Fiktionsbescheinigung: what it means, and whether you can work and travel with it
The paper you get while the Ausländerbehörde decides on your residence permit. The three kinds, which one lets you work and travel, and what to check before a trip.
Last checked: November 10, 2026
What it is
A Fiktionsbescheinigung is a certificate from the Ausländerbehörde (immigration office). It shows that you have applied for a residence permit and that the office has not decided yet. It is not a new permit: it proves what your application means for you by law until the decision.
It is only valid together with your valid passport. Carry both.
The three kinds
- Your old permit continues (§ 81 Abs. 4): you had a residence permit or a national visa and applied before it ended. Everything stays as it was, including your right to work. On the certificate this is the third box on page 3.
- Your stay is allowed (§ 81 Abs. 3 Satz 1): you were in Germany lawfully without a residence permit, for example after entering without a visa, and applied in time. You may stay until the decision. This kind does not by itself allow you to work or to come back into Germany.
- Removal is suspended (§ 81 Abs. 3 Satz 2): the same situation, but you applied late. You are protected from removal until the decision, nothing more.
- A Schengen visa for a short stay is different: applying before it ends does not make it continue.
Work
- With the kind where your old permit continues, you may work as that permit allowed, with the same limits.
- With the other two kinds you may work only if the office has written this on the certificate.
- Once the office has ordered your new card, you may already do the work the new permit allows, before the card arrives.
Travel
- Only the kind where your old permit continues lets you leave Germany and come back. Check that the third box is ticked, and that the certificate and your passport are valid for the whole trip.
- If the first or second box is ticked, you have no right to come back without a visa. If you leave, you may not get back in.
- Other countries, also in the Schengen area, can have their own rules. Before a trip, ask the Ausländerbehörde and the embassy of the country you want to visit.
- Some cities send a confirmation after an online application. It shows inside Germany that your permit continues. For travel, plan with the Fiktionsbescheinigung itself.
How to get one and what it costs
- Ask the Ausländerbehörde where you applied. The law says the office has to give you this certificate.
- The fee is 13 euros, for children half.
- The certificate has an end date. If the decision takes longer, ask for a new one before it ends.
Where people get stuck
- Applying after the old permit ended: then the old permit does not continue automatically. The office can order it to avoid hardship.
- Booking a trip before checking which box is ticked.
- An employer or landlord who does not know the paper. Page 3 says what applies to you.
- No appointment before the certificate ends. Ask in writing, and keep proof.
How a lawyer in Germany helps
A lawyer can tell you which kind you have and what it allows, write to your employer or the office, ask for the continued validity of your old permit if you applied late, and press for a decision if the office stays silent for months.
Questions people ask
Can I work with a Fiktionsbescheinigung?
If it says your old permit continues (§ 81 Abs. 4), yes, as the old permit allowed. With the other kinds only if the office has written a work permission on it.
Can I travel abroad with it?
Only with the kind where your old permit continues (third box ticked), together with a valid passport. With the other kinds you may not be let back into Germany.
I applied after my permit ended. Do I still get one?
You get a certificate, but your old permit does not continue by itself. The office can order that it does, to avoid hardship. Explain why you were late and get advice quickly.
Official information
General information, not legal advice. Rules change and every case is different: a lawyer checks yours.