Residence Permit 19d Inquiry and Marriage

Question

Dear Wefugees Community,

Quick background on my question: I'm 23 years old from Libya. I have a refused asylum case since 2020 and have been living with a Duldung, but I have also attented univeristy for 3 and a half years and recently graduated and got a decent job offer. Since the beginning of this year the Auslanderbehoerde stated that I will be issued a residence permit (25a to be exact). And I have filled the form and send all my papers.

Now given that I got a decent job offer with my degree I stated that I am eligible for residence permit 18a or 18b (EU Blue card) as I have read all the requirements and I have them all fulfilled but the civil worker stated that I will be issued 19d given that I got concrete job offer.

My question now is, am I eligible for the permit 18a or 18b given that I fit all the requirements BUT that I currently have a Duldung. And should I insist on one of them rather than 19d or is that a lost cause. I am not being greedy here, I know 19d has very similar advantages but I really want to get married to my girlfriend of 5 years in the next year and a half or so. I mean being seperated for 4 years of those 5 is too much but we kept good contact. So any advice on what to do? Can I get her here from my home country with a 19d permit and marriage (I read it is hard)? Shall I insist on 18a or 18b as they have easier family reunification advantages? Thank you very much.

Best Regards

Answer 1

Dear @moejojo

The only option available to you is 19d. As you have a Duldung, you cannot be issued with a permit like 18b without leaving the country. You could return to your home country and apply for a visa to re-enter Germany for work. If you wish to stay in Germany, you first have to take 19d. People with 19d can only bring their spouse to Germany if they were already married when the permit is issued. The authorities have some discretion in this and so your partner can still make a visa application at the German embassy once you have been issued with 19d.

Family reunification is easier with 18b. I have not found any clear guideline on how long a person has to have 19d before being able to switch to another permit such as 18b. You could apply for 18b once you are issued with 19d. The authorities may first tell you to complete the probation period of your job (Probezeit), or they may issue you with 19d for a year and then enable you to switch. It would be worth your while requesting 18b and if they reject it, seeing on what legal grounds they do so.

Best,

Éanna

Comments

Thats great advice thanks as it lead me find that it is possible to apply for EU Blue Card within Germany when someone has a residence permit see here: https://***.bamf.de/EN/Themen/MigrationAufenthalt/ZuwandererDrittstaaten/Migrathek/BlaueKarteEU/blauekarteeu-node.html#:~:text=Individuals%20who%20are%20already%20living%20in%20Germany%20and%20hold%20another%20residence%20title%20may%20file%20an%20application%20for%20the%20EU%20Blue%20Card%20with%20the%20immigration%20authority%20competent%20for%20their%20place%20of%20residence.
And as I meet the requirments for it I should be able to then get it issued. I moved cities due to the work so hopefully after the Probezeit of 6 months the new Immigration Office should hopefully issue it. Any more advice on what else to do besides this plan? (P.S. I will be recieving the permit next Thursday)

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You're welcome! Yes the Blue Card is issued also under paragraph 18b. There is the regular permit for qualified workers according to paragraph 18b, section 1. Then there is the Blue Card for a specific group of qualified workers according to 18b, section 2.

If you fulfil the Blue Card requirements, then you should get 18b, section 2. As I wrote, once you're issued with 19d you can in theory immiedately apply for it. But yes, the authorities may tell you to wait until the end of the Probezeit. Best of luck with the new job!