The Withdrawal Agreement provides for the following principle concerning rights of residence:

• Until 31 December 2020, the end of the transition period, rights of residence will be treated as if the United Kingdom were still an EU member state. Thus, during this period, there will be no change with regard to the rights of residence of UK nationals and their family members or their right to work in Germany.
  
  
• From 1 January 2021, persons who were entitled to live or work in Germany (or another EU member state) until that date and who also exercised that right will essentially have the same rights as they had before withdrawal. Provided these rights were exercised, they will be effectively frozen.
  
  These rights exist by law, which means you can assert them without taking any further action. In order to be able to provide evidence that you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, however, you must have a document that you can obtain from the foreigners authority. You can find detailed information here.

Note:
United Kingdom nationality law is very complex. United Kingdom nationals within the meaning of this information refers to all persons with UK nationality who were treated as Union citizens on the basis of their status during the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union. They include British citizens as well as certain holders of other categories of UK nationality from the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. British nationals (overseas) are not covered, however. If you would like to clarify your status in detail, please contact a competent UK agency. German agencies cannot provide you with any legally binding information about your UK nationality status and its consequences.

UK nationals living in Germany on 31 December 2020 and continuing to live in Germany after that date should have reported their residence to the foreigners authority responsible for their place of residence by 30 June 2021 in order to be able to obtain the new residence document.

If you have failed to report your residence to the competent foreigners authority within the deadline referred to above, you have not lost your right to residence provided that it existed before by law.

UK nationals for whom this applies should report their residence as soon as possible to the competent foreigners authority. They should do so by all means. After all, any delay in reporting your residence to the competent foreigners authority will automatically result in a delayed issuing of the new residence document. As time progresses, this will make it increasingly difficult to provide evidence of your legal status. In particular problems in connection with border checks in cross-border travel cannot be ruled out in such cases.

The right of permanent residence under the Withdrawal Agreement arises according to special rules, not according to the rules of the right of free movement. The following applies:

• In principle, five creditable years of residence in Germany are required; periods spent in other EU member states do not count. There are some exceptions, which are listed below.
• Only periods of residence by persons with the right of free movement will be counted. Periods of residence on another basis (for example, third-country nationals with a residence permit under the Residence Act (Gesetz über den Aufenthalt, die Erwerbstätigkeit und die Integration von Ausländern im Bundesgebiet) are not counted.
• Creditable times of residence before and after 31 December 2020 are added together.
• You also have a right under the Withdrawal Agreement if you completely fulfilled these periods of residence at some previous time, but left Germany less than five years before 31 December 2020. In this case, it is not necessary for you to be living in Germany on 31 December 2020 in order to assert this right. However, your right of residence under the Withdrawal Agreement expires on the date when you have no longer been living in Germany for five years, even if this date is after 31 December 2020.
• If you interrupted your residence in Germany and none of the cases described above applies, the counting begins again from the beginning. Periods of residence before such an interruption cannot be credited later, even if you return to Germany.
• Permanent residence status can be acquired after the required five-year residence period on or after 1 January 2021.
  
  

Note:
By way of derogation from the above five-year rule, some exceptions may apply. These relate to the following cases:

- UK nationals who pursued an economic activity and resided in Germany under the right of free movement, and who retire under certain conditions (including old age, early retirement, incapacitation for work) or who are no longer pursuing an economic activity for some other reason, or

- family members of a deceased UK national who had an entitlement under the Withdrawal Agreement or – in the case of death before 31 December 2020 – who was pursuing an economic activity or had the right of free movement, when these family members permanently resided at the UK national’s address at the time of his or her death. This applies if the UK national had continuously resided in the federal territory for at least two years at the time of his or her death or died as a result of an occupational accident or an occupational disease or

- family members residing in Germany of a UK national who himself or herself acquired the right of permanent residence under the previous right of free movement.

