Applying for or Extending your Residence Permit at the Central Immigration Office
The institution in charge of visa and residence issues for international students in Saarbrücken is the Central Immigration Office called “Zentrale Ausländerbehörde“. If you need to apply for or extend your residence permit, please make an appointment. You will NOT be served without an appointment. At the moment, it can take a very long time to get an appointment. If you want somebody to help you or to accompany you to your appointment, please contact us.
Address: Zentrale Ausländerbehörde, Lebacher Str. 6a, 66113 Saarbrücken
To make an appointment, call +49 681 / 501-00 or write to zab@lava.saarland.de. If you cannot reach anybody by phone, please write an email and document your correspondence with the Ausländerbehörde as proof that you have tried everything in your power to get an appointment.
For your appointment, please take the following documents with you:
- Passport (with visa)
- Certificate of matriculation at htw saar (Immatrikulations-Bescheinigung)
- Health insurance certificate
- Rental agreement
- Proof of registration from the “Bürgeramt” (Meldebestätigung)
- Proof of scholarships
- Proof that you can finance your course of study called “Finanzierungsnachweis (currently € 853 per month over a period of 12 month), got to study-in-germany.de for more information)
- Money to pay application fees (€ 110,-)
- Additional documents may be required, ask what to bring exactly when you make the appointment.
Tip: It is best to take all of the documents you have, even if they may not be required. If any documents are missing, you have to arrange a new appointment. That takes unnecessarily long!
The residence permit is issued in the form of a so-called “electronic residence title“ (elektronischer Aufenthaltstitel). That’s a card with an integrated chip that holds certain data, for instance your passport photo and your fingerprints. After four to six weeks you can personally pick up your residence permit from the foreigners’ registration office. It is initially issued for at least one year and no more than two years, but it can be extended. The extension depends on your studies progressing “regularly” (meaning you should adhere to the standard period of study). You need documentation from your university to show this. It is imperative that you apply for the extension before your current residence permit expires!
More general information about how to register your apply for your residency permit in Germany can be found at study-in-germany.de under Step 2.
