Visa Service
♦ Students
- § 16b of the Residence Act for the purpose of studies or
- § 20 (3) of the Residence Act to look for a job after successfully completing their studies (18 months).
For capacity reasons and due to the high number of applicants, we will only be able to offer counselling (via e-mail and currently not in Zoom consultation hours). We advise in German and English and support you with questions and problems. Exception: We now only submit applications to the LEA University Service for exchange students (i.e. programme students) (for procedure see below). |
Direct submission of the complete applications of the residence permit to the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA). The date of application counts! Please expect long waiting times for processing. There are different options:
- Contact form Kontaktformular - Anfrage an die Referate B 1 und B 2 (Fachkräfte, Aus- und Weiterbildung, Schulbesuche, Studium, Wissenschaft) - Berlin.de
- E-mail B1B2B3[at]lea.berlin.de
- Mail to Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA), Friedrich-Krause-Ufer 24, 13353 Berlin
- Booking an appointment, information (unfortunately, it is difficult to book appointments - however, it is sufficient to apply by e-mail in the first instance).
Here you can find helpful links and information:
- Services for which you can book an appointment - Berlin.de
- Residence permit for the purpose of studying - Berlin.de
- Residence permit for job-seeking qualified skilled workers – Issuance - Berlin.de

Procedure for the online submission to the HU Visa Service ONLY for exchange students:
Procedure for the electronic submission of applications to the HU Visa Service for all students completing their studies sucessfully at HU:
1.2 Residence permit to seek employment according to § 20 AufenthG

♦ Doctoral candidates and researchers
- § 16b of the Residence Act for the purpose of doctoral studies or
- § 18d Residence Act for research
- § 18b (2) Residence Act - Blue Card
- § 20 Residence Act for job search for specialists (6 months) or
- § 7 Residence Act - residence permit
♦ General Information
- Please contact us in good time before the expiry of your visa or residence permit, as longer processing times must be expected due to the current situation. The procedure cannot be accelerated.
- As soon as the application for a residence permit has been submitted to the LEA (in person or by e-mail), a fiction takes effect. This means that the residence continues to apply with the same conditions and is legal even if the visa or the residence permit has expired (including the ancillary provisions of these documents, in particular with regard to the type and scope of permitted gainful employment). See § 81 (4) of the Residence Act.
- However, it is not possible to travel abroad after the residence permit has expired. If this is absolutely necessary, a fictional certificate (Fiktionsbescheinigung) must be applied for.
- A fictional certificate cannot be applied for on the basis of a visa-free entry. Applicants from § 41 countries (visa-free entry) can stay in the Schengen area for up to 90 days and return to Germany without any problems.
- NEW: The LEA issues the residence permit partly in the form of adhesive labels which are stuck into the passport to shorten the procedure. This is a fully-fledged residence title!
NEWS
Information from the Berlin Immigration Office for refugees from Ukraine
Information from HU Berlin
Humboldt-Universität stands with Ukraine — Press Portal (hu-berlin.de)
On the situation at the State Office for Immigration (LEA)
Limited customer service at the LEA is possible again, but not without booking an appointment in advance. ► Book appointments online
► Information on the booking procedure