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BREXIT

Brits in Germany urged to apply for residency before end of June deadline

Brits who were living in Germany before 2021 are being urged to apply for their residency document as a key deadline approaches.

Published: 2 June 2021 16:30 CEST
Brits in Germany urged to apply for residency before end of June deadline
People standing at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin after the UK left the EU on January 31st 2020. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Britta Pedersen

Any Britons who were living in Germany before December 31st 2020 should notify their local Ausländerbehörde so they can get a residence document, experts have advised.

Under the Brexit Withdrawal agreement, Brits who were legally resident in Germany before the end of the transition period have the right to continue living here. 

However, they should apply for a residence document (Aufenthaltsdokument-GB). To get this, Brits should report to their local foreigners authority (usually called Ausländerbehörde) by June 30th 2021.

While Britons’ rights under the Withdrawal Agreement will not be affected if they miss the deadline, experts recommend that they apply for the new card as soon as possible. It can provide proof of the right to carry on living and working in Germany when needed. For example when travelling or applying for a job. 

Matt Bristow, of citizens’ rights group British in Germany, told the Local: “British citizens in Germany – and their non-EU family members – should notify their local Ausländerbehörde of their residence in the country ASAP and to request that they are issued with an Aufenthaltsdokument-GB.

“This can then be used as official evidence that you were living in Germany before the end of the Brexit transition period and have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.”

READ ALSO:

Process depends on where you live

Bristow pointed out that there are different systems in place across Germany for getting the residence document. 

Some areas have written to British citizens to inform them of what to do, others require people to take action themselves and report their residence to the immigration office.

“If you have friends, family or neighbours who are British, check that they know what to do and who they need to contact.

“Particularly vulnerable groups or people who aren’t online very often may not have even realised that there is anything for them to do – at British in Germany e.V. we’ve heard examples of just this in recent days.

“It is unclear how many people have already been in touch with their Ausländerbehörde or received their card, so it is impossible to know at the moment how many people might not have yet realised that there is anything for them to do.”

Anyone in doubt should call up their immigration office – or search for information on official local government websites – to see what steps should be taken. 

‘Residence card makes life easier’

Unlike some other EU countries, Germany chose a so-called declaratory system.

“This means that you do not have to apply for your rights: if you are in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement, then you already have your rights by force of law,” said Bristow.

“Getting an Aufenthaltsdokument-GB does not change the rights you have, nor does the card itself give you these rights. However, the card is the best possible evidence that you are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and you will be expected to be able to prove this from time to time – eg at the border or by your employer. Having one will make your life a whole lot easier.”

READ ALSO: Britons in Europe face Brexit deadlines with many yet to apply for residency 

What if Brits don’t have a card by June 30th?

Even though the German government has asked British people to notify their local Ausländerbehörde of their residence by June 30th, experts say people shouldn’t panic if they haven’t had their meeting with the immigration office by then – or received their card.

“Try not to worry if you haven’t received the actual card by then. In quite a few areas it will take many months to process everyone’s requests for the new card and then it can take 6-8 weeks for the card to be printed,” said Bristow.

He added that people may be able to get a temporary certificate – a Fiktionsbescheinigung – as proof of their status if they need it. For example, this could be beneficial if people have to travel for work a lot.

The British in Germany e.V. website has put together a guide on what people need to do if they want further information or support if they encounter difficulties.

For people who have dual British and German citizenship, the German Interior Ministry advises that they do not need this residence document, Bristow said. Those who hold another EU citizenship (eg Irish), are eligible for the Aufenthaltsdokument-GB but the Interior Ministry has advised that you do not need to get one.

Bristow added that people in Germany who have British friends or family living elsewhere in the EU, EEC or Switzerland should check they know their rights. 

“In some other countries, British citizens must apply for a new status before a deadline and if they don’t they will lose all their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement,” said Bristow.
 
“For example in France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta, the clock is ticking: British citizens must have applied for the right to stay in those countries by June 30th or face losing their status overnight.
 
Changes for Brits moving after Brexit

Before the Brexit transition ended on December 31st 2020, Brits were able to move to Germany and only needed to register their address – like everyone living in the country, including Germans. 

However, with the end of the Brexit transition period that era is over, and if you are British and planning to move Germany now, you require the same sort of paperwork that was always the rule for non-EU nationals like Americans, Canadians or Australians.

READ ALSO: Post-Brexit visa rules – How can Brits move to Germany in 2021 and beyond

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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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