-
According to § 5, para. 1, no. 1 of the Residence Law, eligibility for being granted a residence title is dependent on one's livelihood being secured. According to Section 2, paragraph 3, clause 1 of the German Residence Act, livelihood also constitutes adequate health insurance cover. Having sufficient health insurance for entering the country is a requirement for visa procedures.
No. A modification of project content or a change to the objectives of a research project will not result in the forfeiture of a residence permit, nor does it require a new hosting agreement for the same researcher, provided that the researcher's work still qualifies as 'research' as defined in the Researcher Directive and in the Ordinance on Residence. This is stated in Section 18d, Paragraph 5 of the German Residence Act.
A secure means of subsistence during the guest academic's stay in the host country is an important precondition for issuing a visa and residence permit. Whether someone is able to cover their living expenses in the host country depends on the amount of the fellowship and the sponsorship period.
In any event, the facts regarding the amount and the sponsorship period must be accurate. If this is not the case, it can lead to a refusal of the application or an early termination of the stay. Moreover, the guest academic and responsible officials at the host university would face being penalised by the immigration authorities for giving false information during the application process. The amount and the sponsorship period of the fellowship should therefore only be disclosed if there has been a binding decision on these matters and only by the office responsible for awarding the fellowship. -
The length of time for which a residence title is granted is strictly at the discretion of the Immigration Office.
If a residence permit is issued for the purpose of research (Section 18d German Residence Act) the law requires it to be issued for a "minimum duration" of one year. Thus, Immigration Offices cannot be forced to set a time frame of more than one year for the residence permit year from the outset.A 90-day visitor's visa (Schengen visa) does not entitle you to enter the country for a period of more than 90 days, nor to enter the country for the purpose of employment.
It is essential to apply for a national visa in India from the start covering the intended research position. Once you have entered the country, you will need to apply for the relevant residence permit. This application should generally be submitted three months or less before the expiration of your national visa.
-
Citizens of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have the right to stay in Germany for purposes of research under EU freedom of movement legislation. This right extends to members of their family, meaning that they are allowed to enter Germany. Family members are defined as a spouse and children under the age of 21, even if they are citizens of a third country. Therefore, it is not a problem if the child of a Norwegian and a French citizen has American citizenship.
Family members of those who have freedom of movement, but are not citizens of the European Union themselves, need to apply for and be issued a residence permit for family members of European Union citizens once they have registered as residents in Germany. The residence permit will then be valid for five years. For the application, the familial relationship to the EU citizen must be proven. In this case, evidence that the child is related to its parents will need to be provided.
Family members generally require a visa to enter the country. Citizens of several countries, as in this case the American child, are able to enter Germany without a visa for family reunification purposes to apply for this permit.
N.B.: If a researcher with German nationality returns to Germany accompanied by family members who are neither German citizens nor a citizen of a country whose citizens have the right to freedom of movement, their family members also have the right to a residence permit. They are, however, is subject to different regulations under the Residence Law and other requirements will generally apply.
Spouses can get a residence title if their livelihood in Germany is secured. To this extent, the size of the fellowship or salary may be relevant. Unmarried partners will not be granted a residence permit unless they can provide their own reasons for staying in Germany.
-
A researcher from a non-EU country holds a residence permit for a stay in Ireland. She wants to travel to another EU-country short-term in order to attend a conference. Which residence law regulations apply? Would the case be different if the residence permit had been issued by France?
Ireland is not a member of the Schengen area. A residence permit for Ireland does not entitle you to travel to the Schengen area. The researcher, therefore, would need a visa in order to attend a conference in a Schengen state if her nationality does not allow for visa-free entry into the Schengen area for short periods.
If the residence permit had been issued by France, the researcher would already be within the Schengen area. For this reason, she could then travel to any other Schengen state for up to three months on the basis of her French residence permit. Some EU member states that are not part of the Schengen area, such as Ireland, would also require the holder of a French residence permit to have a visa to travel to the country.
Like Germany, Spain is a signatory of the Schengen Agreement. In order to enter Germany and Spain, a Schengen visa or the ability to travel to the Schengen area without a visa for short visits would suffice if the total time spent in the Schengen area would be 90 days or less.
-
In May, a German university intends to employ a researcher of South African nationality, who is currently resident in Italy, for a period of three to four years. However, as she will be sent, or rather, delegated to a research centre in Switzerland for the duration of her contract, she will not actually need to come to the German university. She will be resident in Switzerland. This raises some legal issues for us in respect of social security, tax and residence. In which state is she registered for tax and social security purposes? In which country does she acquire pension rights? How and where should she contribute towards her healthcare insurance? Does she actually need a German residence permit?
As a foreign national, you only need a work and residence permit for the country in which you reside in order to fulfil the obligations of your employment contract. The location of the employer's headquarters is irrelevant here. The researcher therefore only requires a residence permit for Switzerland and not for Germany. She is registered for tax, social security and healthcare insurance purposes in the country in which she carries out her employment, therefore in Switzerland. There is no requirement for her to be registered in Germany for tax or social security purposes. The German university should therefore pay her salary without deducting income tax.
The researcher is responsible for her own income tax affairs in Switzerland. In respect of social security it should be noted that she will be working for an employer not domiciled in Switzerland. Accordingly, the employee is responsible for the payment of any relevant social security contributions herself. In Switzerland this type of contribution is known as ANobAG ("Arbeitnehmer ohne beitragspflichtigen Arbeitgeber"). The salary should be paid to the researcher without deducting the employee’s social security contributions. The employer's share of the social security contributions that the employee is required to pay herself may be subsidised by an additional payment from the employer. Depending on the length of her employment in Switzerland, the researcher may acquire an entitlement to a Swiss pension. -
If someone fails to de-register at the end of a stay in Germany, will s/he have to pay a fine if s/he wishes to stay in Germany again or is there a margin of discretion which allows you to avoid having to pay the fine? How much would the fine be?
According to Federal and State (Länder) Registration Laws you are obliged to de-register with the registration authorities if you move out of one residence and do not move into a new residence in Germany. If you fail to de-register you have committed an offence. The decision to prosecute this offence is at the discretion of the prosecuting authorities, who usually initiate administrative fines proceedings immediately.
Administrative fines proceedings may be suspended if it can be proven that the person in question acted in good faith. Lack of knowledge of registration regulations is not usually a safeguard against the imposition of an administrative fine because, as the registrant, you are duty-bound to inform yourself about the requirements. If the registrant is a foreigner s/he could try to plead that s/he did not know of all the details of German registration requirements and was unaware of the obligation to inform her-/himself about them.
In most Länder the framework of fines for offences against registration obligations can range up to 500 euro. In the case of failure to de-register, an administrative fine of 50 euro to 120 euro is usually imposed. However, the fine generall increases the longer de-registration does not take place. Therefore, if a considerable period has elapsed between the failure to de-register and the new stay in Germany, the amount could be twice as much.
When moving residence within Germany, it is not necessary to de-register, merely to register at the new place of residence. The new registration authorities will inform the previous registration authorities about the de-registration internally.
Please note that EURAXESS Germany is only able to provide general information and we therefore will not assume any liability for any information given. Information provided should not be seen as substituting that of an expert in pertinent fields.

