Residence Status: Permanent residence (Niederlassungserlaubnis / Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EU)

Status ID: RS-012

Slug: permanent_residence (must match ResidenceStatus in frontend/src/lib/situation-requirements.ts)

Version: 1.1

Status: Source-reviewed (agent fleet, 2026-08-28) — 38/38 facts verified; 5 corrected; approval pending human sign-off

Primary legal basis: §§ 9, 9a AufenthG

Jurisdiction: Federal (+ local variation where noted)

Risk level: Medium

Last reviewed: 2026-08-28

Next review due: 2026-09-25 (file carries volatile figures — fees — 30-day cycle)

Owner: AusHelp Knowledge Team

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Scope and disclaimer

Informational guidance only — not legal advice. All claims derive from official public

sources (Level A–C per standards/source-policy.md). Verify critical decisions with the

responsible authority or a qualified immigration advisor.

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1. Overview

Permanent residence exists in two parallel forms. The Niederlassungserlaubnis (§ 9 AufenthG)

is the national settlement permit: unlimited in time and area, free of ancillary conditions

except where a statute expressly allows them. The Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EU

(§ 9a AufenthG) implements EU Directive 2003/109/EC; inside Germany it is equivalent, but it

adds long-term-resident mobility rights in other EU member states and materially better

absence rules.

The standard national route requires five years holding an Aufenthaltserlaubnis plus nine

conditions — secured livelihood, 60 months of pension contributions, German at B1, basic civic

knowledge, adequate housing, work authorisation and occupational licences, and no

public-security objection (3.2–3.9). Statutory fast tracks shorten this sharply for skilled

workers, Blue Card holders, the self-employed, protection holders, family of Germans, and

minors who grew up here (4.2).

Two things are chronically misunderstood. First, the right and the card are different:

the permit never expires, the eAT that evidences it lasts at most ten years and must then be

reissued (3.13). Second, a permanent permit is still losable — mainly by leaving for a reason

that is by its nature not temporary, or by not returning within six months (3.19–3.23).

Finally, naturalisation now requires five years under § 10 Abs. 1 StAG for everyone: the

three-year accelerated route added in 2024 has been repealed, and § 10 Abs. 3 StAG reads

"(weggefallen)" (4.5, OQ-6).

2. Legal basis

3. Key facts

One row per atomic claim. Verified flips to yes only after /source-review.

4. Processes

4.1 First issuance and choice of route (P1, P2)

Preconditions: the five-year period (3.2), recomputed with the crediting rules 3.34–3.36, plus

the nine conditions 3.3–3.9. The file turns on three items: the Versicherungsverlauf proving

60 months (3.4), income evidence, and language plus civic proof — an integration-course

certificate covers both (3.10), otherwise B1 plus the "Leben in Deutschland" test. LEA Berlin

also requires being of age, health insurance and a Berlin main residence (SRC-274); fees are in

3.37–3.38; applying before the current permit expires triggers Fiktionswirkung (§ 81, SRC-002).

Inside Germany § 9 and § 9a are equivalent (§ 9a Abs. 1), so the choice turns on EU mobility

(3.26), on which condition set is easier — § 9 demands 60 pension months, § 9a does not (3.31)

but applies the stricter § 9c test and excludes several groups (3.33) — and on the absence

rules, which strongly favour § 9a for long stays abroad (3.23 vs. 3.20).

4.2 Fast tracks (P4–P10)

Each has its own clock. § 18c Abs. 1: three years on a skilled-worker title with 36 months of

contributions and B1 — two years and 24 months after a German qualification. § 18c Abs. 2:

27 months holding an EU Blue Card with 27 months of contributions and A1 German — 21 months with

B1. § 9 Abs. 3a: spouse of a § 18c holder after three years, working ≥ 20 h/week, meeting

§ 9 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 2 and 4–9. § 21 Abs. 4: three years self-employed, the activity successful

and expected to develop sustainably, livelihood secured, § 9 Abs. 2 S. 1 Nr. 4 met. **§ 26

Abs. 3:** five years for § 25 Abs. 1–2 holders with asylum-procedure time counted, or three years

where the person masters German (C1, § 2 Abs. 12) and livelihood is largely secured; § 26 Abs. 4

applies § 9 Abs. 2 S. 1 to other § 25 holders. § 28 Abs. 2: as a rule after three years, if

cohabitation with the German continues, no expulsion interest exists, and German is at B1.

