Here's how to get an emergency appointment at the State Office for Immigration (LEA) in Berlin.

Mirko Vorreuter, LL.B.
21 hours ago
5 min read

Imagine you've done everything by the book. You've submitted your application for an extension of your residence permit. Applications submitted months in advance , all documents uploaded, and fees paid. The day of an important trip abroad is approaching, your work permit renewal is pending, or a family emergency back home forces you to act, and all you have is an acknowledgment of receipt . But no matter how often you contact the Berlin Immigration Office, you simply receive no response . In desperation, you even visit the State Office for Immigration (LEA) in person, hoping for a human word or a quick solution in the form of a temporary residence permit . But instead of a case worker, you are met only by security guards who show no interest in you or your legal situation and simply send you away. These scenes are not isolated incidents, but rather a bitter, almost daily reality on Keplerstrasse in Berlin, and they mark a worrying low point in Berlin's administrative practices.

An emergency appointment via contact form is a dead end

For many affected individuals, the journey often begins hopefully in front of a computer screen. The LEA (State Office for Refugee Affairs) repeatedly refers to the online contact form for requesting an emergency appointment in urgent matters . However, in our daily work as a law firm, we repeatedly experience this system as a digital dead end. No matter how often the contact form is submitted (even with appropriate documentation such as flight tickets, employment contracts, or medical certificates) and no matter how often the emergency is described: the response? In most cases, complete silence .

For weeks, people wait for a response, which often only comes after the emergency has already occurred – the funeral is over, the flight is missed, the termination notice from the employer is in the mailbox. This " ghosting " by a government agency leaves those affected bewildered and desperate. When digital communication is unilaterally terminated, the only remaining option is a physical visit to the office. But it is precisely here that the next, often insurmountable, hurdle awaits.

Security as an independent auditing body

Even if you approach the entrance area of the Keplerstraße location (LEA B1-B4) with a lawyer, immigration consultant, or other professional, you will be rudely turned away by security . No matter how convincingly you describe your emergency, security simply doesn't care whether you have a legal right to a temporary residence permit or how many emergency applications you've already submitted via the contact form. What we observed on-site was mostly appalling. The security staff acted as legal authorities, constantly repeating outlandish legal claims. One applicant, for example, was told that his emergency application was "invalid" because the scan of his old residence permit was missing. Such applications, they claimed, would be deleted immediately. Legally, this is, of course, utter nonsense, since the residence permit is already on file in the immigration records.

This form of preliminary check by security personnel lacks any legal basis . It is an overreach of authority that should be reserved for case workers. The staff on site were turning people away every minute without even listening to their specific situations. The blanket statement that the "on-site emergency service" was discontinued months ago without replacement due to a lack of capacity is particularly cynical. This statement is, of course, legally untenable, as issuing a temporary residence permit takes less than 10 minutes, and the applicant has a legal right to one.

Kafkaesque bureaucratic ignorance at the LEA

It is especially the so-called "little people," those without legal representation, who feel the full force of bureaucratic ignorance here. There's the young skilled worker who has to have his work permit changed, otherwise he'll lose his job . There's the woman who wants to travel to her father's funeral and desperately asks for a temporary residence permit so she can re-enter Germany. They are all turned away by security with standardized platitudes.

These people have often done everything right. They submitted their online applications on time, they used the emergency form , and they waited. The fact that they are now turned away like supplicants at the door, despite having a legal right to the certificate, is a systemic failure. It is simply embarrassing for a world city like Berlin when the accessibility of a government agency is so severely restricted by private security personnel that those affected can no longer exercise their rights. Even the head of the state office, Mr. Mazanke, repeatedly emphasizes that emergencies must be processed – but this commitment seems to be lost on the ground floor of the Keplerstrasse office.

Why "cheating" and arguing rarely lead to the desired result

In their desperation, many resort to unconventional methods. They try to sneak past security, elicit sympathy, or find a way inside through endless discussions. However, we must be clear: in practice, this almost never works . Security personnel are trained to rigorously thwart these attempts. Anyone who shows up without an appointment and without legal representation has virtually no chance of ever seeing the face of a caseworker. The only option that is partially successful is to appear as an "accompanying person" of another applicant and then seek out their caseworker. The power dynamic at the entrance is clearly against the individual. Without precise knowledge of the legal situation and a certain degree of professional tenacity, all arguments are rendered useless by security. It is a bitter realization that, in the current situation, access to justice often depends on whether one can afford to stand at the door with legal counsel.

What we are witnessing here is a one-sided restriction of government accessibility. By deactivating functional email accounts, removing phone lists from websites, and using security personnel as human shields, local authorities are increasingly shirking their responsibilities . This practice is not only frustrating for those affected, but it also damages Germany's reputation as a business location. When highly qualified professionals , whom we desperately seek, are treated like potential troublemakers upon their first real contact with German administration, it's no wonder there's a lack of a welcoming culture. A certificate of fictitious residence is not an act of charity, but a document confirming legal residency during ongoing legal proceedings. Those entitled to this must be able to exercise it – without being turned away by security personnel.

Conclusion: A necessary wake-up call

The conditions at the LEA (State Reception Center), particularly at the Keplerstraße location, are unacceptable. The combination of an overloaded digital emergency form and security personnel acting unilaterally is systematically depriving people of their rights. It is unacceptable that a correctly submitted application disappears into a black hole and that personal access to the authority is blocked by unqualified staff.

We strongly advise all those affected not to wait until the last minute. If you receive no response to your emergency inquiry via the contact form within a few days, you should consider seeking legal assistance. Experience shows that, with legal intervention, the authorities often find avenues that would be unavailable to individuals. One effective (but unfortunately also costly) measure could be applying for an injunction with the help of a lawyer. We would be happy to advise you on this matter.