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These are the documents Brits in Germany should carry when travelling after December 31st

British people in Germany have been advised to carry extra documents with them if they travel when the transition period ends on December 31st. Here's what you should keep in mind.

Published: 13 October 2020 16:03 CEST
Updated: 31 December 2020 10:02 CET
These are the documents Brits in Germany should carry when travelling after December 31st
Travellers in Frankfurt Airport in July. Things will change for Brits soon. Photo: DPA

As The Local has been reporting, British people who have registered in Germany before December 31st automatically have the right to remain in the country after the transition period ends.

However, they do need to apply for their residence document with their local Ausländerbehörde (Immigration Office) by the end of June 2021. At the moment, though, Germany is processing the draft law so the application process has been put on pause.

This could be frustrating for the Brits who have already registered for a residence permit, such as in Berlin which introduced a system at the start of 2019, and have not heard anything yet.

On December 16th, the British government updated its advice to urge Britons living in Germany to carry their German residence document (if they have been issued one), or proof of residency as well as their passport when travelling after December 31st.

“If you have applied but not yet received your document, carry your certificate of application (Fiktionsbescheinigung),” said the UK government in its Living in Germany section.

If you do not have a residence document or the application “you should carry evidence that you are resident in Germany,” says the UK government.

“This could include an address registration certificate (Meldebestätigung), tenancy agreement, or a utility bill in your name, dating from 2020.

“If you cannot show that you are resident in Germany, you may be asked additional questions at the border to enter the Schengen area, and your passport may be stamped. This will not affect your rights in Germany.”

Brits will be able to travel

During an open information evening held online by the British Embassy earlier this year, authorities said that Brits who hadn't heard anything about their application should not be concerned at this stage.

It is likely they will hear back after the transition period ends. After that they can also contact their Ausländerbehörde to apply for the residence document if they haven't yet. The deadline for applications is the end of June 2021.

The head of the Brexit Taskforce in Germany, Axel Dittmann, said not having the document wouldn't mean that British people would be excluded from travel and return to Germany from January 1st 2021.

“By the time Christmas and New Year is here, no British citizen in Germany will have been issued a residence permit. But by no means you won’t be able to travel,” he said during the info evening.

“Simply take your British passport with you.”

'Might be useful to bring other documents'

Dittmann said Brits should also think about taking other documents with them that prove they live in Germany, just in case they are asked to at the border.

Until December 31st British travellers can join the EU queue when arriving at borders but from January 1st they will likely have to join different lanes. They will also face different border checks.

“It might be useful to take with you some kind of documentation that proves your residency. The lease of your apartment for example, or Anmeldung (registration document).

“But it's no problem to travel.”

READ ALSO: Q&A – What does Brexit mean for my rights as a Brit living in Germany

Brits could also carry other proof of residency such as bills, work contracts or insurance documents.

Deputy British Ambassador to Germany Robbie Bulloch said Brits should also be aware of an important point about their passport.

“From 1st January it’s very important when travelling to most European countries that British citizens have at least six months on their passport which is not something required at the moment,” he said. “It’s something you should make sure you have.”

Deadline for dual citizenship approaching

Meanwhile, Brits were also advised that if they want dual British and German citizenship they have until December 31st to apply.

After the transition period ends, British people who want German citizenship can still apply but they won't be able to also keep their British passport. That's because Germany usually only allows dual citizenship for EU countries.

“If you want to have citizenship of both countries get your paperwork together and apply by the end of the year,” said Dittmann.

If you apply by December 31st, you will still be granted dual citizenship, even if that happens after the transition period has ended.

Find more information here: What you need to know about applying for German citizenship

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BREXIT

OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

The EU has drawn up plans to make it easier for non-EU citizens to gain longterm EU residency so they can move more easily around the bloc, but Italy-based citizens' rights campaigner Clarissa Killwick says Brits who moved to the EU before Brexit are already losing out.

Published: 8 December 2023 14:34 CET
OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

With all the talk about the EU long-term residency permit and the proposed improvements there is no mention that UK citizens who are Withdrawal Agreement “beneficiaries” are currently being left out in the cold.

The European Commission has stated that we can hold multiple statuses including the EU long-term permit (Under a little-known EU law, third-country nationals can in theory acquire EU-wide long-term resident status if they have lived ‘legally’ in an EU country for at least five years) but in reality it is just not happening.

