Visa Processing and City Relocation
Hi,
I’m currently living in Marburg, and my student visa expires in 7 weeks. I arrived in Germany four months ago, so this will be my first extension. I plan to move to a bigger city for better exposure and will complete my Anmeldung immediately.
But I heard that my documents may remain with Marburg’s Ausländerbehörde for up to 3 months, and I might still receive an appointment letter from them.
My question is:
If I move and register in the new city now, with my visa close to expiring, is there still a chance that Marburg would handle the extension? Or does responsibility shift immediately to the new city after registration?
I’d prefer the previous city not to handle any part of the extension once I register elsewhere.
Could you please advise on the best way to proceed? Thank you!
Benz
Dear @Benz welcome to our forum! Hopefully you had a great start in Germany.
As far as I understand, you have only registered in Marburg but have not yet contacted the local foreigners department to apply for a residence permit, right?
If that is the case, may I ask whether you have already secured an apartment in the city you would like to move to? It is advisable to first check the availability of registration appointments in your new city. Since your visa is about to expire, you should act fast.
Once you deregister in Marburg and register at your new address, the responsibility will shift to the foreigners department in your new city. After completing your registration, you should definitely contact the new foreigners department as soon as possible and request an appointment.
From the community's experience, it often takes quite some time to receive an appointment from the foreigners department. Therefore, you should keep a record of every attempt to contact them, as it may happen that your current visa expires before you receive an appointment. As long as you submit your application before your visa runs out, you will be on the safe side. However, along with the appointment request, you should also request a so-called Fiktionsbescheinigung, which is a temporary extension of your residence permit and allows you to travel outside of Germany while your application is being processed.
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have further questions.