Aufenhaltstitel validity after staying away from Germany for more than a year?

Question

I went to consulate in my home country and they said since my husband is a EU BlueCard holder and I have not been de registered from Germany I can travel with my aufenhaltstitel and it remains valid. My husband is locally employed in Germany and I am planning to join him and therefore went to apply for the Fanily Reunion Visa but was sent back saying my visa is valid and we cannot issue you a schengen visa when you already have a valid visa. And they also said I can very much travel on that visa. Now my question is will i be stopped at the airport? What if they say that my visa is no more valid? Will they know I was out of Germany for more than a year?

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Art des Titels 
  Aufenthaltserlaubnis 
Anmerkung
  30

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Answer 1

This plastic card telling you

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Art des Titels 
  Aufenthaltserlaubnis 
Anmerkung
  30

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already is the »Family Reunion Visa« you asked the German consulate for.

That 30 in the Anmerkungen field refers to § 30 AufenthG: Ehegattennachzug zu Ausländern.

Im am inclined to believe the German consulate. They are the official agency. As I understand it, this Aufenthaltserlaubnis stays valid until the expiration date as long as your husband does not leave Germany at the same time as you for more than 6 months, or for a job outside Germany. Caveat: in the latter case, both your husband's and your Aufenthaltserlaubnis becomes invalid immediately. Take care.

You can move to, from and inside the Schengen zone freely with that card.

Answer 2

There are two places that your visa will be checked when you fly to Germany.

The definitive check is when you enter the Schengen area (either in Germany, or somewhere else if you don't fly direct to Germany). That check will be performed by trained immigration officials. Although they may well know that you have been out of the country for a year, they are very unlikely to give a different answer than the German consulate in your country.

The other check is when you board the plane. The airline will get fined if you are rejected at the border, so they will check your documents very carefully. There have been suggestions that airlines will sometimes reject documentation that would have been accepted at the border. However they will definitely have no way to tell how long you have been out of country, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Answer 3

Since your residence permit is based on your husband's permit, the rule about a residence permit becoming invalid after a long absence does not apply.

Only if your husband left for a specific time would both be effected.

Your residence permit was issued so that you can be with your husband

• it does not require you to be there all the time

That is why the Cousulate stated that your residence permit is still valid.

The residence permit itself will probably contain the following

• Art des Titels: Familiennachzug

or

• Art des Titels: Aufenthaltserlaubnis
  • § 29 Familiennachzug
  • § 30 Ehegattennachzug
  • § 32 Kindernachzug

with 1 or more of the above text in the Anmerkungen field

with that the Border Control will know that you are just returning.
Airlines should know this as well.

Answer 4

If the German consulate in your home country says your card is valid, then that should be true. There is no valid reason for the consulate to mislead you, as eventually this could create more work for them.

EU law regulates the validity of TCN residence cards and German authorities may have the right to de-register you but they don't have to. Simply leaving for more than 6 month does not invalidate such documents. Border guards also should only have access to your entry-exit records of their specific country. They also don't have the right to question the judgement of the issuing authority and it would mean they'd have to examine all entry- and exit-stamps in your passport. In case of a new passport, they wouldn't even be able to do that.

The Schengen Borders Code does not seem to suggest anything of the contrary. The right of entry with a valid residence card is not restricted by your absence there. The rules laid out in that document regarding refusal of entry also IMHO do not appear to give border guards any rights to make decisions on the validity of residence permits.

Answer 5

New update from Frankfurt Foreign office auslanderbehorde.

They say my situation is a bit tricky. What the border control will say we dont know. They might or might not let you enter. Chances of refusing entry is very high. Travel is going to be a huge risk, the only point to my advantage is the mail from the visa department of German consulate of my home country wherein I am told that I can travel on this visa. But then there are instances when the border control just refuses you entry even when you have a valid visa. And I guess the rule that as long as my husband is in germany my visa stays valid is incorrect.

Answer 6

Just ask an Ausländerbehörde, who issued your residence permit, to confirm its validity. If they do not answer per mail, ask your husband to go there. This should be the right way, cause consulate only issues visa, and not resident permit. Probably the consulate cannot decide on the validity of the residence permit, but Ausländerbehörde kann issue an official paper LIKE this one which will be enough to clarify all border control issues.