A provisional residence certificate (Fiktionsbescheinigung) is a document from the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde). You often get it when you have applied for a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) and the office has not made a decision yet. The document shows other offices and organisations that your stay in Germany is usually treated as permitted until the decision. The word „Fiktion“ (fiction) means here: the law treats your stay as if it were still permitted. Whether you are allowed to work is written on the certificate.
Where you come across the word
You usually hear the word at the immigration office. This happens, for example, when your residence permit is about to expire and you apply for an extension. Or when you have applied for a new permit and processing takes a long time.
Other offices and organisations also ask for this document:
- Your employer, because they have to check whether you are allowed to work.
- The Jobcenter, the Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) or the family benefits office (Familienkasse), for example for child benefit (Kindergeld).
- Landlords, banks or other authorities that want to check your residence status.
How you get the certificate differs from city to city. Some immigration offices hand it out at an appointment. Others send it by post or by email.
What you should do
- Submit your application on time. Apply for the extension before your old residence permit expires. If you are late, you often have fewer rights.
- Keep proof. Keep a confirmation that your application was received. This can be an email, a letter or a copy.
- Check the certificate. Are your name and your details correct? Until when is it valid? What does it say about work?
- Carry it together with your passport. The certificate on its own is not an ID document.
- Watch the expiry date. The certificate is only valid for a certain period. If the office has not made a decision yet, contact the immigration office before the expiry date.
- Ask before travelling abroad. With a Fiktionsbescheinigung, returning to Germany can be difficult. Check this with the immigration office beforehand.
- Give your employer a copy. That way they can see that you are still allowed to work.
Example
- “You will receive a Fiktionsbescheinigung until a decision is made on your application.”
- “Please show us your valid Fiktionsbescheinigung and your passport.”
- “My Fiktionsbescheinigung expires next month. What do I have to do?”
Related terms
- Residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel): Permission to live in Germany, for example a residence permit or a visa.
- Residence permit for a specific purpose (Aufenthaltserlaubnis): A residence title for a specific purpose, for example work, study or family.
- Electronic residence permit (Elektronischer Aufenthaltstitel, eAT): The card in credit-card format that you get after a positive decision.
- Toleration (Duldung): A certificate stating that a deportation has been temporarily suspended. It is not a residence permit.
- Permission to reside during the asylum procedure (Aufenthaltsgestattung): A document for people whose asylum procedure is still ongoing.