The process of getting a permanent residence permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) in Berlin isn’t super clear.
This article aims to clear some of those things up, this article is based on my experience of having a blue card, but there should be information in here that is helpful for all situations.
Requirements
The requirements to get Niederlassungserlaubnis are different depending on your situation.
If you have a blue card, see this link:
https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326556/en/
If you have something different, click this link and then scroll to the bottom to see all the options:
https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/121864/en/
Where to get some documents
Old-age provision
You can use this online form and a document will be sent to you via post, normally in a few days. Select Rentenauskunft and your Versicherungsnummer. Don’t know your Versicherungsnummer? Check this guide.
How to prepare documents
It is recommended to combine all your documents into one PDF and send it to them. The file must be smaller than 10 MB.
You can use this tool (which I have made – only for blue card currently) to help you combine your files nicely and add a table of contents.
How to request an appointment
If you are married to a German or EEA citizen, you can book an appointment via their online booking system. For details about that, see here.
For the rest of us, the only way to get an appointment is to send them your documents via the contact form or email and wait for them to send for an appointment in response.
Now-a-days the contact form is the preferred method. As then the workers have less sorting to do.
Contact Form
Here is the contact form in the original German and here it is translated.
The department you need depends on your nationality.
So for example:
- People from the USA would use E2 department.
- People from India would use the E3 department.
- People from Russia would use the E4 department.
So someone from the USA would click “Frage an E 2” and select “Unbefristeter Aufenthaltstitel – Antrag” in the dropdown, fill out the form and attach the documents as we formatted them in the previous section.
When you submit your files, you should download the confirmation PDF.
You can email them at their department email address, they follow the format of: [department]@lea.berlin.de
Send them an email with your documents formatted as we prepared them in the previous section.
So for example:
- People from the USA would use E2@lea.berlin.de
- People from India would use E3@lea.berlin.de
- People from Russia would use E4@lea.berlin.de
If you’re lucky, they will eventually reply:
How long does it take to get a reply?
The amount can vary greatly depending on department, you can enter your information into the contact form response tracking app – so you can see how people ahead of you are being processed.