Permanent residence in Germany: rights and possibilities of moving for permanent residence in Germany

§ Documents giving the right to permanent residence in Germany

The European Union citizens have the right to come to Germany for permanent residence without any restrictions, but this is not the case for the citizens of other states, such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc. In order to have a permanent place of residence (PPR) or regular domicile in Germany, you have to obtain the required documents or status, giving the right to permanent residence in the country. From the table below you will find out what documents grant the right to live in Germany.

Table 1. Documents giving the right to permanent residence in Germany

§ Obtaining a visa for permanent residence in Germany

Visas are documents that give the right you to enter Germany for a specific purpose and, as such themselves, do not give the right to permanent residence in Germany; usually, a visa is limited in time by several months. A visa has to be obtained to get a permit to enter Germany, after which a person who has the right to permanent residence in the country can apply for one of the documents listed in table 1, that will give the right to a long-term or permanent stay. On dedicated pages of our site you will find detailed information about all types of visas: visas to Germany.

• All types of visas
• Schengen visa
• Visa-free entry to Germany
• Visa issuing procedure
• Documents for applying for a visa
• Prices for visas

§ How to move to permanent residence to Germany from other countries

To obtain a permanent place of residence and relocate to Germany, you have to get a residence permit or the German or EU citizenship, these documents or status allow you to have a permanent place of residence in Germany, yet, obtaining them right away/ without delay is a very rare case, for example, if a person has a German origin and meets the ethnic German resettlers program requirements. The conditions for obtaining these documents or the said status are described in detail on dedicated pages of our website.

The usual way to obtain the permanent residence permit in the Federal Republic of Germany, is to come to the country for any permitted purpose, which implies a long-term stay in the country (for example: work, study, marriage, business, political asylum), to get a stay permit, which is usually issued for 3 years in this case; to find work over this period of time so as not to depend on the financial support on the part of the state, then extend the permit to stay; and over time, this will allow the said person to meet the requirements for obtaining a residence permit or citizenship, thus acquiring a permanent place of residence in Germany. Table 2 below presents 20 legitimate opportunities or ways for getting a permanent residence permit in the country.

Table 2. Ways of getting a permanent residence permit in Germany

If you are aware of other opportunities or ways to get permanent residence in Germany or you have the experience of relocating permanently to the country, we suggest that you share it below on the page in the comments and questions section.