Settlement permit from the age of 16

Do you want to apply for a settlement permit? Then you must observe the following.

Description

Young people who have held a residence permit for 5 years can obtain a settlement permit under certain conditions.
The settlement permit is an unlimited residence title that allows you to live and work in Germany without any time or place restrictions.

Group of persons:

The settlement permit from the age of 16 is issued to persons

  • who were born in Germany
    or
  • moved to Germany with or to their parents as a minor child
    or
  • have received a residence permit as a minor for reasons of international law, humanitarian or political reasons (§§ 22-25 AufenthG)

Minors are entitled to a settlement permit if they have held a residence permit for 5 years by the time they reach the age of 16.

Adults are entitled to a settlement permit if they entered the country and were granted a residence permit for the first time before reaching the age of 18 and have held a residence permit for 5 years.

To apply and make an appointment, please use our online application or send us your documents and application by post. After we have checked everything, you will be given an appointment with us.

Prerequisites

  • You are registered in Munich.
  • You have already reached the age of 16
  • You have been living in Germany for at least 5 years without interruption and have a valid residence permit for family, international law, humanitarian or political reasons, which was issued to you as a child/minor (if available, asylum procedure periods will be taken into account)
  • Your livelihood is secured (not required if you are doing an apprenticeship, attending school or studying)
  • You have no criminal record

Additionally for adults:

  • You have sufficient knowledge of German (level B1)

Required documents

  • Fully completed application for a permanent residence permit
  • Valid and recognised passport or passport replacement
  • Current biometric passport photo(photo booths can be found at the Foreigners Office)
  • Proof of five years' residence in Germany, usually in the form of annual school reports, school certificates, training contract and/or enrolment certificate
  • If you are in training: current certificate of school attendance, training or studies

In the case of minors who are not in education, proof of support from their parents must be submitted.

From the age of 18:

Proof of secure means of subsistence
If you are not in training that leads to a recognised school or vocational qualification or a university degree, we also need proof from you or your parents:

For employees

For self-employed/freelancers

  • Proof of profit after tax (last income tax assessment) and
    o For self-employed persons: current profit and loss account from the tax consultant or current business statement,
    o For freelancers: current profit and loss statement from the tax consultant, fee contract, order invoices and account statements for the order invoices
  • Proof of health insurance (insurance card of your statutory health insurance or the insurance policy of a private health insurance company)
  • business registration(if required under trade law)
  • declaration of livelihood

Proof of benefits such as parental allowance, child benefit, child supplement, childcare allowance and maintenance can also be enclosed. You must be able to support yourself without public benefits in accordance with Social Security Code II or XII (unemployment benefit II or social assistance). Receipt of BAföG benefits has no negative impact on the application.

Proof of monthly housing costs:

  • declaration of domestic community
  • For rented flats: Tenancy agreement stating the size of the flat in square metres and account statements showing the amount of rent or
  • Housing certificateor
  • For owner-occupied flats: Purchase contract stating the size of the flat in square metres and, if applicable, proof of instalment payments for loans and monthly housing benefit/house allowance.

Proof of sufficient knowledge of German:

  • Five annual school reports or
  • Certificate from a German school, training or university degree or
  • Certificate of German language proficiency according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) at least at level B1 or
  • other proof of language proficiency

Please note

Further documents may be required in individual cases.

Duration & Costs

Processing time

20 weeks

Fees

  • 113 Euro
  • Minors: 55 Euro
  • Turkish nationals entitled to association: 22.80 euros (up to 24 years)
  • Persons entitled to asylum, persons with refugee status, persons entitled to subsidiary protection, resettlement refugees and persons with a right of residence pursuant to Section 23 (2) AufenthG: 0 euros
  • Costs for sending the electronic residence permit (eAT): 5.70 euros

Payment methods available

Questions & Answers

If you have not yet reached the age of 18, we require the signature of your legal representative (e.g. your parents) on the application form. During the appointment, you must be accompanied by a custodial parent/legal representative.

Your settlement permit is still valid even if your previous passport has expired and you have already received a new passport. You will need to show your old and new passports and your previous settlement permit. You can find information on passport transfer here.

Your residence permit usually expires if:

  • You leave the country for a reason that is not only temporary, for example:
    • Attending school abroad
    • Working abroad
    • Caring for a family member abroad
    • Marriage abroad
    • Settling abroad
  • You leave Germany and do not re-enter within six months or a longer period specified by the Foreigners Office (exception: you fulfil a compulsory military service in your home country and re-enter Germany within three months of completing it).

Further information can be found here.

Legal basis

§ Section 35 Residence Act

§ 26 paragraph 4, sentence 4 Residence Act

Landeshauptstadt München

Kreisverwaltungsreferat
Hauptabteilung II Bürgerangelegenheiten
Ausländerangelegenheiten

Postal address

Landeshauptstadt München
Kreisverwaltungsreferat
Hauptabteilung II Bürgerangelegenheiten
Ausländerangelegenheiten

Ruppertstraße 19
80466 München

Address

Ruppertstraße 19
80337 München

Lagehinweis: Eingang A

Only with appointment

Related services

EU permanent residence permit

The EU permanent residence permit is an unlimited residence title and offers the same rights as the settlement permit.

Settlement permit for reasons of international law, humanitarian or political reasons

You have been living here for 5 years for reasons of international law, humanitarian or political reasons and would like to apply for a settlement permit.

Settlement permit for persons entitled to asylum and refugees

You have been living here for 3 or 5 years as a recognised asylum seeker, refugee or resettlement refugee and would like to apply for a settlement permit.

Settlement permit after dissolution of marriage

If you have separated from a person with a permanent residence permit, you can obtain a settlement permit under certain conditions.

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Settlement permit for former Germans

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Settlement permit for skilled workers

You are a skilled worker and want to apply for a business permit.

Apply for a settlement permit

With a settlement permit, you can live and work in Germany without any time or place restrictions.

Settlement permit for civil servants

You have been a civil servant for three years and want to apply for a permanent residence permit.