Immigration Law

Schwerpunkte

• Residence permits for Germany
• Legal Remedies in German Immigration law
• German citizenship and naturalization
• Consultation of hihgly qualified persons
• Spouse and family reunion

Anrufen

Helmer Tieben

Rechtsanwalt Immigration Law

We offer legal advice on German Immigration law worldwide in order to help foreigners to come to Germany and to stay here.

German Immigration law is a very complex and dynamic field of law since the rules are always changing. Especially the influence of the European legislation on the German national legislation and the German jurisdiction makes things even more confusing.

Legal advice for your problem

Whatever your problem with German Immigration law is, we can help you solving it. We advise clients on how to increase their chances of being approved by the embassy or the German Immigration authorities, we fill out paperwork on behalf of our clients or we represent them in court if necessary. The following examples give you an idea of our scope of practise:

1. Issuance and renewal of residence permits for Germany

The German Residence Act (Act on the Residence, Economic Activity and Integration of Foreigners in the Federal Territory) is the legal basis for the issuance and the renewal of residence permits to foreigners planning to come to Germany or already staying in Germany. In the German language the Residence Act is called Aufenthaltsgesetz or AufenthG. According to the German Residence Act there are five different residence titles: the visa (“Visum”), the temporary residence permit (“Aufenthaltserlaubnis”), the permanent residence permit (“Niederlassungserlaubnis”), the Blue Card EU (“Blaue Karte EU”) and the permanent residence permit EU (“Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EG).

The visa is a residence title that permits foreigners to stay in Germany for short-term periods (usually three month). In regard to the visa the German Residence Act distinguishes between the national visa and the so called schengen visa. National visa are issued for the purposes mentioned in the German Residence Act (family reunion, language courses, study purposes, etc.). The schengen visa is issued for tourist, visiting or business reasons. The temporary residence permit (“Aufenthaltserlaubnis”), on the other hand, is a residence permit issued for a limited period of time (usually one or two years) again for the purposes mentioned in the German Residence Act (family reunion, language courses, study purposes, job, etc.). If the foreigner applies for example at the German embassy in his country for a residence title to come to Germany to study here, the embassy will issue a visa for three month and then the foreigner will enter into Germany and will have to apply within these three month for a temporary residence permit at the local immigration department (aliens office) to study here in Germany. If the foreigner lives in Germany for a certain time and fulfils certain requirements, he can apply for a permanent residence permit (“Niederlassungserlaubnis”). The Blue Card EU (“Blaue Karte EU”) is a work permit for highly qualified non-EU nationals and the permanent residence permit EU (“Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EG) is equivalent to the right of establishment and is intended to provide third-country citizens (citizens of non-EU member countries) with a secured right of residence in Germany.

Most of the residence titles above mentioned are only given for certain reasons laid down in the German residence act. The German residence act divides these reasons into different groups. There are the family reasons to get a residence title, there are international-law, humanitarian or political reasons to get a residence title, there are reasons to come to Germany to work here or to establish a company and  there are reasons to study or to go to school in Germany.

With many years of experience in immigration law we provide advice or representation on any immigration problems. Especially the issuance or the renewal of residence titles is the subject of our activity. If for example the foreign spouse of a German national or a foreigner residing in Germany wants to come to Germany to live with his spouse (family or spouse reunion) and the embassy and/or the local immigration office (“Ausländerbehörde”) rejects the application, we can help to force the embassy or the local immigration office to grant the residence title. However, other family members may also be eligible for the right of family reunions, as for example the foreign children or the foreign parents of the foreigner or the German national living in Germany.

Of course, we also help students, employees, self-employed persons and investors/entrepreneurs with the issuance and the renewal of any kind of German residence permits or schengen visa. Of course, we also support foreign or German companies in bringing foreign workers to Germany. We can also support foreign artists and foreign sportsmen, who plan short or a long-term stays in Germany in an unbureaucratic and professional manner.

We have already been able to obtain a right of residence in Germany for citizens of many foreign countries, e. g. USA, Brazil, Egypt, Algeria, China, India, Lebanon, Morocco, Philippines, Russia, Syria, Tunesia, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Cambodia, Australia, etc.

Should you have problems with the application or renewal of a residence permit to come or to stay in Germany, please contact us, we will be happy to assist you.

If you need help with your immigration law issue, please call Mr. Helmer Tieben. His main areas of expertise include immigration law, corporate law, debt collection and judicial representation among others. You can reach Mr. Helmer Tieben under 0049 (0) 221 – 80187670.