There are two kinds of permanent residence card:

1. A permanent residence card issued to nationals of an EU member state upon application if they have a right of permanent residence (section 4a of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU (Gesetz über die allgemeine Freizügigkeit von Unionsbürgern). UK nationals who have such a certificate of permanent residencemust report their residence to the foreigners authority despite the fact that they have this card, since these documents regularly become invalid.
2. A document ("permanent residence card") for third-country nationals who have the right of free movement – family members in possession of this card who are third-country nationals do not need to report their residence.

To replace the previous document referred to above, both groups will receive the new card attesting to the existence of a right of permanent residence. The issuance of this document requires your cooperation.

If you are a third-country national (i.e. you have neither German citizenship nor the citizenship of another EU member state), but can derive your right of residence from another person who has citizenship of an EU member state other than Germany, you can continue to enjoy what is known as a right of free movement under EU law. This applies in particular to family members of dual citizens.

Example:
Jane and John live in Düsseldorf and are married. Jane is a UK national and an Italian national. John is a U.S. citizen. When the couple moved to Germany, Jane presented her British passport to the authorities. She was not asked about her Italian citizenship and she did not state it. John received a residence card from the foreigners authority issued to him as a family member of a Union citizen. John knows that he has rights of residence even after Brexit, firstly under the Withdrawal Agreement because his wife is British, and secondly under the right of free movement, because his wife is also Italian and thus a Union citizen. He arranges an appointment with the foreigners authority for Jane and himself, and Jane presents her Italian passport. The foreigners authority now knows that he is the husband of an Italian and thus continues to have the right of free movement under EU law. He can therefore keep his residence card. When asked if he would also like to have a document under the Withdrawal Agreement, he says no. This document would cost him EUR 28.00 (from 1 January 2021: EUR 37.00) and would not provide any evident advantage. The administrative officer at the foreigners authority explains to Jane that, as an Italian, she does not require any residence documents for Germany, but asks her to inform the registration authority that she is also Italian. Jane does so.

Family members of nationals of Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland or Switzerland are subject to very similar rules as family members of Union citizens

As a general rule, you do not have to do very much to secure your residence status:

UK nationals

If you are a UK national who was living in Germany on 31 December 2020 and are still living in Germany, you must report your residence to the foreigners authority responsible for your place of residence in order to be able to obtain the new residence document. In many places you can do this online. You do not need to make an application. Registration with the residents’ registration office is not sufficient! We recommend that you report your residence immediately.

Note:
Residence permits issued to you as a precaution in anticipation of a "hard Brexit" and residence documents pre-dating the accession of the United Kingdom to the then European Economic Community do not meet the requirement to report to the foreigners authority. However, if you have already reported your residence to the foreigners authority in anticipation of Brexit, you are not required to do so again.

Family members (including UK nationals who do not themselves fall under the Withdrawal Agreement) who already have a German residence document

If you already have a residence card or permanent residence card, you are not required to do anything on your own initiative. The foreigners authority will contact you. Your document will be exchanged for another document.

Family members (including UK nationals who do not themselves fall under the Withdrawal Agreement) who do not yet have a German residence document

If you have relocated to Germany from the United Kingdom after 1 January 2021 or plan to do so and if you are eligible to do so under the Withdrawal Agreement, you will generally need a visa before moving to Germany if you are a third-country national.

Exceptions: That does not apply to citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand and the United States of America and for UK nationals (“British Citizens” and certain holders of other categories of UK citizenship from the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar). These nationals must apply for a residence document from the foreigners authority within three months of entry. However, they may also voluntarily apply for a visa prior to entry, particularly to be able to demonstrate their right to pursue a paid occupation immediately after entry.

UK nationals working, but not living, in Germany on 31 December 2020

As a frontier worker, you may have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement and must apply for a special document in the form of a card from the foreigners authority responsible for your place of work in order to continue to be able to work in Germany (more).

The following rules apply for everyone:

The foreigners authorities provide forms or online platforms for the relevant reports. For persons exercising their right to subsequent immigration in 2021, the deadline for reporting their residence is three months upon entry (and ends in no case before 30 June 2021).

You can also apply for a certificate attesting to an existing right of permanent residence. To do this, you must provide clear evidence to the foreigners authorityresponsible for you that you have already lived in Germany for five years.

