Information and counseling services for international students

Foreigners Office of the City of Hannover

Team 7 - Customer service for professionals and students

Phone: +49 0511 168 32337

Am Schützenplatz 1

30169 Hanover

E-mail: abh-fus(at)hannover-stadt.de

Website

Foreigners Office of the Hannover Region

Immigration Team

Phone: +49 511 616-23700

Phone: +49 511 616-22905

Maschstrasse 17

30169 Hanover

E-mail: Zuwanderung@region-hannover.de

Website

Before your residence permit/transitional certificate expires, contact the Foreigners Office by phone (Monday-Thursday from 08:00 - 16:00 and Friday from 08:00 - 14:00) or by e-mail.

Please keep in mind that due to the high number of inquiries, it may take several weeks to process your request.

So be sure to contact them in time (preferably a few weeks before expiration) to avoid stress when extending your stay.

This usually results from the ancillary provisions of your residence title (e.g., from the supplementary sheet). If these contain a permission for employment, you are allowed to work.

The current processing time takes 6-8 weeks. As soon as the electronic residence title has been received by the Foreigners Office, it will be sent promptly to your specified registration address. If you have received a letter from the Federal Printing Office, there is no need for you to take any action.

If your residence title has expired, it is not possible to travel abroad.

It is also not possible to leave the country with a temporary certificate.

In this case, the usual procedure as described under "What do I have to do if my residence permit/transitional certificate has expired?" must be followed. In urgent cases, the residence permit can be issued as a sticker.

As a rule, the Foreigners Office requires a current certificate of enrollment, from the 4th semester onwards a current proof of academic achievement (transcript of records), proof of health insurance, proof that the student's livelihood is secured (e.g., a blocked account). Additional documentation may be required in individual cases.

In the case of doctoral students, the Foreigners Office always requires a current status of the doctorate from the doctoral advisor.

The securing of the livelihood can be proven by a blocked account, a declaration of commitment, a scholarship as well as an employment contract. A combination of the individual points is also possible.

Application forms, checklist and further information can be found here.

The mandatory requirement for the issuance of a residence permit is the entry with a required visa.

The visa requirement of a foreigner must first be assessed on the basis of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (EU-VisumVO).

According to Article 3 (1) of the EU Visa Regulation, nationals of third countries listed in Annex I to the EU Visa Regulation are subject to the visa requirement.

Pursuant to Art. 4 (1) EU-VisaVO, third-country nationals listed in Annex II are exempt from the visa requirement for short-term stays of up to 90 days during a reference period of 180 days and without gainful employment.

Specialty:

Pursuant to Section 41 (1) of the Residence Ordinance, nationals of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, and the United States of America may enter and reside in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany without a visa even for a stay that is not a short stay. A required residence permit can be obtained in the federal territory.

The same applies pursuant to Section 41 (2) of the Residence Ordinance to nationals of Andorra, Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Monaco, and San Marino who do not wish to engage in gainful employment other than the activities specified in Section 17 (2).

• Annex I, as of  März 2021
• Annex II, as of  März 2021

(Stand März 2021)

A "Fiktionsbescheinigung" is generally issued if the Foreigners Office cannot decide on the application for issuance/extension because, for example, documents are missing. This results from the wording of Section 81 (3) and (4) of the Residence Act. The residence is considered as continuing until the Foreigners Office has decided on the application.

Permission fiction ("Erlaubnisfiktion"):

§ Section 81 paragraph.3 sentence 1 of the Residence Act reads:

"(3) 1 If a foreigner who is lawfully residing in the Federal territory without possessing a residence title applies for the issuance of a residence title, his or her residence shall be deemed permitted until the decision of the aliens authority."

This is a so-called "permission fiction". It applies to foreigners who are allowed to obtain a residence title without a visa (e.g., US-Americans). A re-entry into the federal territory is not possible.

Continuance fiction ("Fortbestandsfiktion"):

§ Section 81(4) sentence 1 Residence Act reads:

"(4) 1 If a foreigner applies for the renewal of his or her residence title or for the issuance of another residence title before its expiration, the previous residence title shall be deemed to continue to exist from the time of its expiration until the decision of the Foreigners Office."

This is the so-called "fiction of continued existence". It applies to foreigners who already have an eAT in the Federal Republic and have applied for the extension of their residence title.

Please contact the nearest German mission abroad and apply for a re-entry visa.

Please send the following documents to the Foreigners Office:

• A copy of the new employment contract or
• A copy of the job description

In individual cases, further documents may be required.

As long as your employment relationship continues, it has no consequences for your residence if you are currently receiving short time working benefits due to the Corona pandemic. You also do not have to inform the Foreigners Office.

This also applies if you normally must comply with salary limits, such as for a Blue Card.

If you would like to extend your visa, you can contact the German mission abroad responsible for you and apply for a so called "Neuvisierung".

Please follow the instructions on the official websites of the respective missions abroad.

There you will also find an overview of the required application documents.

Information on ongoing visa procedures is not provided by the Foreigners Office. Please contact the respective German mission abroad.

To change from a student visa to a job-seeking visa, you must submit a new application to the Foreigners Office.

You must submit:

• Application form
• Rental contract
• Proof of livelihood
• Certificate of your graduation

Make sure you make an appointment with the immigration office early enough so that you can make a stress-free transition.

Additional documents and information for the application can be found here:

Zip folder, residence for job search

To change from a student visa to a work visa, you must submit a new application to the Foreigners Office.

You must submit:

• Application form
• Rental contract
• Certificate of your graduation
• Employment contract
• Declaration of employment

Make sure you make an appointment with the Immigration Office early enough so that you can make a stress-free transition.

It is best to send the employment contract and the declaration of employment to the Foreigners Office by e-mail before your appointment to apply for residence for the purpose of employment. These documents can then be checked in advance by the employment agency.

Additional documents and information for the application can be found here.

The first thing to do is to inform the police by filing a report of loss (Verlustmeldung).    

You must also report the loss/theft to the relevant foreigner’s authority (Ausländerbehörde). They will report the residence card to the Federal Police for tracing and apply a passport transfer (Passübertrag). This means that a new card will be ordered - you must still report the loss/theft separately to the police. You must bring your passport and a biometric passport photo to the appointment at the foreigner’s authority (Ausländerbehörde). It is best if you ask the staff before which documents you need to bring with you.   

Here you can find the contact details of the Hannover Police:

Here you will find the contact details of the foreigner’s authority (Ausländerbehörde) of the city of Hanover (Customer service for professionals, students and self-employed persons and their family members).

Housing exchange of the Studentenwerk
https://www.studentenwerk-hannover.de/online-wohnraumboerse/uebersicht

or from Ms. Birthe Wiedenroth
Phone +49511 - 7688069
E-mail: wohnen@studentenwerk-hannover.de

• www.the-fizz.com
• https://chic7.de/de/home/
• www.wg-gesucht.de
• https://de-fr.roomlala.com/
• www.studenten-wohnung.de 
• housing anywhere
• www.wohnungsboerse.net
• www.hospitalityclub.org 
• www.mitwohnzentrale.de 
• www.kath-kirche-hannover.de
• www.immowelt.de
• Studentenwohnheim C5
• Hainbase
• Clemensburse

In addition, Hannover also has some agencies that can assist you in your search for accommodation. Normally there is an agency fee for this.