Once you are settled with apartment and insurances and by this time, you might have completed 2 months in Germany and hence received 2 month’s salary! Now it’s time to apply for Resident Permit. You might have an employment visa from India which is usually valid for six months and you have to convert it into a resident permit before its expiry.
The Blue Card is a residence permit that allows highly skilled non-EU citizens to live and work in Germany. In Munich, the Blue Card is issued by the Foreigners' Office (Ausländerbehörde) of the city.
Now the process of applying the resident permit is not too difficult but require certain documents before you apply it online.
Your Employment Contract
EZB Document
2 Months’ salary statement
City Registration
These are the prerequisite before you can apply for the resident permit. Once you have all these documents, you are ready to apply. However, there are few more documents which you need but you already have those:
Passport
University Degree Copy (In English or German)
Application form – Can be downloaded from the website
Recognition of the foreign university degree - It can be checked at Anabin database
Once you have all these documents you can apply the resident permit online. You can find the link on the website - https://stadt.muenchen.de.
If you can’t find the link, you can access the site by clicking on the blow mentioned link: https://stadt.muenchen.de/en/info/immigration-online-services.html
You will see a page; you can translate it into English and then click on Blue Card EU.
You will see a new page with a title Academic employment (EU Blue Card)
To start your process, click on Start. Now you will see a page asking for optional registration. You can either register at the site or can continue applying for the blue card without registration. However, my suggestion is to do the registration before applying for the blue card.
Once you are registered, you can continue with your application.
On the first screen, you need to confirm whether you are registered and living in Munich. If you have done your city registration in Munich, select Yes and click on Further.
On the next page, you are required to upload your documents. On the first question, you need to select if you are being represented by a Lawyer or Agent – assuming you don’t have any since you are following this DIY guide, select No.
On the second question, select Yes since you already started working.
On the third question, please select appropriate option – whether you have a German University Degree or Foreign University Degree.
Note: When you select Foreign University degree, a new option will appear towards the bottom asking for “reorganization of the foreign university degree”. We will discuss it later when we arrive at that question.
On the next question, upload the filled in Application form. You can find a sample filled application form in the support section.
For passport, you need to upload copy of your passport (first and last page containing your identity and address information). In addition to this, you need to upload the VISA page and entry stamp. For this section, you can upload multiple copies unlike other questions wherein you will have option to upload only one document.
For the next question, please upload your highest qualification degree certificate.
If your degree is not in English or German, you need to have it translated in either language (by sworn translators) and upload the copy here. If your degree is already in English or German, you can simply upload the same document here.
For this question wherein they are asking for Recognition of Foreign University Degree, you need to upload the extract of your university and degree from the Anabin Database. Please follow the page “Settle in Munich – A guide to validate University and Degree from Anabin”.
On the employment contract question, upload your signed employment contract (should be signed by both parties).
For Declaration of Employment, upload the EZB document which you would have received for your visa application. This is a 6-page document with “Make it in Germany” written on the first page and it is singed by employer (usually HR) on the last page.
For the proof of income, you need to upload your last 2 months salary statement. This is the precise reason why we are applying the blue card after 2 months of working in Germany!
If you want, you can add any notes, provide any clarification on the uploaded documentation in the last section. If you don’t have anything, leave it blank.
Note: Ensure that your documents are either in JPG, JPEG, PNG, or PDF format and are either in English or German Language. You can use different format for different documents but the collective size of all the attachment should not exceed 22 MB in total.
Click Further once you have uploaded everything. On the next page, you need to provide your personal identification information.
Click Further once all the mandatory information is filled in.
This is the last page, and it will just show the summary of the information you have provided/uploaded so far in the application form.
Just validate whether all the information is accurate! Select the check boxes towards the bottom and click Further. This will submit your blue card application. You may receive an email confirming that your application and documents are submitted.
Once you submitted the document, you need to wait for the Foreigners' Office (Ausländerbehörde) email informing you your appointment date for biometric fingerprinting. This may take close to 4-8 weeks from the date of submission. You need to carry your original documents (all documents which you have uploaded while filling the application), one biometric photograph and cash/Girocard for the appointment.
Again, you need to show the confirmation email to the security personnel before entering the building and wait in the respective waiting area. Once your token number is displayed, you need to visit the displayed room for your fingerprinting and photograph scanning. Foreigners' Office (Ausländerbehörde) will provide you a letter of confirmation with tentative timeline for receiving the Blue Card Resident Permit.
You will receive your Resident Permit and Pin by post on your mailing address. Usually, the processing time is 4-6 weeks from the date of appointment. However, for some people, they were asked to visit the Foreigners' Office (Ausländerbehörde) to collect their Blue Card Resident permit. Follow the process as described in the letter to pick up your Blue Card Resident Permit.
Note: Your Blue Card Resident Permit is usually valid for 4 years, unless your passport is expiring earlier. In this case, your resident permit will have the same validity.
We hope you find it informative and helpful as you embark on this exciting new chapter in your life in one of Germany's most dynamic and exciting cities.
Please refer to the official website of City of Munich for updated information.
Cover Photo: Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash