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When the Immigration Office Goes Quiet

Ausländerbehörde Not Responding? Who to Escalate to, by State

When my own file went quiet during my passport application, one message to BAYERN | DIREKT got the Ausländerbehörde to write back within days. Every state has an office like it. Below: the right offices for your state with numbers and links, then when to do what.

Your StateWhen to Do WhatThe LetterCourt CostsFAQSources

Not legal advice. Statutes and every contact read from the official pages in September 2026, all linked at the bottom. The Ausländerbehörde decides your case; a deportation date, a lost visa or a job that cannot wait belongs in front of a lawyer today.

3 months

of silence after a dated application before the court can be asked (§ 75 VwGO)

€511.50

court fee advanced for a permit claim; usually recovered if the office was simply slow

16 of 16

states have a Landtag petitions committee that must obtain the ministry’s written statement

6

states with an ombudsperson who can demand an answer: BW, BE, MV, RP, SN, TH

Verified · Updated September 2026§ 75 VwGO§ 81 AufenthGGKG Anlage 2BAYERN | DIREKT
№ 01Your state

The offices for each Bundesland

A forwarding desk passes your concern to the ministry. An ombudsperson can demand a written answer. The supervisory authority can instruct the Ausländerbehörde. The petition makes the ministry explain itself to parliament. Where a state has no desk or ombudsperson, it simply has none.

Hessen has debated a Landtag ombudsperson for years; none could be confirmed in September 2026, so the Regierungspräsidien carry that role there. Ministry names without a link were not read from an official page.

№ 02When to do what

The escalation table

  1. Day 0

    Apply in writing, before the old permit expires. The appointment is not the application.

    To whom:
    The Ausländerbehörde, by post with Einwurf-Einschreiben, fax, or a portal that confirms receipt
    What it does:
    Starts § 81 Abs. 4 AufenthG protection and the three-month clock of § 75 VwGO. Ask for the Fiktionsbescheinigung in the same letter.
    Cost:
    Postage

  2. Week 4 of silence

    One reminder with a three-week deadline (template below). Name § 75 VwGO once.

    To whom:
    The Ausländerbehörde, same channel
    What it does:
    Creates the dated record every office below will ask for. Many offices answer this letter.
    Cost:
    Postage

  3. Week 7, deadline passed

    Ask the state to forward the concern to the responsible ministry, and write to the ombudsperson where the state has one.

    To whom:
    The citizen desk (BY, HE, NW, SN) or the ombudsperson (BW, BE, MV, RP, SN, TH); see your state below
    What it does:
    A question from the ministry or an ombudsperson gets an answer where your letters did not. Free, no legal advice, no decision.
    Cost:
    Free

  4. Month 2

    Fachaufsichtsbeschwerde: a complaint about the failure to decide, not about a person.

    To whom:
    The supervisory authority listed under your state
    What it does:
    It can instruct the Ausländerbehörde in your case. No deadline of its own.
    Cost:
    Free

  5. Month 2, in parallel

    Petition, one page, dates and copies attached.

    To whom:
    The Landtag petitions committee, any state, any nationality
    What it does:
    The ministry must explain the delay to parliament in writing. Months for the procedure, sooner inside the office.
    Cost:
    Free

  6. Month 3

    Untätigkeitsklage (§ 75 VwGO). No lawyer required, but one who files these weekly is worth the fixed fee.

    To whom:
    The Verwaltungsgericht for the district of the Ausländerbehörde
    What it does:
    The only rung with a clock a judge sets. Most offices decide within weeks of being served; understaffing is not a sufficient reason.
    Cost:
    €511.50 advanced (€849 for citizenship), usually recovered from the authority

  7. Any time

    Find the responsible office, its address, fax and opening hours.

    To whom:
    The 115, Mon to Fri 8:00 to 18:00
    What it does:
    Responsibilities and contact details only. It cannot see your file, check a status or advise on your case.
    Cost:
    Local rate

Weeks count from the day your application provably arrived. A Dienstaufsichtsbeschwerde (about a person's conduct) goes to their own superior and rarely moves a file; for silence, use the Fachaufsicht above the office.

