File the application before your permit expires — your rights then continue automatically (§ 81 AufenthG). Ideally 8 weeks ahead.
✓ Verified: 17/07/2026
WHAT TO DO
Ausländerbehörde (ABH)
Municipal authorityThe Ausländerbehörde for your registered address is the one responsible. Enter your postcode and we will show yours.
The date in the “gültig bis” field of your card is the master deadline of this route. An application filed before that date automatically keeps your residence and work rights alive — even if processing takes months (§ 81(4) AufenthG).
A missed deadline is not just a fine: even a few days of unlawful stay can burden later applications for permanent residency and citizenship.
Once expiry was within 8 weeks I filed in writing and chased an appointment in parallel. The application date, not the appointment, sets timeliness.
Set the reminder three months before the date in the "valid until" field, not eight weeks: in a big city the slots are gone by then. It is the one deadline on this route whose miss hits legality directly — the calendar beats memory.
Ideally 8 weeks, at the latest by the expiry date. Appointments in big cities run 1–3 months ahead, so search the moment the window opens.
Do not panic, but act the same day: an urgent office request and a fiction certificate. A short overrun with immediate contact is usually curable; a long one risks future renewals.
Yes, and often necessary: a written application BEFORE the expiry date secures timeliness and triggers the fiction effect even if the appointment is later. Send registered.
Only one thing is legally binding: the application must be filed BEFORE expiry. Eight weeks is the practical buffer — in big cities free appointments appear weeks out.
File before expiry in writing (registered mail) or via your ABH’s online form. The filing date secures your rights under § 81(4) — the appointment itself can be later.