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BREXIT

Reader question: How can I re-enter Germany without my post-Brexit residence card?

Brits who lived in Germany before Brexit are supposed to be issued a residence card - but long waits have meant that not everyone has received theirs just yet. So what do you do if you're meant to be travelling abroad in the near future?

Published: 15 September 2021 17:29 CEST
Reader question: How can I re-enter Germany without my post-Brexit residence card?
A police office wearing an FPP2 mask stands at the border at Munich Airport on February 8th, 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Matthias Balk

If you’re stuck without proof of residency just yet and want to go abroad, don’t panic. This seems to be quite a common scenario, and one that the Bundespolizei should be used to dealing with after Brexit. 

Back in 2020, just days before Britain left the European Economic Area (EEA) and free movement of people came to an end, the German police force put out a statement advising Brits returning to Germany after the New Year to apply for a Fiktionsbescheinigung from their local Foreigner’s Office (Ausländerbehörde).

This is a kind of provisional certificate recognising that you have registered your residence in Germany with the Foreigner’s Office and stating that they are in the process of issuing your card. It can be used as proof of residency in order to leave and re-enter Germany without getting a passport stamp.

At the time, however, the border services also acknowledged that Covid could make it difficult for Brits to always get a Fiktionsbescheinigung in time for their journey. Plus the certificate does cost a fee. 

READ ALSO: How Brits in the UK can get back to Germany in the New Year

“The border authorities have therefore been instructed to initially recognise other certificates as proof of the right of residence from January 1st, 2021. These can be, for example, registration certificates, tenancy agreements or even employment contracts,” they said. 

So, where do things stand now? Well, once again, the Fiktionsbescheinigung is probably the best port of call. The added bonus of taking this route is that it presents an opportunity to gently remind the Ausländerbehörde that they should aim to issue your residence card GB as soon as possible. (Just as a heads up: they are supposed to have issued these by the end of the year.) 

Other evidence you can use

If the provisional certificate can’t be issued in time, ask for a simple letter from the Ausländerbehörde confirming that you have informed them of your residence in Germany, or simply bring your Meldebescheinigung – official proof that you are registered at a German address – with you on your travels. 

As everyone has to register their address by law in Germany, you should have this somewhere in your home, but if it’s been mislaid, don’t fret – your local Bürgeramt will be happy to reissue one for you (though there may be a small fee). 

If none of these things are available, the Bundespolizei (federal police) confirmed to us on Thursday that other evidence such as a health insurance card, recent pensions statement or employment contract, or electricity bill can still be used. 

This should help you avoid being treated as a British tourist when you enter the country again, which could result in getting a stamp in your passport, which indicates that you are only supposed to be in the country for up to 90 days. 

What happens if they stamp my passport?

If your passport does get stamped in error when you re-enter the country, this doesn’t affect your rights in Germany in the long term. 

“UK nationals who were legally resident in Germany prior to the end of the transition period on December 31st 2020, and are therefore subject to the Withdrawal Agreement should not have their passports stamped when re-entering Germany,” the British Embassy told The Local.

READ ALSO: Passport stamps: What British residents in the EU need to know when crossing borders

“However, a stamp in your passport does not alter your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, such as your right to reside here and to receive a new residence document.”

Furthermore, since Brits don’t need a visa to enter an EU country for up to 90 days, you don’t need to worry about being allowed across the border if you can’t prove your residency right. This sort of situation is “not a problem,” a spokesperson for the police told us.

It does get trickier if you’re returning from somewhere outside the EU where Covid-related travel restrictions are in place, however. If that’s the case, it’s imperative you are able to prove your residency with a Fiktionsbescheinigung or Meldebescheinigung in order to be sure that you’ll be allowed back in. 

Member comments

  1. What happens if one is outside the EU and *loses* the Fiktionsbescheinigung or Meldebescheinigung? Are consular services available to German non-citizen residents?

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

As European travellers prepare for the introduction of enhanced passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System (EES), many readers have asked us what this means for the '90-day rule' for non-EU citizens.

