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When I arrived at Germany for my studies in 2015, I applied for Residence Permit and for some reason got it stamped into my passport rather than obtaining the more common separate Residence Permit ID card.

Now, after I accidentally poured boiled water on my passport, the page where my Residence Permit is printed on doesn't look quite good (especially my face).

Although, after this accident, German customs have checked my passport once on the border and didn't complain about my picture on Residence Permit page being partially washed, I still feel nervous about that. And generally, it's way more comfortable to have a separate Residence Permit ID rather than always carrying your travel document with you on local journeys, or even to the clubs!

So now I want to obtain a separate Residence Permit card like everyone else and I am curious about the procedure and costs.

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  • Have you contacted who first issued your residence permit and asked whether they can replace it?
    – mts
    Jul 22, 2017 at 21:07
  • No, that's why I am asking this question to get experiences from people who had similar issues. (Probably, if get answered this question will help people who will have these issues in the future)
    – gdrt
    Jul 23, 2017 at 14:30

2 Answers 2

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That thing in your passport normally is a temporary solution so you can travel and have proof for the permit even though they are still working on creating that card for you. You should have gotten a page on how to fetch your card once it's ready and they should have sent you a letter when it's ready for you to pick up. This can take 6-8 weeks normally.

So what you should do is make an appointment with the Amt that granted you the residence permit (probably your local Ausländerbehörde) and simply ask them. I'm not sure what went wrong, but they will either have your card lying around because you missed to fetch it, or they will issue you a new one. As far as I remember that card was dirt cheap. I think it was either 7.50€ or 17.50€. Worst case you will need new id pictures taken for 9.99€ at the next street corner. (Wikipedia seems to contradict this, quoting the costs of the card at about 100€. I'm pretty sure we only paid pocket change when fetching the card, but maybe we paid the larger part of the sum when we applied for it, with all the paperwork, translations and costs at every corner, I'm not sure.)

Please note that that card is not an official ID and you are required to have your original ID papers (probably passport) with you at all times. The residence permit card is not valid without your passport (I think it's even printed on there).

Now as far as clubs go, they can accept whatever they please. If they want to accept that card without your passport, they can. But German government or the police will not accept your residence permit in place of an ID. They want to see both, permit and passport.

Sources (eAT is the Eletronischer Aufenthaltstitel, the residency permit card):

Berlin

Kann ich mich mit dem eAT ausweisen?

Für den Nachweis der Identität und des rechtmäßigen Aufenthalts gegenüber Behörden der Verwaltung (zum Beispiel Bürgeramt) oder der Polizei reicht es nicht aus, nur die eAT-Karte vorzuzeigen.

Dafür muss der eAT zusammen mit dem Pass und dem Zusatzblatt vorgelegt werden.

Kreis Düren

Muss ich auch weiterhin noch zusätzlich meinen Reisepass mitführen?

Ja, der eAT ersetzt nicht die Verpflichtung Ihren Pass mit sich zu führen.

I would love to quote the BAMF directly, but their pages are a 404 mess right now, don't know why.

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  • I actually know that, "Identity cards that do not state EEA citizenship, including national identity cards issued to residents who are not citizens, are not valid as a travel document within the EEA." But they are valid as identity documents in the country that issued it.
    – gdrt
    Jul 24, 2017 at 15:26
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    Doesn't it then mean that it's actually better to have your resident permit stamped on your passport (like in my case) rather than having 2 different items to prove your identity? Because as this answer suggests, a separate resident permit card is useless without passport. It seems so weird...
    – gdrt
    Jul 24, 2017 at 16:26
  • The eAT can be used to identify you online just the same as a German id card. So if you need to do taxes in Germany or other things that can be done online, the eAT is great. If all you need is a physical ID card, then there are no real advantages, except it looks prettier and is harder to damage. There has been some discussion about that, since the stamp in the passport costs 0.78€ to make, the ID card costs 30€+, but I guess the eAT is here to stay.
    – nvoigt
    Jul 24, 2017 at 17:00
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For some reason, Berlins does not issued this card, so if you live in Berlin that would the reason.

The main site states that this card at present will only be issued for special or exceptional reasons.

A reason is not given and the statement has not changed since 2011 when it became mandatory in Germany.

https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/327405/en/

This is also meantioned in the (german only) Wikipedia artical.

The given reason is, however, is different: 'lack of capacity' (I assume due to lack of funds)

https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elektronischer_Aufenthaltstitel

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