Reapply for residence permit after 180 days away

Hello everyone,

I was living in Berlin and teaching English for two companies as a freelancer up until last January when I had to rush home for a family emergency. Due to logistical reasons and things back in the States that I needed to take care of, I was away from Germany for MORE than 180 days.. so therefore, I am assuming that my residence permit (which was not set to expire until July 2009) is void now, correct?

That being the case, is it going to be a hard process to re-apply for a residence permit? The old one is still in my passport, I will have both of my old jobs back (with proof from the companies), an apartment, health insurance, etc. Is there any problem that I may encounter during the re-applying process? I am a little worried about this..

ANY help is much appreciated.

Thanks!

The authorities would rather have been notified that you were going to stay out of the country more than 180 days BEFORE the time was elapsed, but if everything else is in order, you'll probably be OK.

I know. Unfortunately it was a quick decision and I didn't have time to alert the proper depts.
So, if I have all of the initial paperwork (i.e. proof of apartment rental, employment contract, bank statement, health insurance, etc) it should be ok to reapply?

thanks.

Has anyone had experience with this?

I'm sure that someone out there has had a residence permit in Germany, left the country for over 180 days, and then came back before it expired.. right?

Anyone? Bueller? Ferris Bueller?

Can someone please help with this topic?

I would really appreciate any guidance here.

Thanks.

Sure, it's been a few days and whatnot but there's better ways to bring it back. For example, have you spoken with the relevant authorities yet in terms of your specific situation? If you give a bit of information about what you personally have been doing to get the answers you require rather than just sitting back and waiting for the TT collective to hand it to you on a plate then you might get better and more useful assistance.

To be honest, and without knowing anything about the subject, I'm surprised that your residence permit is void at all. Actually, I had a couple of questions with regards to that but they mostly end in a 'have you spoken to the relevant authority' type thing so there's no point really.

Thanks for answering. Yes, I have been doing research and talked to some of the various offices, however I am getting completely different answers from everyone there (which is typical, ) So please know that I am not just "sitting back and waiting for TTers to reply.. that is very much NOT the case.

Basically, since my permit doesn't expire until July 2009, is it even void at all? It doesn't state anywhere on it that it's void if I leave for over 180 days. What if I fake ignorance and go back in July to get it renewed? Would I just have to pay a fine perhaps?

Thanks.

Simple then. Go back and ask them all again. Wait until you get the answer you'd like to hear and then ask them to put it in writing for you. Official documents are worth their weight in gold.

Note: If it's just one piece of paper then that's probably about €93

Ok, I appreciate that. However, this is Toytown.. and the purpose of this forum is for people to share their own experiences as well... rather than being written off, I'd love to talk to others on here who may have had the same experiences.

Thanks

One option not mentioned is writing to them - either email or a letter? The authorities are very responsive to that form in my experience and (as above) you have something to refer to.

Thanks, Swimmer

My PM to Almosthadyou in response to the PM that he sent me which I reckon is worth posting given that it applies to all such queries.

I will write a letter and an email as well.. that will help me get something in writing.

In the meantime, they wouldn't do much more than charge me a fee when I go to re-apply in July, correct?

Again, just appreciating the other opinions/experiences in here

Edited accordingly. I assumed you were female based on your writing, decided that such assumptions are often wrong, checked your previous posts and realised the error.

almosthadyou, you do realize that you are dealing with the immigration authorities, and even if you talked to the same person every day for a month there, you would get about 15 different answers, depending on their mood?

My experience with them has been that those officials have a LOT of discretion left to them in some matters. I really don't think anyone here is going to be able to definitively tell you that you have the right, according to statute number blah blah, to have your 180-day absence waived in blah blah blah circumstances.

I based my earlier answer on my own experience, which has nothing to do with yours. We were moving out of the country, having recently renewed our residence permit. We were told that if we thought there was any chance at all of returning to live in Germany within a year or so, we should have some paperwork processed that would waive the out-of-country limits in advance.