Studying and Permanent Residency
Hi everyone!
I have a question that I would be grateful if you help me with since I’ve found contracting answers about my question and I need to know certain and valid answers.
Are the period of studying as a student in master and PhD degrees counted towards obtaining residence permit? Let’s say a students studies two years of masters with four years of PhD in Germany. Can he/she be qualified for getting permanent residency after finishing PhD regarding the 5 years of residency needed for getting Permanent Residency?
Thanks a lot for any responses in advance.
3 Comments
Reply (3)
Hi @Hey_Eli , Thank you for getting in touch. If you have successfully completed a university degree in Germany and have a residence permit as a skilled worker or researcher, you can benefit from a quicker procedure. That means that you can apply for a permanent residence permit after 2 years of having a residence permit as a skilled worker or researcher. Furthermore, you are required to have contributed to the pension insurance for 24 months. You must have a job and speak German at level B1 to apply: https://handbookgermany.de/en/permanent-residence-migrants If you have any further questions, please let us know. Best Barbara
Hi Barbara, thanks for your response and all the information you kindly provided. I have a question. Is PhD position considered as a research job so that the studying period as a PhD student can be counted as the years with residence permit as a researcher? Does the factor of being funded or not in the PhD position affect this possibility?
Thank you.
Hi @Hey_Eli , To be considered a researcher, you must have a residence permit for researchers: https://handbookgermany.de/en/visa-researchers I assume you have a student permit, right? So you are unfortunately considered a student, even if it is a PhD.