questions about work contract termination and its impact on visa

Hello ,

i would like to ask questions about the termination of work contract and its impact on my visa status, and any advice related to these questions would be appreciated.

# my situation:

i was registered as a phd student at university in germany and working as a wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter from 01.06.2017 to 30.04.2019 (auf 2 Abs. 1 WissZeitVG), under Aufenthaltstitel (16Abs.1 with 78a Abs.1, gültig bis 30.04.2022), which was valid from 05.2017 until 09.2022.
i started working as a data scientist with a part time contract from 05.2021 for a startup company in berlin, then i changed to a full time contract from 11.2021 and this also changed my Aufenthaltstitel (18B Abs. 1, gültig bis 14.11.2025) (During this change, i quit my phd registration).
I was notified on 30th of July that my work contract will be terminated by the end of September 2024. (it‘s a notice from a company, not my choice).
I registered as arbeitsuchende person on 1st of August via phone, and the staff on the phone told me to register as arbeitslos before 1st of October (i‘m preparing the necessary documents).
I‘m trying to find a full time job during next weeks.

# Questions

do i need to inform/send any documents to ausländerbhörde about the termination of my work contract (kündigung letter from work) and the registrations (arbeitsuchende/arbeitlos) at arbeitsagentur?
do i need to ask my company to send any documents to ausländerbhörde?
what i understood is that my visa/aufenthaltstitel is valid as long as the work contract is valid. Would this mean then my visa status will be illegal after september and i lose the right to stay in germany? (i‘m confused about this with arbeitsuchende condition). and does it mean that i cannot travel outside of germany after september? or is there a way to keep my visa status safe and make trips possible? (i have a planned trips in the end of October 2024 within Europe and January2025 outside of Europe)
do i need to apply chancenkarte to keep my visa status safe? or what else should i do?
once I find a new job that’s valid after 1.10.2024, would I be eligible to apply for a permanent residency directly? Previously, I paid taxes/renten during 01.11.2021-30.09.2024 (35 months under 18B Abs.1, with full time contract at the company), and during 01.06.2017-30.04.2019 (23 months under 16Abs.1 with 78a Abs.1, with half time contract as phd students usually get 50% work contract). I’m not sure exactly how my payment/commitment during these two different periods are counted when it comes to applying for permanent residency.

thank you for reading it, hopefully hear from you soon.

6 Comments

Reply (6)

Yara__Community_Manager

Updated:

hello @j_hih1 ,

Thank you for reaching out to us.
Yes, please inform the Ausländerbehörde that you will be without a job from Sep.
You employer also needs to inform the immigration office. But it is important that you inform them as soon as you can. It is also important that you change your visa to a residency title i.e plastic card if you haven’t done so already.
You can already register as “Arbeitsuchend” online, please do this and as soon as your loose your job you can register as “Arbeitslos”.
The steps are also explained here: https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/arbeitslos-arbeit-finden/arbeitslosengeld

Once the immigration office is informed that you will loose your job they can shorten the time frame of your residency or even just give you a Fiktionsbescheinigung. It really depends on the officer.
You can ask for an extension and show that you are already applying for job. Hopefully they will give you an extension.

It depends if you can travel on the extension the officer will give you. Please inform them that you are planning to travel. In that case they do not extend your residency please ask for a Fiktionsbescheinigung that you can travel with (there are different types)
It can be a good idea apply for the “Chancenkarte” but for this you need to cover your own livelihood. More information on the Chancenkarte can be found here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/opportunity-card

Regarding the application of the permanent residence, you will need to show contribution for at least 36months, so your fulfill that requirement. You can find more about the other requirements here: https://handbookgermany.de/en/permanent-residence-migrants#faq_546
Then it would be a good idea to apply for the permanent residence once you have a job. It might also be a good idea to already apply now. Since it seems that you qualify for it.

