Work Permit
Hello everyone, in the month of June, I applied for the 18-month job search visa. Normally, they require three payslips and a job contract (since I wanted to demonstrate my financial situation through my full-time job). They emailed me and wanted another payslip, so in total, I had to show 4 months of work. Now today I got my Fiktionsbescheinigung (since my current student residence permit ends at the end of September). The Fiktionsbescheinigung states that my current residence permit (Student one) is considered valid, and I got an appointment to pick it up next months.
Here come two problems which doesn't make sense to me
1. My partner also finished their studies around the same time, and they got a residence permit for one year, even though their job contract is for less than a year. I have a Probezeit Contract till the end of January, and I got my residence permit till the end of January; it means that the next residence permit will depend on the extension of my work contract. So I paid 104 EUR for the residence permit for just 4 months, and then I have to pay again.
2. I have calculated that this year I have already worked 125 full days out of 140 days, and I need a new work permit to give to my employer. They told me then that I will get one when I pick up my residence permit,that and until then I have to abide by the 140 days rule in my current work permit. Again this was different in the case of my partner where they got full working permit so that they don't lose their job. I asked the worker at the Behörde and they said that they don't have any idea if I will lose my job because of this.,
Hi there! I’m not an immigration expert, just a volunteer here, but I’ve been through the residence permit process myself here in Germany, so I’ll share what I know.
While you are still formally under your student residence permit (because the Fiktionsbescheinigung keeps it valid until your new permit is issued), you remain subject to the 120 full days / 240 half days rule for students. That’s why your employer says you can’t switch to full-time yet. Once your new residence permit is officially issued, those restrictions should no longer apply, and you can work full-time — but it depends on the exact wording on your new permit.
My main advice is - communicate with your Ausländerbehörde. Ask for written clarification about your work rights under the Fiktionsbescheinigung. Explain the situation. Sometimes they can add a note to it confirming whether you are allowed to work full-time.
What else can help is a request from your employer to the officials. Employers can sometimes send a formal request to the authority to speed up clarification, especially if there’s a risk of losing the job.
It’s definitely frustrating that you and your partner are treated differently, but unfortunately, that happens because the law allows for some discretion. The key now is to clarify your exact work rights under the Fiktionsbescheinigung so you don’t risk your job in the meantime.
Good Luck
Anna