
Sustainable integration
A foreigner who has been granted tolerated status or who holds a residence permit under Section 104c shall be granted a residence permit if he or she has sustainably integrated into the living conditions of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sustained integration requires, among other things, a residence in Germany of at least six years.
Related legal source: Section 25b Paragraph 1 Residence Act
Related VISAGUARD article: International Law and Humanitarian Obligations
Evidence Act (NachwG)
The Evidence Act (NachwG) stipulates that the employer must record the essential contractual terms of the employment relationship in writing, sign the record, and hand it over to the employee (see Section 2 Paragraph 1 NachwG ). This information about existing rights is intended to protect employees.
Related legal source: NachwG
Related VISAGUARD article: Employment contracts for foreigners
Close person
A close relative of an EU citizen who is not themselves an EU citizen and is not entitled to freedom of movement may, upon application, be granted the right to enter and reside in Germany if they meet the relevant requirements (see Section 3a of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU ). The term "close relative" is significantly broader than the term "family member."
Related legal source: § 3a FreizügG/EU
Related VISAGUARD article: Guide to EU Freedom of Movement
National visa
The national visa (also known as a "D visa") is an entry visa for a long-term stay for a specific purpose. It is issued in accordance with the regulations applicable to residence permits, the EU Blue Card, the ICT card, the settlement permit, and the EU long-term residence permit (see Section 6 (3) of the Residence Act ).
Related legal source:Residence Act
Related VISAGUARD article: Guide to applying for a visa
ancillary provision
Ancillary provisions are additions to a residence permit (or other official measures) that expand or restrict the regulatory content of the residence permit (see Section 36 of the Administrative Procedure Act ). In skilled immigration law, for example, employer commitment is a typical ancillary provision.
Related legal source: Section 36 VwVfG
Related VISAGUARD article: Additional provisions in the right of residence
Non-temporary reason
A residence permit expires upon departure for a non-temporary reason. A non-temporary reason as defined in Section 51 of the Residence Act is not conclusively defined by law. Rather, case law focuses on the overall circumstances of the individual case, which do not solely encompass the foreigner's inner will, but primarily on objective circumstances. These include, for example, the duration and purpose of the stay abroad, and ties to the foreigner's homeland or to Germany. The longer the absence, the more likely it is that the departure is not temporary. Signs of a permanent departure include giving up one's home and job, deregistering with the police, taking household goods with oneself, caring for a relative who is permanently in need of care, or fleeing prosecution (seeFederal Administrative Court, decision of December 30, 1988, 1 B 135.88 ).
Related legal source: Section 51 Paragraph 1 No. 6 Residence Act
Related VISAGUARD article: Expiry of residence permits
Non-employment fiction
The law does not consider a number of short-term activities to be "employment" under immigration law, meaning they do not require a work permit or residence permit. For example, CEO activities and business trips are not considered employment within the meaning of the Residence Act.
Related legal source: Section 30 BeschV
Related VISAGUARD article: Fiction of non-employment
branch
According to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), an establishment is the actual exercise of an economic activity through a fixed establishment in another Member State on a stable and continuous basis (see ECJ Case C-55/94 – Gebhard, ECR 1995, I-4165 ).
Related legal source: Article 49 TFEU
Related VISAGUARD article: EU freedom of movement
Residence permit
The settlement permit is a permanent residence permit that allows unrestricted employment in Germany (see Section 9 of the Residence Act ). The settlement permit generally requires a secure livelihood and a prior residence period of at least five years. In certain cases (e.g., for skilled workers and holders of an EU Blue Card), the required period can be reduced to up to 21 months (see Section 18c of the Residence Act ).
Related legal source: among others Section 9 AufenthG
Related VISAGUARD article: Residence permit (overview)
Freedom of establishment
Freedom of establishment is part of the freedom of movement and is granted to nationals of Member States. It allows European entrepreneurs to open branches in European Member States for commercial purposes.
Related legal source: Article 49 TFEU
Related VISAGUARD article: Guide to EU Freedom of Movement
Non-refoulement
According to the principle of non-refoulement, the member states of the Geneva Convention may not expel or return any refugee in any way whatsoever across the borders of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened because of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
Related legal source: Art. 33 GFK
Related VISAGUARD article: International Law and Humanitarian Obligations
Standards hierarchy
In jurisprudence, the hierarchy of norms, or norm pyramid, describes the relationship between the superordinate and subordinate status of legal norms. In directly applicable residence law, European regulations are usually at the top of the hierarchy, with national regulations at the bottom (see, for example, the Employment Regulations (BeschV) ).
Related legal source: Basic Law (GG)
Related VISAGUARD article: Laws in immigration law
Emergency travel document
In order to avoid undue hardship, or where there is a particular public interest, an emergency travel document may be issued to a foreign national if the foreign national can credibly prove his or her identity and is either a citizen of the Union or a national of an EEA state or is entitled to stay in the Federal territory, the EU, the EEA or Switzerland for other reasons.
Related legal source: Section 13 Residence Ordinance
Related VISAGUARD article: Passport requirement for foreigners
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