This effectively leaves Brits locked into their host countries while other third country nationals can enjoy some mobility rights. As yet, in Italy, it is literally a question of the computer saying no if someone tries to apply.

The lack of access to the EU long-term permit to pre-Brexit Brits is an EU-wide issue and has been flagged up to the European Commission but progress is very slow.

READ ALSO: EU government settle on rules for how non-EU citizens could move around Europe

My guess is that few UK nationals who already have permanent residency status under the Withdrawal Agreement are even aware of the extra mobility rights they could have with the EU long-term residency permit – or do not even realise they are two different things.

Perhaps there won’t be very large numbers clamouring for it but it is nothing short of discrimination not to make it accessible to British people who’ve built their lives in the EU.

They may have lost their status as EU citizens but nothing has changed concerning the contributions they make, both economically and socially.

An example of how Withdrawal Agreement Brits in Italy are losing out

My son, who has lived almost his whole life here, wanted to study in the Netherlands to improve his employment prospects.

Dutch universities grant home fees rather than international fees to holders of an EU long-term permit. The difference in fees for a Master’s, for example, is an eye-watering €18,000. He went through the application process, collecting the requisite documents, making the payments and waited many months for an appointment at the “questura”, (local immigration office).

On the day, it took some persuading before they agreed he should be able to apply but then the whole thing was stymied because the national computer system would not accept a UK national. I am in no doubt, incidentally, that had he been successful he would have had to hand in his WA  “carta di soggiorno”.

This was back in February 2022 and nothing has budged since then. In the meantime, it is a question of pay up or give up for any students in the same boat as my son. There is, in fact, a very high take up of the EU long-term permit in Italy so my son’s non-EU contemporaries do not face this barrier.

Long-term permit: The EU’s plan to make freedom of movement easier for non- EU nationals 

Completing his studies was stalled by a year until finally his Italian citizenship came through after waiting over 5 years.  I also meet working adults in Italy with the EU long-term permit who use it for work purposes, such as in Belgium and Germany, and for family reunification.  

Withdrawal agreement card should double up as EU long-term residency permit

A statement that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries should be able to hold multiple statuses is not that easy to find. You have to scroll quite far down the page on the European Commission’s website to find a link to an explanatory document. It has been languishing there since March 2022 but so far not proved very useful.

It has been pointed out to the Commission that the document needs to be multilingual not just in English and “branded” as an official communication from the Commission so it can be used as a stand-alone. But having an official document you can wave at the immigration authorities is going to get you nowhere if Member State governments haven’t acknowledged that WA beneficiaries can hold multiple statuses and issue clear guidance and make sure systems are modified accordingly.

I can appreciate this is no mean feat in countries where they do not usually allow multiple statuses or, even if they do, issue more than one residency card. Of course, other statuses we should be able to hold are not confined to EU long-term residency, they should include the EU Blue Card, dual nationality, family member of an EU citizen…

Personally, I do think people should be up in arms about this. The UK and EU negotiated an agreement which not only removed our freedom of movement as EU citizens, it also failed to automatically give us equal mobility rights to other third country nationals. We are now neither one thing nor the other.

It would seem the only favour the Withdrawal Agreement did us was we didn’t have to go out and come back in again! Brits who follow us, fortunate enough to get a visa, may well pip us at the post being able to apply for EU long-term residency as clearly defined non-EU citizens.

I have been bringing this issue to the attention of the embassy in Rome, FCDO and the European Commission for three years now. I hope we will see some movement soon.

Finally, there should be no dragging of heels assuming we will all take citizenship of our host countries. Actually, we shouldn’t have to, my son was fortunate, even though it took a long time. Others may not meet the requirements or wish to give up their UK citizenship in countries which do not permit dual nationality.  

Bureaucratic challenges may seem almost insurmountable but why not simply allow our Withdrawal Agreement permanent card to double up as the EU long-term residency permit.

Clarissa Killwick,

Since 2016, Clarissa has been a citizens’ rights campaigner and advocate with the pan-European group, Brexpats – Hear Our Voice.
She is co-founder and co-admin of the FB group in Italy, Beyond Brexit – UK citizens in Italy.

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