Germany – contingency measures

Ausländerbehörde

If the UK leaves under the withdrawal deal, Germany will apply the transition period which ends on 31 December 2020 safeguarding the rights of UK nationals. A voluntary registration system will be implemented by the German Federal immigration authorities (Ausländerbehörde).

Bundesrat

In the no-deal situation, Germany plans to exempt UK citizens and their dependents from residence permits for the first three months after the Brexit date. A further six-month extension is subject to the consensus of the German Senate (Bundesrat). During the transition period, UK citizens would need to apply for residence status under the third country nationals’ regime.

UK citizens arriving after the withdrawal date are exempted from the requirement of a residence permit for only the first three months after the Brexit date. After that, this group will be granted the same privileges as those allowed to citizens of the USA, Canada and Japan initially until the end of 2020. This means they will be allowed to apply for residence title after entry, and have unlimited access to the labour market.

After the transitional period, the third-country nationals’ regime will apply to newcomers.

Bundesländer

In Germany the Federal States (Bundesländer) are responsible for the application procedures and for issuing permits. Some cities, including Frankfurt, have already started contacting UK citizens.