Collect Electronic Residence Title (eAT)
Collect your approved electronic residence title safely and easily from the authority.
At a glance
How do you collect your electronic residence title?
Your electronic residence title (eAT) is your official proof of residence in Germany. It is issued as a card. The Bundesdruckerei (Federal Printing Office) produces it and sends it to the authority. You can then collect it there.
You receive an eAT when the authority has approved your application for a residence title. This applies to the following residence titles: a residence permit, an EU Blue Card, a settlement permit, or an EU long-term residence permit.
You collect the eAT in person at the authority. You may also send an authorised person. That person will then collect the eAT on your behalf.
Requirements
Who qualifies?
- You can collect your eAT (electronic residence title card) when your application for a residence title — such as a residence permit, EU Blue Card, settlement permit, or EU long-term residence permit — has been approved and the authority has ordered the eAT from the Bundesdruckerei (Federal Printing Office).
Additional requirements
- You can collect the eAT (electronic residence title card) in person or send an authorised person to collect it on your behalf.
How to apply
Wait for the authority to notify you that your eAT is ready for collection.
Gather your documents: your passport or passport substitute, and your previous eAT if you already had one.
Send an authorised person if you cannot come yourself — they must be at least 14 years old and bring a written authorisation as well as their passport or identity card.
Go to the authority in person and bring all your documents with you.
Done! You will receive your elektronischer Aufenthaltstitel (eAT — electronic residence title) as a card — it is your official proof of residence in Germany.
Good to know
Do you have a settlement permit or EU long-term residence permit? Then your new eAT will no longer contain passport data. The serial number and expiry date of your passport are no longer printed on it.
entfällt die Angabe der Seriennummer und Gültigkeit des Passes auf dem eAT für alle Niederlassungserlaubnisse ...weggefallen... und Erlaubnisse zum Daueraufenthalt-EU
VAB A.78, S. 573
For a settlement permit or EU long-term residence permit, your eAT is always valid for ten years. This applies even if your passport has a shorter validity.
beträgt die Kartennutzungsdauer des eAT in diesen Fällen auch bei einer kürzeren Gültigkeitsdauer des Passes immer zehn Jahre
VAB A.78, S. 573
Since 4 July 2024, new rules apply for the eAT. The Act to Improve Repatriation has changed the information on the card and the card duration for permanent titles.
Mit dem Gesetz zur Verbesserung der Rückführung entfällt die Angabe der Seriennummer und Gültigkeit des Passes auf dem eAT
VAB A.78, S. 573
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Collect Electronic Residence Title (eAT)
An eAT can usually be handed over approximately 4–5 weeks after production and delivery by the Federal Printing Office and internal review.