Traffic update
Due to the construction works on Steubenstraße and the associated complete closure of the first railway underpass – including for pedestrians and cyclists – the Stresemannstraße Administrative Centre is not expected to be directly accessible from the Julius-Brecht-Allee stop (Line 1) until summer 2028. However, access is available via Gartenstadt Vahr, Insterburger Str.
Appointments by arrangement only
Please note that you can only visit the Migration Office in person if you have made an appointment in advance.
Unfortunately, we are unable to assist customers who do not have an appointment.
If you have an enquiry, please send us an email with your full personal details, the nature of your enquiry and the reference number: office@migrationsamt.bremen.de
All clients who send us an email will receive a reply.
Depending on the nature of your enquiry, we will clarify any questions and/or resolve the matter.
All customers who have already been granted a residence permit in Bremen will automatically be given an appointment to renew their residence permit before it expires. Please attend this appointment if at all possible, as this is the only way we can guarantee that your permit will be renewed in good time before it expires.
Customers who wish to apply for a residence permit for the first time following their entry into Germany will also need to book an appointment for an in-person interview.
The granting or renewal of temporary residence permits and toleration status, decisions on work permits, or the lifting of residence restrictions are dealt with in writing and following written preparation.
A provisional certificate serves as proof that you are still authorized to remain in the country until a decision is made on your application for a new residence permit.
If you have fled Ukraine, you may be eligible for a residence permit for temporary protection under certain conditions.
If you would like to study in Germany but have not yet met the requirements for admission, you can obtain a residence permit for that purpose.
Do you have a temporary residence permit and would like to work in a job that matches your professional qualifications? Under certain conditions, you may be able to obtain a residence permit for this purpose.
Regardless of your educational background, you can obtain a residence permit to complete vocational training or continuing education in Germany.
If you would like to conduct a research project at a German research institution, you can obtain a residence permit for the purpose of research.
Have you completed a degree in Germany, or are you engaged in academic or research work? If so, under certain conditions, you can start your own business in Germany with a residence permit.
If you are looking for a place to study in Germany, you can apply for a residence permit valid for up to 9 months while you search.
You can obtain a residence permit if there is an agreement between the Federal Employment Agency and the authorities in your country of origin, and you have been placed in a job.
You can obtain a residence permit to prepare for your studies or to pursue your studies if you meet certain requirements.
Under certain conditions, you may be eligible to receive a residence permit to complete a vocational training program in Germany.
You can obtain a residence permit to have your professional qualification, earned abroad, recognized for employment in Germany.
If you would like to attend a general education school in Germany, you can apply for a residence permit.
You can obtain a temporary residence permit to take part in a German language course or a student exchange program in Germany.
If you are studying in an EU country, have been recognized there as a person entitled to international protection, and would like to continue your studies in Germany, you can apply for a residence permit.
Would you like to work in Germany, but your professional qualifications have not yet been fully recognized? If so, under certain conditions, you may be eligible for a residence permit to participate in a qualification program.
Would you like to participate in a qualification program to have your foreign professional qualification recognized while also working? If so, you may be eligible to receive a residence permit for this purpose under certain conditions.
If you would like to participate in a European Voluntary Service program, you can apply for a temporary residence permit.
Do you need a residence permit to look for an apprenticeship so you can complete a qualified vocational training program? You can obtain one under certain conditions.
You may be granted a residence permit to take an exam required for the recognition of a foreign professional qualification if you meet certain requirements.
Do you have a college degree and would like to work in Germany as a skilled professional? If so, you may be eligible for a residence permit under certain conditions.
You can obtain a residence permit for a study-related internship in the European Union ("EU study-related internship") if you meet certain requirements.
You can have your residence permit for the purpose of vocational training at a school extended before it expires if you wish to continue your training in Germany.
You can have your residence permit for the purpose of studying extended before it expires if you meet certain requirements.
Is your residence permit—issued in recognition of your foreign professional qualification based on an agreement with the Federal Employment Agency—about to expire? If so, you may be able to have your residence permit extended under certain conditions.
If you have a residence permit for preparatory studies and are not yet able to begin your studies, you can apply for an extension of your residence permit.
