Apply for a residence permit for humanitarian or political reasons under international law at the Hamburg Service

Prerequisites

• You belong to the group of people entitled to benefits.
• You have clarified your identity where possible or have cooperated in doing so.

Further requirements depend on the specific circumstances and the reason for your stay. The responsible authority will provide you with detailed information.

Documents required

• valid passport or passport replacement of your country of origin
• Visa, if required for entry
• biometric passport photo in electronic form
  • You can have your passport photo taken on-site. A photo booth is available.
  • You can have a passport photo taken at a certified photo studio. The studio will then make the photo available to the relevant authority via a cloud storage system.

You may be required to submit additional documents. You'll learn more when completing the online service or from the relevant office.

Please note

The Office for Migration of the Department of Home Affairs and Sport (BIS) is responsible for:

• Individual photographs for reasons of international law or urgent humanitarian reasons
• Admissions from abroad by the highest state authorities (only for new entries and persons who are legally obliged to leave the country)
• Hardship cases and exceptional hardship cases
• Persons seeking temporary protection
• Asylum seekers
• refugees
• Persons entitled to subsidiary protection
• Persons for whom deportation is prohibited
• Persons who are legally obliged to leave the country and for whom humanitarian, personal or other legal or factual reasons make leaving the country impossible
• Victims of certain crimes (human trafficking, undeclared work or illegal temporary employment)
• Integrated foreign nationals and certain family members with close family ties in Germany.

Deadlines

Submit your application immediately after entry or at the latest 8 weeks before your current residence permit expires.

Procedure

• You use the provided online service to apply for a residence permit and upload the required documents.
• The responsible office will then send you an appointment for an interview.
• Please bring all required documents, preferably in original, to the appointment.
• The responsible authority will check your identity and documents.
• The competent authority shall involve other authorities where necessary.
• You pay the necessary fees.
• If your application is approved, your fingerprints, signature and a biometric photo will be taken to produce the electronic residence permit (eAT).
• The responsible authority commissions an external agency, the Federal Printing Office, to produce your eAT.
• Once the eAT is ready, you can pick it up in person from the responsible office. The responsible office will schedule an appointment for you.
• If your application is rejected, you will receive a rejection notice stating the reasons for the rejection.

Processing time

Processing will begin immediately at the appointment if all documents are complete. The delivery time for the electronic residence permit from the Federal Printing Office is typically two to four weeks.

Fees

Before the age of 18: 50.00 EUR


From the age of 18: 100.00 EUR


Certain groups of people may be exempt from the fee. The responsible authority can provide further information.

Legal remedies

Contradiction


Lawsuit before the Administrative Court

Legal basis

Section 23 Residence Act (AufenthG)


https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufenthg_2004/__23.html