2. Legal Remedies in German immigration law (e. G. Remonstration or lawsuit at the administrative court in Berlin (Verwaltungsgericht Berlin)

If the foreigner’s application for the issuance or the extension of a residence permit has been rejected, he may lodge a legal remedy against that decision. For example, if a foreigner´s application for a residence title to come to Germany has been rejected, the foreigner can remonstrate against this decision and/or can file a lawsuit in the administrative court in Berlin (Verwaltungsgericht Berlin). Very often the issuance of schengen visa is rejected because the embassy (or the local immigration office) suspects that the applicant will not return to his home country after the period of visa validity and will stay in Germany (“fehlende Rückkehrbereitschaft”).

If, therefore, your application or the application of a relative, a friend or a future employee of your company has been rejected, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you to lodge a legal remedy against the decision. Under certain conditions, the residence title can also be enforced within just a few days by means of an interim injunction, if the decision of the embassy or foreigners authority cannot be postponed. We can also help to put pressure on the embassy or the immigration authority if their decision takes too long (the German law states that every authority has to make a decision within a time period of maximum 3 month, often times the embassy of the local immigration office need much longer).

If the application of a foreigner who already lives in Germany has been refused by the competent immigration office, we can file a lawsuit at the responsible local administrative court here in Germany.  For example, if a foreigner living and residing in Cologne applied for a residence title, the administrative court in Cologne will be the responsible local administrative court, if the application has been rejected. Naturally we also will challenge decisions of the immigration authority regarding the deportation of a foreigner outside of Germany.

3. Consultation and representation regarding German citizenship and naturalization

We are also repeatedly entrusted with the consultation and representation regarding the process to obtain the German citizenship for foreigners residing in Germany and for foreigners residing abroad. If a foreigner resides for 8 consecutive years in Germany (sometimes he or she only needs 6 consecutive years), he may be eligible under certain circumstances to obtain the German citizenship. If the foreigner is married to a German national, he may be eligible to obtain the citizenship even earlier. If the immigration office rejects the application of the foreigner, we will be glad to help you to go to court in order to force the immigration office to give you the German citizenship. Children born in Germany are also under certain circumstances entitled to get the Germany citizenship. We also help you to retain your old citizenship when getting naturalized in Germany.

Vic­tims of the Nazi regime who were il­le­git­i­mate­ly de­prived of their cit­i­zen­ship be­tween 1933 and 1945 are en­ti­tled to ‘re­nat­u­ral­iza­tion’.  But not only victims of the Nazi regime are entitled to renaturalization, also other former German citizens or people with strong ties to Germany due to their history or their ancestors. The responsible authority for the naturalization process is the Federal Office of Administration (“Bundesverwaltungsamt”) in Cologne.

A major issue, especially in Cologne, is the length of the process to obtain the German citizenship or the process of renaturalization. In principle, the authority is obligated to complete the procedure within a “reasonable period of time”. A period of approximately 3 months is generally appropriate. In practice, however, the procedure lasts very often longer than 8-12 months. In such cases we will be happy to put pressure on the authority in order to get a quicker decision.

4. The right of free movement of Union citizens and their family members.

The Freedom of movement is one of the founding principles of the European movement. This principle entitles the citizens of the members of the European Union to move freely within the European Union, to enter and reside in every other Member State. The citizens of the members of the European Union are also entitled in being able to operate economically in any Member State. However, these rights also apply in principle to the family members of the citizens of the member states. We would be happy to advise you on any questions you may have and to resolve problems with the authorities.

Apart of the above mentioned services we provide legal advice and representation on any other issues and problems regarding German immigration law, e. g.:

• Legal advice and representation to get the German permanent settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) or the German temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis).
• Legal advice on how to get the Schengen visa or the German national visa (e. g. for citizens of Iran, Belarus, Philippines, Egypt, Algeria, China, India, Lebanon, Morocco, Phillipines, Russia, Syria, Tunesia, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus).
• Residence in Germany and immigration to Germany for foreign students.
• Residence in Germany and immigration to Germany for foreign employees.
• Permanent settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) for highly qualified persons.
• Right of asylum in Germany.
• Reunion of spouses in Germany (Ehegattennachzug).
• Family reunion in Germany (Familiennachzug).
• Legal advice on how to avoid deportation from Germany.
• Legal advice on how to get German Citizenship or how to restore former citizenship
• Legal advice and representation on German embassy and German consulate issues.
• Opposition proceeding/litigious proceedings regarding visa and residence permit procedures.

Contact Us

Call us on (0049) (0)221 80187670 or send us an email to info@mth-partner.de if you need help with your German Immigration Law issue. We will respond to your queries quickly and confidentially.