Duldung – and now?

You get a Duldung – a Tolerated Stay Permit – if your application for asylum or other residence has been rejected and you are supposed to leave Germany. It is a bad status. Many rights are denied, for example, you cannot decide for yourself where you live.

But it does not always mean that deportation is acutely imminent. Some people live in Germany for many years with Duldung.

Get advice on how concrete the threat of deportation really is!

However, a Duldung causes many problems:

• With a Duldung you are not allowed to re-enter Germany. Therefore, beware of traveling abroad
• A Duldung always has a time limit, often 3 or 6 months. But you can also be deported within this period without a warning.
• If you apply for a residence permit as a tolerated person, you can be deported even if the foreigner’s authority has not yet decided.
• With a Duldung, finding a job or an apartment is more difficult. It is not a passport substitute. So, it is not proof of your identity. That’s why sometimes there can be problems when you want to get a driver’s license or when you want to buy a sim card or open a bank account.

Passport obligation

If you have a Duldung and have not yet presented a passport, the Immigration Department wants to see the passport. They have many ways to force you, for example, they can give you a work ban or reduce social benefits if you do not get a passport.

But you have a so-called “obligation to cooperate, ” meaning you must get a passport and prove your identity.

Here you can find multilingual information about the obligation to cooperate and passport procurement: bbonlink.de/passeng

If you try to obtain a passport, for example, request papers from the country of origin or go to the embassy and apply for a birth certificate, ID card, or passport, you should write it down exactly and prove it. Proofs are, for example, letters from the embassy that you were there, tickets to the embassy, or photos in front of the embassy. This way you can show the immigration office that you are trying and cooperating.

In some countries, you can only be deported with a passport. If you give your passport to the immigration office, the risk of deportation increases. At the same time, it is your duty to prove your identity and you need a passport for a residence title.

In many countries, you can be deported without a passport, for example, to Georgia, Pakistan, or Tunisia. Here the risk of deportation with and without a passport is about the same.

How can you still get a residence permit with tolerance? Read our flyer on “Residency-Right” for more info. bbonlink.de/flyer-eng-bleiberecht

But also get advice on this. It is often complicated, and every case is different!