Entry and residence permit

Visa-free entry and applying for any permit in Berlin (§ 41 AufenthV); German missions in Canada.

The rule: § 41 AufenthV

• § 41 (1): nationals of Canada, and of Australia, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, the UK and the United States, may enter and stay without a visa also for a stay that is not a short stay, and may obtain a required residence title in Germany (gesetze-im-internet.de).
• This applies to every kind of title, including one for employment, not only to tourists.
• § 41 (3): the title must be applied for within 90 days after entry. The period ends early if you are expelled or your stay is restricted under § 12 (4) AufenthG.
• § 41 (4): not valid for an ICT card (intra-corporate transfer, § 19 AufenthG). Check the visa route if you are transferred within a company.

Working

• With your application, your stay is deemed lawful (§ 81 (3) AufenthG). That alone does not allow you to work.
• Only once the LEA has approved the title and ordered the card may you do the employment provided for in the future title until the card is issued (§ 81 (5a)). This is then stated in the Fiktionsbescheinigung.
• § 41 AufenthV does not regulate work.

Applying in Berlin

• Authority: Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA), berlin.de/einwanderung. Book the appointment and the checklist for your purpose there.
• Current availability of appointments and processing times are not assessed on this page; check the LEA site.
• Documents typically include passport, biometric photo, proof of registered address (Anmeldung), health insurance, and documents for your purpose. See Documents.

Alternative: visa from a German mission

You may also apply for a national (type D) visa before you travel. Visa fee €75, minors €37.50 (§ 46, § 50 AufenthV). Missions in Canada, as published on canada.diplo.de:

• Embassy Ottawa and Consulate General Montréal no longer offer consular services (since 2015). Toronto staff hold limited consular days in Montréal in the off-season.
• Consulate General Toronto offers the full range. District: Ontario, Manitoba, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut.
• Consulate General Vancouver serves British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, but not every service. Long-term (national) visas are handled only by Toronto: applications from the Vancouver district, and postal applications, go there.
• Honorary consuls (Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Halifax, St. John's) offer a smaller set of services, such as passport applications and certifications.

Reasons to choose the visa: employer or authority wants it, you want certainty before moving, or the ICT card applies. Whether a visa is faster than applying in Berlin could not be assessed. The missions' booking channel for national visas was not checked.