Department

-Standort Braunschweig-

Jurisdiction

The Landesaufnahmebehörde Niedersachsen (LAB NI, the Lower Saxony state reception authority) is a state-level authority for the reception of refugees, not a municipal immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) for individual local cases. It operates at several locations: the arrival centers in Braunschweig (with a branch office in Celle) and Bramsche, as well as further locations in Friedland, Oldenburg, and Osnabrück; in Langenhagen and Lüneburg there are additional duty stations for return management. The Braunschweig arrival center is the place where reception, care, and the steps of the asylum procedure come together. If you want to apply for or extend a residence title, the LAB NI is not the responsible authority; instead, the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) of your place of residence (the district or independent city) is.

Good to know

Note

The LAB NI is a state-level authority for the reception of asylum seekers and of people from special admission programs (for example resettlement or temporary protection). It is not a municipal immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) where you, as a resident, book an appointment for a residence title. For applying for or extending a residence title, the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) at your place of residence is responsible.

Source: lab.niedersachsen.de

The LAB NI carries out immigration-authority tasks only for the people accommodated there. These include above all establishing identity, obtaining passport-replacement documents, and return management, but not general immigration matters for the general public.

Source: lab.niedersachsen.de

The Braunschweig location is an arrival center: this is where accommodation and care, along with the steps for reception and for conducting the asylum procedure, come together. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) is present on site with its own unit.

Source: lab.niedersachsen.de

The Friedland border transit camp (Grenzdurchgangslager Friedland) location is the nationwide initial reception facility for ethnic German late repatriates (Spätaussiedlerinnen and Spätaussiedler) who enter Germany. It therefore has a nationwide function extending beyond Lower Saxony.

Source: lab.niedersachsen.de

Related guides

Fiktionsbescheinigung: rights, application & travel
Residence permit expiring while you wait for an appointment? What the Fiktionsbescheinigung under § 81(4) AufenthG lets you do — work, travel, apply.

Reviewed on June 16, 2026 · Source: lab.niedersachsen.de