Visa Service
♦ Students
- § 16b of the Residence Act for the purpose of studies or
- § 20 (3) of the Residence Act to seek employment 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 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 programme exchange students. |
Direct submission of the complete applications of the residence permit to the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA). The date of application counts! Processing times vary, please expect longer processing times. Heed the important advice of the LEA and submit your application only once and do not send multiple mails, various enquiries and queries. This slows down the procedures unnecessarily and fills up the inbox.
Application options are possible:
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Contact form, Einreichen des Antrags an die Referate B1/B2/B3 (Fachkräfte, Aus- und Weiterbildung, Schulbesuche, Studium, Wissenschaft) - Berlin.de
(New since 18.09.2023) -
Booking an appointment, information
Unfortunately, it is difficult to get an appointment - however, it is sufficient to submit your application via the contact form (see point 1). - Submission of the application documents through the HU Visa Service to the LEA for programme exchange students, and problematic cases. The job-seeking residence permit can be applied by all students at the end of their studies. ► Procedure.
General information on fiction effect and fictional certificates

Every Tuesday 13:00-15:00
Link: Zoom-Meeting
Meeting ID: 667 7368 4583
Registration for meetings at https://edupad.ch/p/9jdLg7sKGf
Please prepare well for the interview and be brief so that the next students can arrive on time for the interview!
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
FAQ - Freqently Asked Questions about the Visa Service and residence permits
Here you can find helpful links and information leading to websites of the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA):
♦ 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