Published: 1 May 2024 07:18 CEST
Reader question: How do the EU's new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

From the start date to the situation for dual nationals and non-EU residents living in the EU, it’s fair to say that readers of The Local have a lot of questions about the EU’s new biometric passport check system known as EES.

You can find our full Q&A on how the new system will work HERE, or leave us your questions HERE.

And one of the most commonly-asked questions was what the new system changes with regards to the 90-day rule – the rule that allows citizens of certain non-EU countries (including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without needing a visa.

And the short answer is – nothing. The key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any rules on immigration, visas etc.

Therefore the 90-day rule continues as it is – but what EES does change is the enforcement of the rule.

90 days 

The 90-day rule applies to citizens of a select group of non-EU countries;

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela.

Citizens of these countries can spend up to 90 days in every 180 within the EU or Schengen zone without needing a visa or residency permit.

People who are citizens of neither the EU/Schengen zone nor the above listed countries need a visa even for short trips into the EU – eg an Indian or Chinese tourist coming for a two-week holiday would require a visa. 

In total, beneficiaries of the 90-day rule can spend up to six months in the EU, but not all in one go. They must limit their visits so that in any 180-day (six month) period they have spent less than 90 days (three months) in the Bloc.

READ ALSO How does the 90-day rule work?

The 90 days are calculated according to a rolling calendar so that at any point in the year you must be able to count backwards to the last 180 days, and show that you have spent less than 90 of them in the EU/Schengen zone.

You can find full details on how to count your days HERE.

If you wish to spend more than 90 days at a time you will have to leave the EU and apply for a visa for a longer stay. Applications must be done from your home country, or via the consulate of your home country if you are living abroad.

Under EES 90-day rule beneficiaries will still be able to travel visa free (although ETIAS will introduce extra changes, more on that below).

EES does not change either the rule or how the days are calculated, but what it does change is the enforcement.

Enforcement

One of the stated aims of the new system is to tighten up enforcement of ‘over-stayers’ – that is people who have either overstayed the time allowed on their visa or over-stayed their visa-free 90 day period.

At present border officials keep track of your time within the Bloc via manually stamping passports with the date of each entry and exit to the Bloc. These stamps can then be examined and the days counted up to ensure that you have not over-stayed.

The system works up to a point – stamps are frequently not checked, sometimes border guards incorrectly stamp a passport or forget to stamp it as you leave the EU, and the stamps themselves are not always easy to read.

What EES does is computerise this, so that each time your passport is scanned as you enter or leave the EU/Schengen zone, the number of days you have spent in the Bloc is automatically tallied – and over-stayers will be flagged.

For people who stick to the limits the system should – if it works correctly – actually be better, as it will replace the sometimes haphazard manual stamping system.

But it will make it virtually impossible to over-stay your 90-day limit without being detected.

The penalties for overstaying remain as they are now – a fine, a warning or a ban on re-entering the EU for a specified period. The penalties are at the discretion of each EU member state and will vary depending on your personal circumstances (eg how long you over-stayed for and whether you were working or claiming benefits during that time).

ETIAS 

It’s worth mentioning ETIAS at this point, even though it is a completely separate system to EES, because it will have a bigger impact on travel for many people.

ETIAS is a different EU rule change, due to be introduced some time after EES has gone live (probably in 2025, but the timetable for ETIAS is still somewhat unclear).

It will have a big impact on beneficiaries of the 90-day rule, effectively ending the days of paperwork-free travel for them.

Under ETIAS, beneficiaries of the 90-rule will need to apply online for a visa waiver before they travel. Technically this is a visa waiver rather than a visa, but it still spells the end of an era when 90-day beneficiaries can travel without doing any kind of immigration paperwork.

If you have travelled to the US in recent years you will find the ETIAS system very similar to the ESTA visa waiver – you apply online in advance, fill in a form and answer some questions and are sent your visa waiver within a couple of days.

ETIAS will cost €7 (with an exemption for under 18s and over 70s) and will last for three years.

Find full details HERE. 

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