Living in Germany means having your main ordinary residence in Germany. A person who was only staying in Germany temporarily on the cut-off date, 31 December 2020, but did not have their main ordinary residence in Germany, has no rights deriving from the Withdrawal Agreement.

This concerns the following persons:

• persons who were in Germany on 31 December 2020 as tourists or for the purpose of a typical business trip (for example, negotiating a contract),
• persons studying abroad who only have a room at their parents’ house in Germany and do not reside in Germany longer than just for visits (unless they have not yet spent more than 12 months outside Germany or have a right of permanent residence and left Germany less than five years ago) or
• persons who own a holiday home in Germany but only stay there very occasionally and do not have their main ordinary residence there.

It is possible to have a main ordinary residence in a number of countries and thus to live both in Germany and in other countries at the same time. For example, a person who, for the most part, spends the summer in Germany and the winter in Spain lives in both countries within the meaning of this provision. You can find more details on "harmless" absences here

For these reasons, it is irrelevant here whether or not you were registered with the registration authority in Germany. For the purposes of registration law, a person who moves into a home in Germany is required to register. However, moving into a home does not necessarily mean having a main ordinary residence there. Conversely, a person may have their main ordinary residence in Germany if they often stay in Germany and participate in social activities there, for example, even if they do not live in their own home but stay with friends, relatives or a partner during their visits.

If your employees fall under the Withdrawal Agreement, they are entitled to work for you, even if they do not have the relevant document. If you know that you employee is entitled, you are not required to take any further steps.

This applies in particular when
- UK nationals or
- third-country family members with a residence card or permanent residence card were already working legally for you before 31 December 2020. In this case, you can simply continue to employ these workers after that date, without asking them to present you with further documents. You do not need to copy or scan any documents or file them with your wage documents.

As a general rule, the same applies to employees who fall under the Withdrawal Agreement and who began or will begin employment after 1 January 2021. They, too, are not required to present any further documents. You do not need to copy or scan any documents or file them with your wage documents.

Until the end of 2021, you can trust a statement by UK nationals and their family members that they have a right of residence under the Withdrawal Agreement. You can always assume that this is the case if the entitled employee lived in Germany on 31 December 2020.

You should require your employees to prove this legal status by the end of 2021. Please note that persons with an entitlement may take their time until 30 June 2021 to register their residence with the foreigners authority, and that it may take some time before they can get an appointment and for the residence document to be issued. In some cases, it may take the authorities until the end of 2021 to finalise the processing. When your employee presents the document, you do not need to scan or copy it or file it with the wage documents. Similarly, you do not need to notify the foreigners authority of any later termination of the employment relationship.

UK nationals entering Germany after 1 January 2021 who do not, by way of exception, fall under the Freedom of movement Act/EU or the Withdrawal Agreement, as evidenced by documents, are to be treated in the same way as otherthird-country nationals. They are required to hold the pertinent residence title, issued by the competent foreigners authority, in order to pursue gainful employment or render services as a self-employed person. There are exemptions for several short-term activities concerning business travellers and persons working in the sports or arts sector, among others. Further information (in English) is available  here.

Now as before, UK nationals who have multiple citizenship, i.e. are also citizens of an EU or EEA state, are not required to have permission to pursue an economic activity.

Soldiers are treated as workers within the meaning of EU law. If you are stationed in another EU member state, you are exercising your entitlement to freedom of movement. If you were or are stationed in Germany for the British armed forces, you have the same status as if you had been employed for a German employer in Germany during the same period.

As a general rule, if you were living in Germany before in the specified sense, but were absent from Germany at the turn of the year in 2020 or 2021, this is harmless for your rights:

• Persons who had not yet lived in Germany for five years may be temporarily absent for a maximum of six months per year, or in certain exceptional cases up to 12 months without this leading to the assumption that they no longer "live" in Germany
• Anyone who had already been living in Germany for five years may have been absent from Germany for as long as five years without this resulting in the loss of rights deriving from the Withdrawal Agreement.