If you have further questions, please let me know. Maybe @Faire__Integration_in_Schleswig-Holstein and/or @Saskia__Faire_Integration_Sachsen-Anhalt have some further tips for you

Best wishes

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Faire__Integration_in_Schleswig-Holstein

Hello @j_hih1
@Yara__Community_Manager already gave many information. I also answered all of them, there will be some information in my answer that are the same as yaras.

1. Yes, please inform the Ausländerbehörde about the termination of your contract. You do not need to tell them that you’ve registered as arbeitssuchend at Arbeitsagentur.

2. Your company is lawfully obliged to inform the Ausländerbehörde when terminating the contract of someone with a residence permit. Otherwise they will risk getting a fee.

3. When you inform the Ausländerbehörde about the termination of your contract, they’ll probably give you some time to find a new position here in Germany. Before starting to work there you will probably have to ask for their permission to work there though.

4. You have to differentiate the Ausländerbehörde and the Arbeitsagentur. The Arbeitsagentur will pay you unemployment benefits if you are available for working in Germany.
It is possible to go on vacation during that time, but there are some restrictions. First, you have to ask the Arbeitsagentur beforehand if they give you permission for your absence. Second, they will only pay for 3 weeks, if you are longer away than 3 weeks, but less than 6 weeks. If you are more than 6 weeks absent, you will not get any money.

5. If you travel within Europe, there might be an exception. In this case it might be possible to be absent from Germany up to 3 months. But I recommend that you get consultation from the Arbeitsagentur beforehand.

6. Also you will have to ask the Ausländerbehörde if it is possible for such a long time without losing your residence permit. Usually, you are able to be absent up to 6 months.

7. Concerning Chancenkarte, you should first talk to the Ausländerbehörde. I think it is not necessary for you. If there are any problems, you can still think about Chancenkarte.

8. To be eligible for Niederlassungserlaubnis you need to have the residence permit §18b for at least 3 years (for you it’s November 2024). You will also need an employment. You will need 36 months of contributions to the pension insurance. I think that you have enough. If you are unsure you can contact the “Rentenversicherung”. Also you need to have a german leven of B1. There are some more general requirements, you have to fulfill. The Ausländerbehörde can inform you what’s still required in your case.

I hope that I could help you. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you have a new employment contract and you want us to have a look at it before signing, you can send us an e-mail (fi-beratung@advsh.de) or a Faire Integration consultation center in your federal state: https://www.faire-integration.de/de/topic/11.beratungsstellen.html

Best regards
Nora

(FI Schleswig-Holstein)

forum.reply

Georginagv

Hello @Saskia__Faire_Integration_Sachsen-Anhalt or @nora , I have a question regarding this; you mentioned that if you know you will lose your job and your visa depends on that, you should inform the Ausländerbehörde. In my case, I live in Frankfurt and it is really impossible to contact them. They are not answering the phone, their fax number doesn't work, and you cannot go if you don't have an appointment. The earliest appointment I could do is in June. My Fiktionbeschanigung is valid until the end of December. Do you have any idea what I can do?

Best regards

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Yara__Community_Manager

Hi @Georginagv , Unfortunately, I do not know how the office works in Frankfurt. Do they have an e-mail address? Otherwise you could think of sending a letter by post? Make sure you send with with "Einwurf Einschreiben" so you have can guarantee that it was send.
Best wishes

forum.reply

j_hih1

Updated:

hello yara and nora, thank you so much for your replies. They helped me to clarify what i should do next. I will inform ausländerbehörde and ask vacation related things to arbeitsagentur, and apply for permanent residency after finding a new job :)

btw i have one more question about which department of ausländerbehörde i should contact:

i received my aufenthaltstitel from BIS (business immigration service), then should I also inform about my work contract termination using B6 section’s general contact formular ? https://www.berlin.de/einwanderung/ueber-uns/kontakt/artikel.1394180.php

forum.reply

Yara__Community_Manager

Hi @j_hih1 ,

thank-you for your lovely feedback. I am not entirely sure but B6 or B1-B4 should be responsible for you.
If you have any further questions let us know.
Best wishes

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