By Gülay Tasli, specialist lawyer for migration law and social law (Fachanwältin für Migrationsrecht und Sozialrecht) (Rechtsanwaltskammer Düsseldorf)
After an unsuccessful asylum procedure, often only the temporary suspension of deportation (Duldung) remains for years. Under certain circumstances, there may still be a path to a residence title (Aufenthaltstitel) for you. What is decisive is that this path is examined in good time.
At a glance
If your asylum application has been rejected in a final and non-appealable decision or if you have withdrawn it, a residence title may in principle only be granted before departure under the provisions on residence on grounds of international law, on humanitarian grounds or on political grounds (§ 10 Abs. 3 AufenthG). If the rejection of your asylum application under § 30 of the Asylum Act is based on certain grounds laid down in European law, no residence title at all may be granted before departure, unless you have a statutory entitlement to a residence title or meet the requirements of the residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) described below on account of a prohibition of deportation. Even after such a rejection, the residence permit in cases of sustainable integration described below and the residence permit for young people with a Duldung may be granted. The residence permit for economic activity for skilled workers may nevertheless not be granted before departure after a final and non-appealable rejection.
You should not count on the asylum application being successful. It is advisable to use the time of the procedure to open up the path to alternative humanitarian residence titles. Which path comes into consideration depends in particular on your previous residence. We are glad to advise you on this.
A permission to reside pending the asylum procedure (Aufenthaltsgestattung) allows you to stay in the federal territory in order to conduct the asylum procedure. A Duldung, by contrast, merely suspends your deportation. Your obligation to leave the country remains unaffected. A widespread misconception is the assumption that a Duldung or an Aufenthaltsgestattung is a residence title. The Residence Act lists the residence titles exhaustively, and neither the Duldung nor the Aufenthaltsgestattung is among them.
The time spent with a Duldung is nevertheless not lost, because individual humanitarian residence titles are tied to a Duldung of a certain duration. In practice, the Duldung is often taken to be a secure status. It is therefore of decisive importance that you have it clarified at an early stage since when and for what reason your deportation has been suspended.
If you are subject to an enforceable obligation to leave the country, a residence permit may be granted to you if your departure is impossible for legal or factual reasons and the obstacles to departure are not expected to cease to apply within the foreseeable future. If your deportation has also been suspended for 18 months, the residence permit should be granted. This residence permit may only be granted if you are prevented from leaving the country through no fault of your own (§ 25 Abs. 5 AufenthG).
This path often fails because of fault, for example when reasonable requirements for removing the obstacles to departure are not met. Under the law, however, fault may also exist in other cases. We examine separately in each individual case what is reasonable for you.
If you are living in Germany with a Duldung, a residence permit should be granted to you in the case of sustainable integration into the way of life in the Federal Republic of Germany, even if you did not enter with the required visa (§ 25b AufenthG). As a rule, sustainable integration requires, among other things, that you have resided in the federal territory continuously for at least six years with a Duldung, with an Aufenthaltsgestattung or with a residence permit, and for at least four years if you live in a domestic community with an unmarried minor child. Your means of subsistence do not have to be fully secured for this residence permit. As a rule, however, it is one of the requirements that you secure them mainly through economic activity or that securing your means of subsistence is to be expected on the basis of your previous schooling, vocational training, income and family situation. If you cannot meet the requirements as to means of subsistence or as to German language skills because of an illness or a disability or on grounds of age, these requirements are waived.
The residence permit is to be refused, among other things, if you prevent or delay the termination of your residence by intentionally false information, by deception as to your identity or citizenship or by not meeting reasonable requirements as to cooperation in removing obstacles to departure. The residence permit in cases of sustainable integration may also be granted if your asylum application was rejected on grounds that otherwise largely rule out a residence title before departure. Whether your integration counts as sustainable can only be assessed in the individual case.
If you are an adolescent or a young adult and have held a Duldung for at least twelve months, a residence permit should be granted to you if you have been residing in the federal territory continuously for three years lawfully, with a Duldung or with an Aufenthaltsgestattung and the further requirements are met. This includes in particular that you have, as a rule, successfully attended school in the federal territory for three years or have obtained a recognized school or vocational qualification. If you cannot meet this requirement because of an illness or a disability, it is waived. The residence permit is to be refused if your deportation has been suspended on account of your own false information or on account of your deception as to your identity or citizenship. The residence permit for young people may also be granted if your asylum application was rejected on grounds that otherwise largely rule out a residence title before departure.
The application must be submitted before you reach the age of 27. In practice, the residence permit for young people is often only considered once the age of 27 has already been reached and an application therefore no longer comes into consideration. It is therefore advisable to have the requirements examined at an early stage.
If a prohibition of deportation under § 60 Abs. 5 or 7 AufenthG exists, a residence permit should be granted to you. If the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) or the administrative court has decided on this, the immigration authority is bound by that decision, regardless of whether the prohibition was affirmed or denied.
With one of the residence permits described on this page, a settlement permit may later be granted to you if the requirements laid down by law for this are met. The duration of the preceding asylum procedure is counted toward the time limit that applies. The residence permit on humanitarian grounds may no longer be extended if the obstacle to departure or the other reasons precluding termination of residence have ceased to apply. We are therefore glad to discuss with you at an early stage when the step to a settlement permit comes into consideration.
The Duldung is the temporary suspension of your deportation. The deportation is to be suspended for as long as it is impossible for factual or legal reasons and no residence permit is granted. The Duldung is not a residence title. Your obligation to leave the country remains unaffected (§ 60a Abs. 3 AufenthG). Whether a residence title can arise from the Duldung depends on the circumstances of your individual case.
If a right or a benefit depends on the duration of your residence in the federal territory, the time with an Aufenthaltsgestattung is counted only if you have been recognized as a person entitled to asylum or if international protection has been granted to you (§ 55 Abs. 3 AsylG). For individual humanitarian residence titles, by contrast, the time of the Aufenthaltsgestattung does count according to the wording of the respective provision. The duration of the preceding asylum procedure is counted toward the time limit for a later settlement permit if you hold a residence permit on humanitarian grounds. We are glad to examine what applies in your case.
A residence permit on account of an obstacle to departure may only be granted if you are prevented from leaving the country through no fault of your own. Under the law, fault exists in particular if you give false information, deceive as to your identity or citizenship or do not meet reasonable requirements for removing the obstacles to departure (§ 25 Abs. 5 Satz 4 AufenthG). The list in the law is not exhaustive. What is reasonable for you depends on your individual case and is often underestimated.
Last updated: September 8, 2026. Professionally responsible: Gülay Tasli, lawyer and, specialist lawyer for migration law and social law (Fachanwältin für Migrationsrecht und Sozialrecht).