If you are entitled under the Withdrawal Agreement, you will receive this document in "cheque card format". The card is valid for a minimum of five years and a maximum of ten years.

If upon application, you are certified as having a right of permanent residence, the word "Daueraufenthalt" (permanent residence) will be found on the second line on the back of the card, below "Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt" (permitted to pursue an economic activity).

The document costs the same as a German identity card: EUR 37.00 for persons over the age of 24 and EUR 22.80 for younger holders. No fee is charged if you have previously been in possession of a permanent residence card. A residence card and a permanent residence card will become invalid on 1 January 2022 in any case if you no longer have the right of free movement, but only have a right of residence under the Withdrawal Agreement. Before they become invalid, they will therefore be exchanged for a new residence document.

No, that is not necessary. The inspection authorities are aware that the passport number entered in a document may refer to a passport that has already expired and was valid when the document was issued. You do not need to take your old passport with you when you travel.

Please apply for a new card in good time. As a rule, you will only need your old card and your original current valid passport. Only in justified individual cases will you be required to provide evidence that you continue to have a right of residence.

The main reason why you could lose your right of residence is that you reside outside Germany for too long:

• If or as soon as you have a right of permanent residence, you can reside outside Germany for up to five years without losing your right of residence.
• In all other cases, the following applies: if you reside outside Germany for more than six months (in exceptional cases, for more than 12 months), you lose your right of residence under the Withdrawal Agreement. In this case, the rules on "harmless" absences apply.
• Caution: in both cases, periods of absence before and after 31 December 2020 are added together!

Loss of your right of residence is also possible if you no longer fulfil the requirements for it: for example if you do not yet have a right of permanent residence, if you lose your job, if you have not found a new job within six months, if there is no reasonable prospect that you will find a job in Germany and if you do not have sufficient resources to support yourself.

Termination of residence is also possible if you commit a crime.

If you have lost your right of residence under the Withdrawal Agreement, you cannot regain it.

If you have German citizenship, you must carry a German passport or identity card with you when entering or leaving Germany, and show it at a border control post upon request. If you also have another passport, you must still use the German passport or identity card. If you are German and do not have a German passport or identity card, you must have applied for, and received one, before travelling. This is stated in section 1 subsection 1 of the German Passport Act.

If you are a national of a member state of the European Union, or of one of the other EEA states Iceland, Liechtenstein, or Norway, you must use a passport or identity card of that state to enter the European Union, including Germany, and for exit. This also applies if you are also a national of a third state. A passport of the third state may not be used in this case. For example, if you have both British and French citizenship, you must use a French passport or identity card to enter Germany. If you do not have the passport or identity card of the member state or EEA state in question, you must obtain it before travelling because your identification obligation relates to this passport or identity card. This follows in Germany from section 8 subsection 1 number 1 of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU (Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU), and generally in the EU from Articles 4 and 5 of Directive 2004/38/EC.

These rules are not recommendations but mandatory law. Violations of them can be sactioned with a fine.

Many other states have adopted comparable rules for checks at their respective borders. It is therefore common for travellers to carry with them passports from several countries. The border control officials are aware of this, so you would not arouse suspicion only because you are carrying several valid and genuine passports.

The fact that your passport was stamped at the border does not imply that a decision on your residence status has been made. Instead, the stamp serves to document that the holder of the passport was checked when he or she crossed the border at the location indicated in the stamp, whether it was an entry or exit check and what means of transport was used.

Therefore, the stamping does not affect your rights under the Withdrawal Agreement or result in any other changes regarding your legal status. For this reason, there is no need to invalidate an entry stamp; instead you may simply keep it in your passport as a souvenir.

However, if you leave Germany with a stamped passport more than 90 days after entry, you should be able to present a document certifying your current residence status, for example as a person entitled under the Withdrawal Agreement.

According to section 56(1) no. 8 of the Ordinance Governing Residence (Aufenthaltsverordnung), the stamping of passports at entry or exit by German border authorities must be tolerated. Even the Schengen Borders Code, which contains detailed provisions on the stamping of passports, does not generally prohibit the stamping of entry or exit stamps of passports held by persons who have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.