§ 35 Abs. 1: on turning 16 after five years of permit; or as an adult after five years with

B1 and secured livelihood or ongoing recognised training.

4.3 The card, not the right (P3)

The eAT is a document under § 78 with a maximum ten-year validity. When it lapses the permanent

right persists (3.13) but the holder has no valid proof of it, which blocks employer checks,

travel and most counter transactions. LEA Berlin treats this as reissuance — also triggered by a

new passport — at €67.00 for adults (SRC-276). It is an administrative act, not a new grant, and

does not re-test the § 9 conditions.

4.4 Loss through absence (P13)

Two independent triggers under § 9: departure for a non-temporary reason (3.19) and non-return

within six months (3.20). The step before a long stay abroad is to apply in writing, before

leaving, for a longer re-entry period under § 51 Abs. 1 Nr. 7. Holders past 15 years have

statutory protection (3.22), Blue Card holders twelve months (3.21), Daueraufenthalt-EU holders

the far longer periods in 3.23. A returning holder whose title lapsed does not regain it.

4.5 Naturalisation as the real endpoint (P12)

§ 10 Abs. 1 StAG requires five years of lawful habitual residence, a qualifying title (unlimited

residence right, Swiss status, EU Blue Card, or a permit for a non-excluded purpose), and B1.

The three-year accelerated route added in 2024 is repealed: § 10 Abs. 3 StAG reads

"(weggefallen)" as fetched on 2026-08-26, the Sixth Act amending the StAG having entered into

force on 30 October 2025 (SRC-279). STRUGGLE_MAP.md Phase 6 is stale on this point (OQ-6).

5. Authorities and organisations

6. Common problems

7. Documents

8. Sources

9. Open questions and uncertainty

1. "Ausreichender Wohnraum" (3.9, PR7): § 9 sets no square-metre standard; the measure is administrative and Land-specific. Unverified — no figure stated anywhere in this file.
2. § 51 Abs. 10 scope (3.21): twelve months is confirmed for EU Blue Card holders and their family members. The fetch also suggested twelve months for Niederlassungserlaubnis holders aged 60+ — not stated as fact; needs verbatim confirmation of Abs. 10 and § 51 Abs. 2 S. 2.
3. § 9a Abs. 3 exclusion list (3.33): captured in summary; the complete Nr. 1–6 list needs verbatim confirmation before any user-facing "you are excluded" statement.
4. Fees (3.37): the €113 / €124 / €147 figures come from a summarising fetch of § 44 AufenthV, and no federal fee for the Erlaubnis zum Daueraufenthalt-EU was returned — the Berlin § 9a total (€109) implies a separate item exists. Volatile; re-verify monthly.
5. eAT card validity (3.13): the ten-year maximum is sourced only to LEA Berlin (Level C, SRC-276). § 78 was fetched and states no year figure (Abs. 2 refers to a "technische Kartennutzungsdauer"). A Level A/B confirmation is still owed.
6. StAG repeal (4.5, PR10): § 10 Abs. 3 StAG reads "(weggefallen)" (Level A, fetched), but the repealing act and its 30 October 2025 entry into force come from a BMI/Bundestag search result whose pages were not individually fetched (SRC-279) — confirm before publishing PR10. Consequence: STRUGGLE_MAP.md Phase 6 → Permanent status is stale (flagged, not edited here).
7. Directive 2003/109/EC (3.26, SRC-273): cited as the EU basis of § 9a but not fetched. Art. 11 equal treatment and Arts. 14–23 mobility conditions are claimed nowhere in this file; the ELI URL is the canonical pattern, unconfirmed.
8. Summarising fetches (4.2, P11): §§ 26 Abs. 3–4, 28 Abs. 2, 35 Abs. 1, 21 Abs. 4, 9 Abs. 3a and 38a Abs. 3–4 were read as summaries, not verbatim. Year counts are internally consistent, but § 26 Abs. 4's discretionary "kann", § 9 Abs. 3a's referenced condition set and the § 38a twelve-month work restriction need confirmation before workflows are built.
9. § 9c old-age provision (3.30–3.31): what counts as "angemessene Altersversorgung" for people without 60 statutory months is administrative practice — unverified. LEA Berlin's "waived if age 67+" note (SRC-275) is Level C only.
10. Register drift: the source register lists § 45 AufenthV as the fee source for residence permits; it does not cover the Niederlassungserlaubnis, which sits in § 44 AufenthV. The new SRC-278 row must be appended to sources/source-register.csv at source review.

10. Change log