№ 03The reminder

The letter for week four

ERINNERUNG MIT FRISTSETZUNG · DEUTSCH

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

am [DATUM] habe ich bei Ihnen [einen Antrag auf Verlängerung meiner Aufenthaltserlaubnis / einen Antrag auf Erteilung einer Aufenthaltserlaubnis / einen Antrag auf Einbürgerung] gestellt (Aktenzeichen: [AKTENZEICHEN]). Bis heute habe ich weder eine Entscheidung noch eine Eingangsbestätigung oder eine Zwischennachricht erhalten.

Ich bitte Sie, über meinen Antrag bis zum [DATUM + 3 WOCHEN] zu entscheiden oder mir bis dahin mitzuteilen, welche Unterlagen noch fehlen und wann mit einer Entscheidung zu rechnen ist.

Ich weise darauf hin, dass nach § 75 VwGO drei Monate nach Antragstellung eine Untätigkeitsklage zulässig ist. Ich möchte diesen Weg nicht gehen müssen und bitte deshalb um eine Rückmeldung innerhalb der genannten Frist.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[NAME]
[ANSCHRIFT, GEBURTSDATUM, STAATSANGEHÖRIGKEIT]

WHAT IT SAYS

Dear Sir or Madam, on [DATE] I filed [an application to extend my residence permit / for a residence permit / for naturalisation] with you (file number [REF]). To date I have received neither a decision nor an acknowledgement or an interim notice. Please decide on my application by [DATE + 3 WEEKS], or tell me by then which documents are missing and when a decision can be expected. I note that under § 75 VwGO an action for failure to act becomes admissible three months after filing. I would prefer not to take that route and therefore ask for a reply within the period named. Yours faithfully, [NAME].

  • Post with Einwurf-Einschreiben, or fax with the report. An unanswered email proves nothing.
  • Attach nothing new unless the office asked for it; a fresh bundle can be logged as a new application.
№ 04Month three

What the court asks for up front

€511.50

residence or settlement permit: €5,000 case value, three fees of €170.50

€849

naturalisation: €10,000 case value, three fees of €283

€170.50

what remains of the permit-case fee if the office decides before judgment (KV 5111)

No lawyer

required at the Verwaltungsgericht (§ 67 Abs. 1 VwGO); one is still worth a fixed fee

Most offices decide within weeks of being served and the case is declared settled; under § 161 Abs. 2 VwGO the court then puts the costs on an authority that had no good reason for the wait. Chronic understaffing is not accepted as one. Fee table: GKG Anlage 2, BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 109.
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Frequently asked questions

How long can the Ausländerbehörde take to decide on my application?
The law sets no processing time, but it sets a limit on silence: § 75 VwGO lets you sue for a decision once an application has sat undecided for three months without sufficient reason. Most offices decide well inside that; the escalation table is for the ones that do not.
My residence permit expired while I was waiting. Am I in Germany illegally?
Not if you applied before it expired. § 81 Abs. 4 AufenthG says the old title counts as continuing until the decision, and § 81 Abs. 5 obliges the office to give you a Fiktionsbescheinigung as proof. An application filed after expiry gives no such protection, so apply early and in writing, appointment or not.
What does BAYERN DIREKT actually do?
It records your concern and forwards it to the responsible ministry, which asks the Ausländerbehörde for a statement. It gives no legal advice and does not mediate. NRW direkt, the Sächsische Staatskanzlei Bürgerbüro and the Hessian Bürgertelefon do the same in their states; elsewhere the lever is the Landtag ombudsperson or the petitions committee.
Can the 115 check the status of my application?
No. Its own page says it cannot give information on individual cases or ongoing procedures. It tells you which office is responsible, what a procedure needs, fees, and sometimes books appointments. Use it for the right address and fax number.
How much does an Untätigkeitsklage cost?
A residence-permit claim is valued at €5,000, so the court asks for three fees of €170.50, €511.50, up front; a naturalisation claim at €10,000, €849. If the office decides before judgment the fee drops to a single one, and under § 161 Abs. 2 VwGO the court usually puts the costs on an authority that had no good reason to wait. A lawyer is optional (§ 67 Abs. 1 VwGO).

Sources

Every figure, rule and contact on this page comes from one of these. A statute link lands on the paragraph; an office link lands on the page its contact was read from.

The offices, read on their own pages in September 2026

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