What are my options after graduating from a German university?

Question

Hello, I want to make an enquiry, my wife/partner has a study permit in France, she came to Germany last year to give birth. She went back to the germany Consulate in france to apply for family reunification based on marriage after given birth in germany, but she was denied, so I personally contacted the ausländerbehörde to know why, they said I am a student and I was not married before coming to germany, months later I contacted a lawyer and the lawyer wrote to the immigration office in germany requesting that she should be considered for §30 abs 1 or §25 abs 5 and that my child should be given §33 abs 1 or §32 or §25 abs 5

(die Erteilung einer Aufenthaltserlaubnis
gem. § 30 Abs. 1 AufenthG, hilfsweise gem. § 25 Abs. 5 AufenthG. Namens und in Vollmacht des Kindes R**** beantrage ich die
Erteilung einer Aufenthaltserlaubnis gem. § 33 Abs. 1 AufenthG,
hilfsweise gem. § 32 AufenthG, weiter hilfsweise gem. § 25 Abs. 5
AufenthG.
Begründung:
Der Ehemann bzw. Vater meiner Mandanten ist im Besitz einer Fiktionsbescheinigung gem. § 81 Abs.
4 AufenthG aufgrund der Aufenthaltserlaubnis zu Studienzwecken nach § 16b Abs. 1 AufenthG.
Das Kind R***** ist im Bundesgebiet geboten. Anliegend überreiche ich
– eine Kopie der Geburtsurkunde.
Ihr sollte von Amtswegen eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis gem. § 33 AufenthG erteilt werden.
Ferner überreiche ich anliegend
– eine Kopie der französischen Aufenthaltserlaubnis der Kindesmutter.
Ich bitte um Mitteilung, welche Unterlagen Sie für die abschließende Prüfung benötigen. Zudem bitte
ich um Ausstellung einer Fiktionsbescheinigung gem. § 81 Abs. 3 AufenthG, damit meine Mandanten
sich hier ausweisen können)

Some months later, the ausländerbehörde gave the mother and the child a Fiktionsbescheinigung gem. § 81 Abs. 3 AufenthG, for 6 months, but before the end of that 6 months, I graduated from (IU berlin), then I went back to change to post study visa, and they gave me another § 81 Abs. 4 AufenthG but Written siehe visum and on my wife they gave her another fictionbeschingung which says Siehe französisches Visum im Pass but now with §81 abs 4, and they told both of us that we can only work 20 hours per week but if any of us get a job that could give us option to switch visa that we should come back and apply for a residence permit or if she land an Ausbildung and a few weeks later, she got a part-time job with kaufland which she has been doing since almost 6 months now, so I decided to apply for university admission for her. So we went to the ausländerbehörde last month, and they gave her appointment and what she needed to bring for the appointment next week,  but here is my question:

How can this help my own situation, becuase the man at the ausländerbehörde asked me that "what about you, how do you want to do your own extensions since you haven't gotten a qualifying job for section 18 or bluecard and my response to him was that I am still searching but he should proceed with her own" We have only a few days to her appointment now, and I am wondering what what's next for me and my child on our stay. Although I am working part-time but I can ask the company to change it to full time. I need to change my status with can at least give me a residence card and not fictionbeschingung again.

Is it possible for me to change to a dependant on her, or can my work permit them to give me another residence status such as § 19 or any other.

Answer 1

Hello and thank you for reaching out to us again.

I saw that my colleague Éanna provided already some information on your wife's options in one of your ealier opened threads here.

Regarding your perspecitves: After successfully completing a degree at a German university, you have the option of obtaining a residence permit for 18 months to search for a job. You can find more information on this here at “Make it in Germany.” If you found a job, you may apply for a residence permit according to section §18b of the German Residence Act. One of the requirements is that you have a concrete job offer from an employer in Germany. It is important that this is a qualified position. This means that a university degree or qualified vocational training is usually required to perform this job. Unskilled work is therefore not sufficient.
The job does not have to be related to your qualifications. However, you will need a license to practice your profession if you want to work in a regulated profession.

Here some information on the "Fiktionsbescheinigung" since there seem to be some confusion (source):

In certain circumstances, a person who has applied for a residence permit is considered to be legally resident until a decision has been made on their application. This is the case, for example, if a person does not have a residence permit but is nevertheless legally resident in Germany – such as persons who enter without a visa and are allowed to stay in Germany for a certain period of time (e.g., US, Canadian, Israeli, and Japanese nationals).

This so-called “fictitious permission/Fiktionsbescheinigung” is certified with a fictitious certificate in accordance with Section 81 (3) of the Residence Act

The fiction of continued validity pursuant to Section 81 (4) of the Residence Act must be distinguished from the fiction of permission. This applies in cases where a person already has a residence permit and applies for its extension or for the issuance of another residence permit before it expires. In this case, the old residence permit continues to exist with all legal consequences (e.g., access to the labor market, entitlement to social benefits) until a decision is made on the new application. In this case, too, there is an entitlement to a certificate of fiction.

Anyone who has a provisional residence permit in accordance with Section 81 (4) of the Residence Act can travel abroad and return to Germany legally. This is not possible with a provisional residence permit in accordance with Section 81 (3) of the Residence Act. The difference is that in the case of Section 81 (4) of the Residence Act, an existing residence permit is considered to be valid, which means that the entry requirement of possessing a valid residence permit is fulfilled. In the case of Section 81 (3) of the Residence Act, this is different because only the stay is considered to be permitted without a residence permit.

I hope this helps and please don't hesitate to get back to us with any further questions.

All the best,

Meike