Reviewed on March 3, 2026
Apply for residence permit for employment for research purposes
Want to do research in Germany? Easily apply for your residence permit online and get started!
At a glance
How do you get a residence permit for research in Germany?
You would like to do research in Germany? Then you have a right to a residence permit for research purposes. The authority must grant it to you. The prerequisite is a valid hosting agreement or a corresponding contract with a research institution in Germany.
Normally the residence permit is valid for as long as your research project lasts, but at most 3 years. If your research institution is not recognized by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), the authority issues the residence permit for 1 year at a time and renews it afterwards. With the residence permit, you may also carry out teaching activities and work as a self-employed person. After the end of your research activity, the authority must extend your residence permit once more by 9 months. During this time, you can search for a new position corresponding to your qualification.
There are special rules for shorter stays. You have a valid residence title from another EU country under EU Directive 2016/801 for research purposes? And you stay at most 180 days within 360 days in Germany? Then you do not need a German residence title. You have such an EU residence title as a researcher, student, volunteer, au pair, or intern? And you stay longer than 180 days, but at most 1 year? Then the authority must grant you a residence permit for mobile researchers.
You submit the application online as "Temporary residence title for employment". You need all documents preferably as PDF, JPG, JPEG, or PNG. A single file may be a maximum of 7 MB. All files together may not exceed 100 MB. Before submitting, you pay the processing fee by credit card (Visa, Mastercard) or PayPal. You then receive a PDF confirmation. This shows that your current residence title remains valid beyond its expiration date. However, this does not apply if you have a Schengen visa (C-visa) or your residence title has already expired on the day of the application. Be sure to save and print the confirmation. You can submit the application at the earliest 4 months before your current residence title expires.
Note: Your spouse or your child lives with you in Berlin and also needs a residence permit? Do not submit a separate application for them. Simply enter them in your online application. The State Office for Immigration (Landesamt für Einwanderung, LEA) will then contact you regarding their residence permits. Also regularly check your spam folder, as the LEA contacts you by email.
Requirements
How to apply
You can only submit the application for the issuance of a residence permit for employment for research purposes online — you will then receive a PDF document as confirmation, which you should be sure to save and ideally also print.
Color passport copies: always the data pages (with photo and personal data).
Hosting agreement or corresponding contract — the hosting agreement must be filled out in German and may additionally be supplemented in English.
Proof of your primary residence in Berlin: either the registration confirmation or rental contract together with the move-in confirmation from the landlord.
Proof of size and costs of your living space: for a rented apartment, the rental contract (without house rules and other attachments) as well as proof of the current monthly costs (warm rent), for example bank statements; for an owned property, an excerpt from the third section of the land register, proof of the costs of the monthly homeowners' fee, and if applicable, the monthly loan costs for the property.
Proof of your health insurance: for statutory health insurance, a copy of the electronic health card (front and back) or a current confirmation from the health insurance provider; for private health insurance, a certificate from the insurer about the scope and costs of the insurance under § 257 paragraph 2a SGB V — point out to your insurer that you need the certificate for a residence title for gainful employment.
First-time issuance of the residence permit as a label
- Renewal of the residence permit as a label49,00 EUR
- First-time issuance of the residence permit as an electronic residence title100,00 EUR
- Renewal of the residence permit as an electronic residence title93,00 EUR
- Turkish nationals up to the age of 24 — first issuance or renewal27,60 EUR
- Turkish nationals from the age of 24 — first issuance or renewal46,00 EUR
- Creation of a digital passport photo at the self-service terminal on site (additional fee)6,00 EUR
Good to know
If you meet all requirements, the authority MUST grant you the residence permit. The authority has no discretion in this matter. This means: It may not decide freely.
Liegen alle besonderen und allgemeinen Erteilungsvoraussetzungen vor, wird die Aufenthaltserlaubnis erteilt. Ein Ermessen besteht nicht.
VAB A.18d, S. 199-203
Are you conducting research at a BAMF-recognised institution? Then the authority MUST decide within 60 days. The deadline begins when your application is complete.
Der Aufenthaltstitel zu Zwecken der Forschung an einer anerkannten Forschungseinrichtung ist innerhalb von 60 Tagen ab Eingang eines vollständigen Antrages durch die Auslandsvertretungen bzw. die Ausländerbehörden zu erteilen.
VAB A.18d, S. 199-203
Special facilitations apply to your family for reunification. This applies to your spouse and your children. The rules for researchers are more favourable than for other residence titles.
Hinsichtlich des für Forscher privilegierten Familiennachzugs wird auf § 30 Abs. 1 S. 3 Nr. 5 und § 32 Abs. 2 S. 2 Nr. 2 verwiesen.
VAB A.18d, S. 199-203
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Apply for residence permit for employment for research purposes
If your application is approved, you will receive an appointment. A residence permit as a sticker can be issued on site at the appointment. If issued as an electronic residence title (eAT), it takes 4 to 6 weeks until it can be collected.
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