip, and do not travel on the PDF confirmation alone.
• Travel to Iran: do not go until you hold the extended permit or a suitable Fiktionsbescheinigung. A re-entry problem is much harder to fix from Iran.

5. Is it urgent?

Berlin: choose the emergency option in the contact form. The office decides whether it is an emergency and then either sends you a Fiktionsbescheinigung or gives you the earliest possible appointment. LEA's examples:

• Travel within the next 4 weeks, with proof of booking
• A letter from your employer that you will lose your job without a permit
• A letter from the Jobcenter or Sozialamt that your benefits will stop

LEA gives no immediate help without a valid passport, or when the previous permit has already lapsed.

Other cities: have their own rules; search the office's website for "Notfall" or "dringend".

6. When do you need a lawyer?

Talk to a Fachanwalt für Migrationsrecht (specialist immigration lawyer) if:

• Your permit has expired and you did not apply in time. It does not continue automatically; the office may order it to continue to avoid undue hardship (§81(4) sentence 3), but it does not have to.
• Your application was refused.
• You received a deportation notice (Abschiebung).
• You have a complicated family reunification (Familiennachzug) or job-change case.

Cost: without a fee agreement, a first consultation for private individuals is capped at 190 euros plus VAT under §34 RVG. Ask about the cost of the full case before you start, and get it in writing.

Finding a lawyer: deutsche-anwaltauskunft.de or search Fachanwalt Migrationsrecht [city].

If you have legal expenses insurance (Rechtsschutzversicherung), first ask whether it covers residence law; many policies exclude it.

Tips for Iranians

• Same name on every document: the Latin spelling of your name on your passport, residence permit, Meldebescheinigung, health insurance and bank must match. If it does not, tell the Ausländerbehörde at the first chance.
• Keep certified translations ready: have your birth certificate (shenasnameh), marriage certificate and degrees translated once by a sworn translator (vereidigter Übersetzer) and keep digital and paper copies. Some offices, such as the Standesamt, have their own rules for translators; ask before you pay.
• Document still on its way from Iran: apply before expiry with what you have and say which document is still coming. Do not wait until everything is complete.

Checklist

3 months before expiry

• Find your office's application process on its website
• Collect documents, keep translations ready

Before the expiry date

• Send the application, even with no appointment in sight
• Save and print the confirmation (PDF or sent email)

If it is urgent

• Berlin: contact form, emergency option, with proof
• Before travelling: get the actual Fiktionsbescheinigung and ask the office

If it is too late or refused

• Apply the same day
• Talk to a Fachanwalt für Migrationsrecht (first consultation max 190 euros + VAT)

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