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I am an Algerian master student and I have been in Germany since October 2022 and my residence permit expires on the October 2025. Currently I am in France doing a double master degree from September to March, and after that I decided to go spend a months and 1 half in my country Algeria (since airplane tickets are super cheap from France) before returning to Germany on the 15 og april

The problem is that when I Googled I found that the German law says that you cant stay away from Germany for more than 6 months or your residence permit will be revoked, can anyone please confirm to me that and if that applies to me as well as someone who had semester abroad??? Like how can they know if I returned, maybe I visited my friend by train. I am confused.

I also have a student residence apartment in Berlin which I sublet it and I will get it back in March completely and I am still registered in my German university as well since my last semester is master thesis.

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  • If your student residence permit has lapsed and you wish to return to Germany to resume your studies there, you ought to be able to apply for a new student residence permit.
    – phoog
    Commented Feb 4 at 11:40

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... can anyone please confirm to me that and if that applies to me as well as someone who had semester abroad???

Had you informed the Immigration Office of you intention to study in France for up to 2 semesters then it is likely that your residence permit would still be considered valid. (§51 (1)(7) AufenthG)

As things stand, leaving Germany to study abroad is considered not temporary in nature (§51 (1)(6) AufenthG) and therefore the residence permit expired when you left Germany.

Many universities offer support for international students for these questions:

Like how can they know if i returned , maybe i visited my friend by train. I am confused

That doesn't matter.

Erlöschen eines Aufenthaltstitels bei einem Auslandsaufenthalt - Berlin.de
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Aufenthaltserlaubnis

  • Eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis erlischt ab 6 Monaten nach der Ausreise aus Deutschland.
  • Eine längere Frist kann auf Antrag erlaubt werden, wenn der Aufenthalt im Ausland den Interessen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland dient. Dies ist zum Beispiel der Fall bei
    • einem Aufenthalt als Entwicklungshelfer, als Familienangehöriger eines deutschen Diplomaten im Ausland ,
    • als Studierender an einer hiesigen Hochschule gem. § 16 für ein oder zwei Gastsemester an einer ausländischen Hochschule,
    • oder auch der Auslandseinsatz für ein international tätiges Unternehmens mit Sitz in Deutschland.
  • Übrigens: Wenn Sie ausreisen, um im Ausland eine schulische oder universitäre Ausbildung zu beginnen, wird Ihre Aufenthaltserlaubnis bereits mit der Ausreise ungültig. Es ist dabei egal, ob Sie vor Ablauf der Frist von 6 Monaten zwischendurch nach Deutschland zurückkehren.

Residence permit

  • A residence permit expires 6 months after leaving Germany.
  • A longer period can be granted upon request if the stay abroad serves the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany. This is the case, for example, in the case of
    • a stay as a development worker, as a family member of a German diplomat abroad,
    • as a student at a local university in accordance with Section 16 for one or two guest semesters at a foreign university,
    • or an assignment abroad for an international company based in Germany.
  • By the way: If you leave the country to begin school or university education abroad, your residence permit will become invalid as soon as you leave the country. It does not matter whether you return to Germany before the 6-month period has expired.

Sources:

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