Replacing the main document is not the end but the start of a chain. Data drifts apart between offices, and the central knot is the residence permit tied to your passport number. Better to work the list at once than to remember it at a border.
What else needs updating
A chain hangs off any document: bank, employer, insurance, driving licence. A topic of its own is the residence permit, which is tied to your passport number.
✓ Verified: 01/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
AUTHORITY
Ausländerbehörde (ABH)
Municipal authorityThe Ausländerbehörde for your registered address is the one responsible. Enter your postcode and we will show yours.
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› Details and tips
👨🏻💻
Max recommends:
I got the new passport quickly and forgot the residence permit for two months. It came back to me at a border, and the conversation was long.
👩🏼💼
Lea recommends:
Make a six-item list and work through it in one evening: authority, bank, employer, health fund, insurers, driving licence.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why is a new passport not enough on its own? ▾
Because the data in other documents stays old. The electronic residence permit is tied to the passport, your bank still has the previous details, and the discrepancy surfaces at the worst moment — at a check or when signing a contract.
What about a driving licence? ▾
If that is gone too, replacement runs through the licensing authority under its own procedure. Licences issued abroad are generally only replaced in the issuing country — better established immediately than a month later.
How long will I need the loss confirmation? ▾
Longer than you expect. It is required for replacements, sometimes for updating bank records, and almost always if someone misuses the old document. Keep a copy with your new papers.
Does losing documents affect my residence status? ▾
Not in itself: the status rests on the authority’s decision, not on a plastic card. But the duty to hold a valid document remains, so delaying the replacement is unwise.