"The world is like a book, and he who knows only his own country
has read only the first page of it"
Conditions for Obtaining a Settlement Permit
To obtain a permanent settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) in Germany, applicants generally need at least 5 years of lawful residence, knowledge of German, and a stable income (§ 9 AufenthG).
Fougeret de Monbron
The idea of cosmopolitanism — placing the interests of humanity as a whole above the interests of any individual nation or state and viewing each person as a free individual within the bounds of the Earth — has long been one of humanity's most cherished and hardest-to-achieve goals. Modern society, taking confident steps toward globalization and the harmonization of international requirements, seeks to give every individual the opportunity to feel like a citizen of the world, provided they meet the requirements agreed upon by the international community.
Our client Sofia (name changed), a Russian national, also decided to take the opportunity to exchange expertise in the scientific field with foreign colleagues. She came to Germany in 2008 after signing a two-year employment contract with a research center. Once that period ended, Sofia moved to sunny Spain under a new employment contract, which naturally caused her to lose her corresponding temporary residence title in Germany (Aufenthaltstitel). However, it was personal ties rather than work that brought Sofia back to Germany, where in 2011 she married a fellow countryman who, by that point, already held a permanent settlement permit in Germany. For the purpose of reuniting with her husband, our client obtained a residence permit in Germany once again, and successfully signed an open-ended employment contract with one of Germany's research institutes.
A few years later, however, Sofia had to face bureaucratic hurdles once again and turned to our law firm. The fact is that Sofia had decided to separate from her husband, and was worried this would cause her to lose the temporary residence permit previously issued to her. So, in addition to sorting out family matters, our client also had to consider obtaining a permit of unlimited duration valid throughout the entire country (Niederlassungserlaubnis). Knowing that obtaining such a permit requires meeting strict legal requirements, Sofia first asked our lawyer to explain to her the criteria for granting such a permit.
Under § 9 of Germany's Act on the Residence, Economic Activity and Integration of Foreigners in the Federal Republic of Germany (Aufenthaltsgesetz), a foreign national is granted a permanent settlement permit if:
1. they have held a residence permit in Germany for five years;
2. they have sufficient means of subsistence;
3. they have a work permit;
4. they have an adequate command of the German language;
5. they have adequate housing for themselves and their family members and meet the other necessary requirements.
Naturally, Sofia's main concern was that she had previously lost her residence permit in Germany due to moving to Spain, and was now in the middle of a divorce. It also remained uncertain whether her level of German (a Start Deutsch A2 certificate) would be considered sufficient to obtain a permanent settlement permit.
Our lawyer requested copies of all documents relating to the lawfulness of Sofia's stay in Germany from the relevant government agencies. Having obtained documentary confirmation of the facts needed to support our position, the lawyer applied on the client's behalf to the competent immigration authority for a permanent residence permit, arguing that Sofia met all the requirements set out under current German law: in particular, that she had, in total, held a residence permit in Germany for five years, regularly paid pension contributions, had sufficient means of subsistence, and had a command of German sufficient for normal everyday communication — especially given that, in her professional field, communication takes place in English, which Sofia speaks fluently. The lawyer emphasized that the demanding schedule of a research employee did not make it easy for our client to complete language courses, which is why learning German was taking her longer. After reviewing the documents submitted by the lawyer, the competent authority accepted his arguments, and our client successfully obtained a permanent settlement permit in Germany, despite all the "buts" along the way.
This example from our own practice illustrates how the right combination of documents, facts, and arguments can play a decisive role in an ambiguous situation, and how a qualified lawyer with extensive experience in this field can help you find the right solution quickly and effectively.
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