German residence permit


The German residence permit is a document issued to non-EU citizens living in Germany.
Prior to 1 September 2011, residence permits and additional provisions were affixed to pages inside the passport. Today, residence permits are issued as ID-1 plastic cards and the additional provisions are printed on a separate sheet of paper, so that residents have to possess up to three different documents: a passport from their country of citizenship, their residence permit, and the supplementary sheet. Carrying passports and residence cards is only compulsory when crossing borders. Within Germany, it is sufficient to know where they are and to show them to the police within a reasonable amount of time, when requested.

Legal aspects

Types of residence permits

Limited residence permit

A limited residence permit is valid for a certain period of time and is issued for a certain purpose:
The Aufenthaltserlaubnis does not automatically grant the right to work; instead the permission to work must be explicitly mentioned in the document.

Unlimited residence permit

An unlimited residence permit is a permanent residence permit. It grants the right to live and work in Germany under EU law. A foreigner receives a settlement permit if:
Additional provisions are stored on the chip and are printed on a supplementary sheet which must be kept together with the residence permit.

Physical appearance

Since 1 September 2011, the residence permit is issued as ID-1 plastic cards with an embedded RFID chip. It is covered with multi-colour guillochés and appears pink-blue from the distance. All information on it is given only in German.

Front side

The front side shows the symbol for biometric travel documents, the German Eagle, the European bull, and the words "AUFENTHALTSTITEL" and "RESIDENCE PERMIT". It contains the following information:
The back side contains the following informaion:
The three-line machine-readable zone on the back side contains the following information:

First line

positionstextmeaning
1-2ARresidence permit
3Dissuing country: Germany
6-14alphanumeric digitsdocument number
15decimal digitcheck digit over 6-14

Second line

positionstextmeaning
1-6decimal digitsdate of birth
7decimal digitcheck digit over 1-6
8alphabetic digitsex
9-14decimal digitsdate of expire of corresponding passport
15decimal digitcheck digit over 9-14
16-18alphabetic digitsnationality of holder
30decimal digitcheck digit over 6-30, 1-7, 9-15, 19-29

Third line

positionstextmeaning
1-30alphabetic digits<<alphabetic digitsSURNAME<

Empty spaces are represented by "<".

Chip

The residence permit contains a RFID chip. The chip stores the information given on the document, the holder's picture and, if the holder is at least six years old, also his/her fingerprints. The additional provisions are also stored on the chip. In addition, the new ID card can be used for online authentification. An electronic signature, provided by a private company, can also be stored on the chip.
The document number, the photo and the fingerprints can be read only by law enforcement agencies and some other authorities.
To use the online authentification function, the holder needs a six-digit decimal PIN. If the holder types in the wrong PIN, he has to type in the six-digit decimal access code given on the document to prove he/she really possesses the document. If the wrong PIN is used three times, a PUK must be used to unlock the chip.
The data on the chip are protected by Basic Access Control and Extended Access Control.

Security features

The residence permit contains the following security features:
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