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I joined a German Company dated 01 July 2016. I was sent to Mexico , by my German Company dated 1 April 2018. The project comes to an end and i have to move back to work in the same company to Germany . While exiting Germany , the Foreigners office told me that if I want to keep the Blue card valid , I have to visit Germany every 1 year. Additionally i can also take the Certificate 51. Certificate 51 allows you to leave the country for more than 1 year, keeping your blue card valid.

  1. Is there a way to check the validity of the Germany Blue card (Blue card Sticker says 30 June 2020)?

  2. I was visiting every year in the meantime . My last travel was for a week to Munich ending 07 June. Based on the 12 month rule. I can still travel till 06th June 2020. Frankfurt Police has confirmed me the same.

  3. The certificate 51 expired dated 26 03 2020 . And now Foreigners office says that since you were not back before 26032020, the Blue card has expired. It was not possible to travel because of Covid. I have already given the cancelled tickets to them. The Foreigners office is giving only importance to certificate 51, and not to one year Blue card Rule.

Please help in this case , what is more important 1 year Blue card Expiry Date of Certificate 51 ? Where can I read detailed rules for this ? The Social Security is still running in Germany from 1 July 2016. Thanks

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  • This question belongs on Expatriates, not on travel, I will migrate it for you.
    – Willeke
    Commented Jun 1, 2020 at 17:40
  • If you already contacted the Foreigners Office and they claimed it it was expired (in the written form, such as email), then I can advice you to (1) ask a good lawyer (check reviews anwalt.de, for example) from Germany specialised on immigration law for an advice and (2) try to call or make an appointment with the chef of the Foreigners office.
    – Andrey Sapegin
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 21:23
  • In which land of Germany did you get your residence permit? It seems that in Berlin, for example, all expiration deadlines are prolonged since 24.03.2020, please see berlin.de/einwanderung/aufenthalt/artikel.910213.en.php for details.
    – Andrey Sapegin
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 21:34

1 Answer 1

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Any residence permit, independent of the validity date, when the conditions of §51 (7) AufthG are fullfilled

  • normally after 6 months
    • or for Bluecard holders 12 months (§51 (10))
  • or permission was granted to remain outside longer

becomes invalid.

So the main answer to your question is: the time set by the Foreigners office, which should have been longer than 12 months, is binding.

However

  • since you failed to return on time, caused by a Force Majeure, you should consult (or threaten to consult) an immigration lawyer

At present for holders of C-Visas, that arrived before the shutdown, those visas are automatically extended until the shutdown ends.

No doubt a similar regulation for the opposite case exists.

So a letter from a lawyer, togeather with the proof that you could not leave Mexico, should resolve the matter.

Sources:

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  • Hi Mark, permanent residence permits do not always expire after 6 or 12 months, which is absolutely not clear from your answer. Niederlassungserlaubnis does not expire at all for people that stayed more than 15 years in Germany. Daueraufenthalt EU does not expire for 2 years for former Blue Card holders.
    – Andrey Sapegin
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 21:26
  • Also you have multiple times cited §51 (7) AufenthG, which has absolutely no relation to the question or even to your own text. The point (7) is about refugees only.
    – Andrey Sapegin
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 21:39

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