You planned it all out, you moved to Germany and had all your permits in place as the holder of a Residence visa for the period of time you had planned your stay. The problem? Your residence permit will soon expire but you can't leave Germany just yet because of the travel bans that have been imposed due to COVID-19.
The truth is that the crisis created by the spread of the virus COVID-19 has caused difficulties at all levels, and you are not alone in this experience. This health crisis has limited the work extent of many immigration authorities, and this has resulted in some changes in the implementation of the Residence Act by the immigration authorities to ensure that procedural simplifications are introduced in the coming months.
With that being said, you can rest assured that regardless of the situation you find yourself in right now, in terms of visa permits due to the coronavirus travel restrictions, you may have a legal solution to extend your permit and stay legally in Germany.
If your situation is that you NEED TO EXTEND YOUR RESIDENCE PERMIT IN GERMANY:
The effect of section 81 (4) of the Residence Act may work in your favor. If you request an extension of a residence permit on time and before the expiration of the permit, the effect of section 81 (4) of the Residence Act is that your current residence permit is “deemed to be in existence from the time it expires until the decision of the immigration authority.” This essentially means that the residence permit you have that is soon to become expired, will continue to be effective until there is a final decision from the immigration office.
A certificate of the effect of your application should be issued by the immigration authority so that you have proof of your request for verification purposes, especially if you are filling an informal application by email, phone, or mail.
If by reason of complications due to the circumstances, it is not possible for the immigration authority to send a fiction certificate of your application-cf. § 58 sentence 1 number 1 AufenthV - you should be able to request a confirmation receipt of the application for extension of your residence permit, by means of an informal certificate that is signed and stamped. If this is not possible, as another option, this can be done electronically without a signature or a stamp. Relevant authorities and local police departments should be informed of the use of this certificate as soon as possible.
