Residence Permit for Your Child

At a glance

• Where: Foreigners' office (Ausländerbehörde) of your city
• Deadline: For a non-EU baby born in Germany: apply within 6 months of birth (§33, §81 AufenthG)
• You need: Birth certificate, child's passport, parents' residence permits, proof of address
• Official: §33 AufenthG · BAMF: family

Children who are not EU, EEA or Swiss citizens need their own residence permit in Germany. This also applies to babies born in Germany, unless they become German at birth (German Citizenship for Children).

Babies born in Germany

• Basis: if a parent has a residence permit, settlement permit or EU Blue Card, the child usually gets a permit based on it (§ 33 AufenthG).
• Deadline: apply at the Ausländerbehörde within 6 months of the birth.
• Until then: your child’s stay counts as allowed (§ 81 AufenthG).

Children who come to Germany

Children joining their parents usually need a visa for family reunification from the German embassy before travelling (§ 32 AufenthG). After arrival and the Anmeldung, the Ausländerbehörde issues the residence permit.

What you usually need

• Child’s passport: apply for it at your embassy soon after the birth; plus the birth certificate
• Parents: passports and residence permits
• Registration: your Meldebescheinigung
• Insurance: Proof of health insurance for the child
• Photo and form: Biometric photo; the application form of your Ausländerbehörde
• Check first: Requirements and appointment systems differ between offices, so check the website of yours.

If the parent with the work permit loses their job

The permits of your partner and children often depend on the working parent’s permit. A job loss does not end the permit automatically, but the Ausländerbehörde can shorten it if the job was an essential condition (§ 7 AufenthG).

• Register with the Agentur für Arbeit as a job seeker within 3 days of learning that your job ends, or 3 months before if you know earlier (§ 38 SGB III).
• Your employer must tell the Ausländerbehörde within 4 weeks if a job with a work-based permit ends early (§ 4a AufenthG). Contact the office yourself too and ask what applies to your family.
• Get advice early, before your permit is up for renewal: from a migration counselling service or a lawyer for migration law.

EU citizens

Children of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens do not need a residence permit. They only need a passport or ID card and the Anmeldung.

Sources

• § 33 AufenthG, birth of a child in Germany
• § 32 AufenthG, children joining parents
• § 81 AufenthG, application deadlines
• Family reunification, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)
• § 7, § 4a AufenthG, permit validity and employer notice
• § 38 SGB III, registering as a job seeker