Niederlassungserlaubnis too longer than expected

Question

Hello Guys. Any advice is welcome. I've applied for a settlement permit since July this year, until now I don't have a physical card. ABH said it will take 6-8 weeks to get the physical card in the mail. I sent them a reminder when it was a 8 week wait, they replied and said it still
on checkeing... I wrote to them again when it was 3 month waiting,  no response from them til today (almost 5 Months waiting).  My question: Has anyone experienced this before? Is there anything I can do to make them respond? Should I hire a lawyer?
Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Dear @Emmytender,

I don’t think a lawyer should be necessary at this point. You could for now seek assistance from a free migrant counselling service (if you let us know what part of Germany you are in we can let you know where to find one) who can advocate on your behalf with the Ausländerbehörde.

One option would be to write them and describe in detail the situation: how long you’ve been waiting, the lack of communication on their part and any difficulties the lack of the physical card is causing you. I would set a deadline (two weeks) and state an intention to potentially file a legal action if the card is not issued by then.

The legal action is called a ‘Untätigkeitsklage. It’s possible to do when an administrative office (for example the Ausländerbehörde) does not act on a matter within three months. However, in your case it sounds as though they have granted you a settlement permit already, you just don’t have the actual card. I would therefore advise the action as described above (letter, description, deadline) before considering legal action.

Best,

Éanna

Comments

Hi Eanna, good news...I got it on Friday after serious talks with ABH on Thursday. Thanks for your good info.

Please I have another..  how can I add my middle name officially in Deutschland? I mean how is the process or where to go?
Appreciate in Advance.
Merry Christmas

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Dear @mbeon-Éanna,

I hope you are doing well. I am also in the same situation but a lot more worse form. I currently have Blue card and applied for Niederlassungserlaubnis on 13.06.2024. It has been four months now and never heard from ABH whereas at the time of documents submission and fingerprint, I was told to receive letter from ABH in four weeks. I wrote them many many times to ask about the progress on my application but never got any response. Yesterday I visited the ABH information desk and found they have not even started to process my application yet. I am mentally very disturbed due to this situation and my mental health is deteriorating due to anxiety and stress. Could you please help me out how to deal with ABH is this situation? Thank you!

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Hi @Jordan123 

I’m sorry to hear how the situation is affecting you. It seems your situation is a bit different than the original question on this topic. As far as I could tell, the delay there was with issuing the actual permit card, rather than processing the application for a Niederlassungserlaubnis. Your application is still being processed and so may take still quite some time. 

Unfortunately, I cannot give you a concrete time frame for how long it will take. It depends on the caseload at your local Ausländerbehörde. Also, a Niederlassungslerlaubnis application will take longer than for example just renewing your Blue Card. It is a permanent residency status and so the authorities will **** more closely at your situation, such as making a prognosis whether you will be financially self-sufficient in the future. 

If you are no longer willing to wait, then you can obtain the services of a lawyer. They can file a lawsuit of inactivity against the Ausländerbehörde as I mentioned in my original answer. However, this should only be done if you are confident that you have a good chance of being successful. You should first discuss in detail with a lawyer the details of your situation and what exactly has happened with regard to your application so far. 

Best, 

Éanna