Your rights as an EU citizen

Who may stay in Germany under the FreizügG/EU: workers, self-employed, job seekers, students, non-working persons, permanent residence.

Legal basis: § 2 FreizügG/EU implementing Directive 2004/38/EC and the EU Treaty rules on free movement. The Act does not issue residence permits to Union citizens; the right exists by law once you meet a condition.

Who has the right (§ 2 (2))

• Workers and persons in vocational training (no. 1).
• Job seekers (no. 1a): up to six months, and beyond that only as long as you can prove that you keep looking and have a genuine chance of being hired. What counts as proof in Berlin practice is not defined in the Act; ask the immigration office before relying on it.
• Self-employed established in Germany (no. 2), and service providers and recipients of services (nos. 3 and 4).
• Non-working Union citizens (no. 5) under § 4: you need sufficient health insurance cover and sufficient means. Students: the right as a non-working person; family members then only spouse, partner and supported children.
• Family members (no. 6): see Family.
• Permanent residence (no. 7) after five years, below.

Keeping worker status after losing a job (§ 2 (3))

• You keep the right if you are temporarily unable to work through illness or accident.
• Involuntary unemployment confirmed by the Employment Agency after more than one year of work: the right stays in place. After less than one year of work, it stays for six months (§ 2 (3) sentence 2).
• Starting vocational training keeps the right if it is linked to your earlier work; the link is not needed if you lost your job involuntarily.
• Register as unemployed with the Employment Agency promptly, because the confirmation is part of the rule.

Permanent residence after five years (§ 4a)

Union citizens who have lived lawfully and continuously in Germany for five years have the right of permanent residence, regardless of the conditions in § 2 (2) (§ 4a (1)). Absences up to six months in total per year do not interrupt the stay (§ 4a (6)); an absence of more than two consecutive years for a non-temporary reason ends it (§ 4a (7)). On request the authority certifies permanent residence (§ 5 (5)). Shorter periods apply in special cases such as retirement or work incapacity (§ 4a (2)).

No residence certificate for EU citizens

Union citizens do not receive a residence document. The Act provides a card only for family members who are not Union citizens (§ 5 (1)) and a certificate of permanent residence on request. The former "Freizügigkeitsbescheinigung" was abolished by the act of 21 January 2013 (BGBl. 2013 I p. 86), in force 29 January 2013. Employers and banks sometimes ask for a "residence certificate": your passport or ID card is enough proof of identity.

Loss of the right (short)

The authority may find that the right does not exist if it was obtained with forged documents or false statements (§ 2 (4)). Within five years of the start of residence it may find that the conditions have ceased (§ 5 (4)). Otherwise loss can be declared only on grounds of public policy, security or health (§ 6); a conviction alone is not enough, and after permanent residence only for serious grounds (§ 6 (4)). After ten years of residence, only for imperative grounds of public security (§ 6 (5)). Any such decision must be in writing and can be challenged: get legal advice immediately.