If your application for a residence permit is delayed for any reason in Germany there is a decent chance you'll end up with a temporary 'fictional certificate'. Here’s how to navigate work and travel while you're left waiting.
Designed to be a short-term fix, Germany's 'Fiktionsbescheinigung' has since become a standard part of the immigration process. We spoke to experts to understand how the document affects residents' work, travel and daily life.
Battling bureaucracy at the 'Ausländerbehörde' is an experience that virtually every foreigner living in Germany shares. We asked an immigration lawyer for her best advice to help make your next visit as smooth as possible.
While other European countries have seen a hike in the number of Americans moving there, with some evidence pointing to a Trump effect, what is the story in Germany? The Local obtained new figures that tell a slightly different story.
Record numbers are leaving Berlin, while international arrivals keep the city growing. But with only modest growth expected, the real story is how quickly its population – and character – are shifting.
More foreigners are leaving Germany than at any point in the last 15 years. We spoke to recent emigrants about why they've decided to pack up and move out.
Germany saw a record number of naturalisations in 2025, preliminary figures show. After leading conservatives called yet again to tighten naturalisation rules, other parties have pushed back.
A record number of German passports was issued in 2025 with almost 310,000 foreigners naturalised in Germany, according to preliminary figures collated in a media report.
With governments across Europe tightening citizenship and residency requirements, language and country knowledge tests are often framed as measures of integration. But are governments really talking to domestic political audiences?
The number of people refused entry to the EU and Schengen area has risen dramatically, according to new statistics, while thousands of US, UK and Indian nationals have been found to be illegally present in EU/Schengen countries.
The German government is reopening some access to free integration courses for immigrants after it was criticised for slashing the programme earlier this year. However far fewer places will be available, and who qualifies will depend on strict quotas.
With net immigration to Germany falling, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt says his tough approach has delivered results. But others say that migration has slowed for other reasons, and warn that his tactics are creating new problems.
The majority of refugees who come to Germany each year come from war zones, such as from Syria around 2015 or Ukraine since 2022. So why do a number of US citizens also submit applications for asylum each year?
New figures show tens of thousands of immigrants have been blocked from enrolling in Germany’s integration courses since the start of the year when authorities quietly froze applications.
Long waits for appointments, burdensome bureaucracy and language barriers: applying for a residence permit can be a tricky business for foreigners in Germany. We asked readers to share their experience and their top tips.
Syrian-born Yasin Alhamdo has lived in Germany since he was nine. In March, just weeks before he was due to sit his final exams to qualify as an industrial clerk, he was told he had 30 days to leave the country.
A growing number of deportation orders targeting skilled workers and well-integrated young Syrian men suggest that it's not only criminals who are at risk of deportation from Germany.
Bureaucratic backlogs and rule changes on residency rights are having an increasing impact on the lives of foreigners living around Europe. Many say they have been left in legal limbo with their lives effectively on hold.
The far-right Alternative for Germany recently tried, and failed, to significantly tighten the Naturalisation Act. With the issue once again in the spotlight, we look at how parties voted and why citizenship rules are so fiercely debated.
Four years after moving to Germany for his master's degree, Saad Arshad shares his top advice on language, jobs and managing expectations for people following in his footsteps.
A recent report revealing that more EU citizens are leaving Germany than arriving got a huge response online. Here's what readers had to say about why some Europeans are opting out of life in the country and why others are determined to stay.