Do you have a residence permit to attend school in Germany, and is that residence permit about to expire even though you haven't finished school yet? If so, you can apply for an extension.
Are you participating in a training program to have your foreign professional qualification recognized while also working? If you need more time for the training program, you can have your residence permit extended.
Has the process to have your foreign professional qualification recognized not yet been completed? If so, you may be able to apply for an extension of your residence permit under certain conditions.
Do you need more time to take an exam to have your foreign professional qualification recognized? If so, you can have your current residence permit extended.
If you already live in Germany and have a residence permit, you can apply for a permanent residence title, the settlement permit, under certain conditions. You can find important information here:
If you, as an employer, wish to hire a skilled worker from a third country, you may apply for an expedited skilled worker procedure on behalf of the foreign skilled worker.
You have entered Germany with a visa and would like to apply for a residence permit? Please note the following points:
If you come to Germany as an asylum seeker/refugee, you must apply for asylum as soon as possible after your arrival in Germany. In Bremen, please register with the: Central Reception Center for Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the State of Bremen (ZASt), Lindenstraße 110, 28755 Bremen. They will…
If your asylum application has been approved by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), you will receive a written decision from the BAMF. The Migration Office will also receive this decision. You will then receive an invitation from the Migration Office to apply for a residence…
If your application for asylum has been rejected by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), you will receive a written decision from the BAMF. In the decision, the BAMF also states that you are now obliged to leave the country.
In the first three months after applying for asylum, asylum seekers are not allowed to work. However, internships and studies are generally possible even at the beginning of the asylum procedure. If the migration office extends your residence permit, you can apply to be allowed to work as well.
In the event that we record data from you at the Bremen Migration Office, this data protection notice applies.
Come to the Migration Office to collect your electronic residence permit (eAT). We will send you your eAT by post.
A longer stay abroad can lead to the expiry of your German residence permit. If you want to stay abroad for a longer period of time, please note the different time limits after which a residence permit expires and apply for a certificate of continued validity of your residence permit in good time.
If you would like to continue your vocational training or continuing education in Germany, you must renew your residence permit in a timely manner.
Would you like to extend your residence permit? If you have been issued a residence permit by the Migration Office, you will receive a letter from the Migration Office before your residence permit expires asking you to submit the documents required for an extension. You will only be sent an…
You can have your residence permit extended to continue a course of study that you began in another EU country before it expires.
You are a citizen of a member state of the European Union, i.e. an EU citizen, or you are a citizen of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland (EFTA states) and live in Bremen or would like to live here? You would like to apply for a residence card as a family member?
What to do if you have received a new national passport and need to have your residence permit transferred.
You would like to enter into an employment relationship in Germany, i.e. take up employment or become self-employed here and do not yet live in Germany. You can find the most important information here:
You would like your foreign spouse and / or your children to move to Germany with you? Or your foreign spouse and / or your children are already in Germany, but do not have a residence permit? You can find the most important information on this so-called family reunification here:
If you are living in Bremen with tolerated status and are unable to leave Germany for a longer period of time for reasons for which you are not responsible, you can apply for a residence permit from the Migration Office. This also applies if you have been living in Bremen with tolerated status for…
Foreign pupils who are not nationals of a member state of the European Union, so-called third-country nationals, do not require a visa for school trips to so-called Schengen states, but only a valid residence permit or settlement permit and a valid passport from their country of origin or a German…
Foreigners, with the exception of EU citizens, who wish to come to Germany to live here, for example because they have family here, or because they wish to work or study here, require a residence permit to stay in Germany. As a rule, a visa must be applied for at the German embassy in the country…
Are you a tolerated resident in Bremen or are you obliged to leave the country but would still like to apply for a tolerated stay permit because you are actually unable to leave Germany? You can find further information here:
As a rule, holders of tolerated status are only permitted to work with the approval of the Migration Office and after an examination by the Federal Employment Agency. Therefore, the employment permit must usually be applied for by the toleration holder for a specific job. Training and studies are…
You want to enter Germany and apply for a visa for this purpose?
Have you entered Germany with a Schengen visa for visiting or business purposes ("C visa") and need to extend your visa? Please note the following points:
This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.
The official information in German is complete and correct.
Updated on 04.09.2026