Residency rule, Germany

Germany Residence Permit — Time Away

Summary

A German residence permit ends by law when you leave Germany and do not come back within six months, unless the immigration office gave you a longer time before the six months ran out. It also ends at once when you leave for a reason that is not temporary, for example when you move away. No letter is sent and no decision is needed. EU Blue Card holders have 12 months instead of six. The local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) applies the rule, and the border police can refuse entry on a permit that has ended.

Limit
6 months outside Germany
Period
One absence, from the day you leave to the day you re-enter
EU Blue Card
12 months instead of 6
If you go over
The permit ends by law, without a decision or a letter
Law
Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz), section 51
Run by
Your local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde)

Who it applies to

The rule

Section 51 subsection 1 of the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz) lists the cases in which a residence title ends. Two of them are about travel. Number 6: the title ends when you leave Germany for a reason that is not temporary by its nature. Number 7: the title ends when you leave and do not re-enter within six months, or within a longer time set by the immigration office.

Both cases work by law. The permit ends on its own on the day the condition is met. The plastic card in your wallet can still show a date in the future, but the right behind it is gone. To live in Germany again you normally need a new visa and a new permit.

The law has several longer limits. Under subsection 10 the time is 12 months for the EU Blue Card and for the residence permits of the Blue Card holder's family members. The same 12 months apply to the settlement permit of a person who has lived lawfully in Germany for at least 15 years, and that person's spouse, once they are 60 or older. Under subsection 4 the immigration office normally sets a longer time when you hold a settlement permit and your stay abroad is temporary, or when the stay abroad serves German interests.

Under subsection 2 a settlement permit does not end through absence when you have lived lawfully in Germany for at least 15 years, your living costs are covered and there is no serious ground for expulsion. The same protection covers a settlement permit holder who lives in marriage with a German. The EU long-term residence permit follows its own rule in subsection 9: it ends after 12 months in a row outside the area where the status can be obtained, 24 months for former Blue Card holders, or after six years outside Germany.

Why it exists

A residence permit is given for a life in Germany: work, study or family there. When the holder is away for a long time, the reason for the permit is usually gone. A fixed limit that works by law is simple for the authorities, because they do not need to open a case for every person who left. The longer limits for Blue Card holders, long-settled people and approved stays show that the state wants to keep people with strong ties.

Counting the days

You count one absence at a time: from the day you leave Germany to the day you enter again. The limit is six calendar months, not a number of days.

  1. Write down the day you leave Germany.
  2. Add six months to find your last day to re-enter. If you leave on 5 January, you must be back by 5 July at the latest.
  3. Check which limit applies to your title: six months as the general rule, or 12 months for an EU Blue Card.
  4. If you need more time, ask the immigration office before you leave or, at the latest, before the six months end, and get the longer time in writing.
  5. Also check the end date of the permit itself. A permit that runs out while you are abroad ends on that date, whatever the absence rule says.
How Countr counts it. Countr counts the days of your current stay outside Germany as one trip and compares it with 180 days. Six calendar months are 181 to 184 days, so the card warns early and never late. A day back in Germany sets the count to zero. The app watches only your current absence: if an earlier absence already passed the limit, the permit may have ended then, and you see that in your History, not on the card. The app does not know your type of title, so this card always uses six months. The 12 months of the EU Blue Card are counted in a separate card, Germany EU Blue Card — Time Away. The app does not know about a longer time approved by the office. It also cannot know why you left: if you move away for good, the permit ends on the day you leave. If the app cannot see where you were on a day, the count starts again, so gaps make the number smaller, never bigger.

Track Germany Residence Permit — Time Away on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

Five and a half months abroad

You hold a residence permit for work that is valid until 2028. You leave Germany on 5 January 2026 to help your family and return on 20 June 2026. Your last day to re-enter was 5 July 2026. You are back in time, your reason for leaving was temporary, and the permit continues.

Back five days late

Same permit, same departure on 5 January 2026, but your flight back is on 10 July 2026. You did not ask the immigration office for a longer time. The permit ended by law on 5 July 2026, even though the card shows 2028. At the border you can be refused, and to live in Germany again you need to apply for a new visa.

An EU Blue Card holder on a long assignment

You hold an EU Blue Card and leave Germany on 5 January 2026 for a project in Brazil. You return on 20 December 2026. For the Blue Card the limit is 12 months, so the card is still valid. With an ordinary residence permit the same trip would have ended the title on 5 July 2026.

Exceptions

Common misconceptions

“My card is valid until 2028, so the permit is valid until 2028.”
The date on the card is only the planned end. Section 51 ends the permit earlier by law when you stay away longer than six months or move away. The card does not show this.
“The immigration office will write to me before my permit ends.”
No decision and no letter are needed. The permit ends on its own on the day the six months are over. Many people only learn about it at the border or at their next appointment.
“I can ask for more time after I am already late.”
The longer time must be set before the six months run out. After that day the permit has ended and there is nothing left to extend.
“A settlement permit is permanent, so it can never end.”
A settlement permit has no end date, but the six-month rule still applies to it. Only the special cases in section 51, such as 15 years of lawful residence with secure income, protect it.

Questions and answers

Does a short visit to Germany start a new six months?

The law counts the time until you re-enter, so a real return ends one absence. If you only fly in for a few days while your life is now in another country, the office can decide that you left for a reason that is not temporary. In that case the permit ended when you moved.

What happens if I come back one day after six months?

The permit has ended by law, and one day is enough. You normally need a new visa from the German mission abroad and a new permit, and you have to meet the conditions again.

Does time in another Schengen or EU country count as time outside Germany?

Yes. Section 51 speaks of leaving Germany. A stay in France, Poland or Austria is an absence in the same way as a stay outside Europe.

How do I get permission to stay abroad longer than six months?

You ask your local immigration office in writing before you travel, give the reason and the planned return date, and keep its written answer with your passport.

I deregistered my address in Germany before a long trip. Does that matter?

It can. Giving up your flat, your job and your registration are signs that you left for a reason that is not temporary. Then the permit ends on the day you leave, not after six months.

Is this the same rule as the one for German citizenship?

No. Citizenship uses section 12b of the Nationality Act, which asks whether your habitual residence was interrupted. Countr tracks it separately as Germany Citizenship — Longest Time Away and Germany Citizenship — Total Time Away.

Sources

Other rules for Germany

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.