Bavarian Administrative Court of Munich, February 14, 2017, Case No.: 10 ZB 15.2059
When in possession of a limited residence permit, it is crucial to submit the extension application in a timely manner. Even if the residence permit has already expired, it remains valid during the processing of the application. However, if the extension is not applied for in time, a foreign national may, under certain conditions, still be entitled to the issuance or extension of a residence permit for a past period after submitting the application, provided they have a legitimate interest in doing so.
In this case, the applicant’s request for an extension of his residence permit was denied. After filing a lawsuit, the Administrative Court upheld the denial, as the applicant had submitted his extension application after his residence permit had expired, and grounds for expulsion existed. The applicant then applied for an appeal, seeking to continue his unsuccessful case for the issuance of a residence permit, this time for family reunification with his German wife. However, this appeal was also dismissed as unfounded, as the applicant had neither submitted such an application nor met its requirements.
Facts of the Case:
Applicant Submits Extension Request Six Months After His Residence Permit Expires
The applicant had lawfully resided in Germany since 1996. His last issued residence permit was valid until November 8, 2007, and he applied for an extension on March 13, 2008, which was denied. According to his statements, his wife became in need of care that same year, and she passed away on July 13, 2010. On October 6, 2009, he was also convicted by the Munich I Regional Court for crimes committed in 2007.
After the denial, the applicant filed a lawsuit and requested an extension of his residence permit, or alternatively, a new decision on his extension application.
Administrative Court Dismisses the Lawsuit Against the Denial
The Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit on December 12, 2013, because the applicant had submitted the extension application after his residence permit had expired, and therefore, he had no claim to an extension of his residence permit for spousal reunification (§ 28(1) Sentence 1 No. 1 AufenthG) or an extension based on an independent right under § 31(1) Sentence 1, § 31(4) Sentence 2 AufenthG.
Even if the applicant had submitted the extension or new application for a family reunification residence permit in time, he would not have had a right to further extension under § 31 AufenthG at the time of the decision. Consequently, a residence permit could no longer be issued due to the passage of time, so only a discretionary residence permit under § 31(4) Sentence 2 AufenthG could have been considered. However, under the general issuance requirements of § 5(1) No. 2 AufenthG (in its previous version), no grounds for expulsion must exist. Due to his numerous convictions, the applicant had grounds for expulsion, and no exceptional case or discretionary error was identifiable.
Applicant Files for Appeal Against the Dismissal
The applicant then applied for permission to appeal, arguing that the extension could not have failed under § 31 AufenthG, as the Administrative Court had judged, because he had submitted his extension application too late. Retroactively, he should have been granted a residence permit under § 28(1) Sentence 1 No. 1 AufenthG from the time of his application until his wife’s death on July 13, 2010. He had a legitimate interest in this because, after his wife’s death, an extension under § 31(1) Sentence 1 No. 2 AufenthG and a further extension under § 31(4) Sentence 2 AufenthG would have been possible. At that time, all the requirements for the residence permit were met, particularly the marital cohabitation. Due to this exceptional situation, no grounds for expulsion could have been raised against him.
Decision of the Bavarian Administrative Court of Munich:
Court Denies Appeal
The application for permission to appeal was unfounded. The applicant’s arguments did not reveal any serious doubts about the correctness of the Administrative Court’s judgment under § 124(2) No. 1 VwGO, nor a deviation from a decision of the Federal Administrative Court under § 124(2) No. 4 VwGO.
Applicant Could Not Retroactively Be Granted a Residence Permit for Family Reunification with His German Wife
In principle, if the requirements are met, a foreigner can claim the granting of a residence title for a period in the past after the application has been submitted if they have an interest worthy of protection. This applies regardless of whether the residence title has already been issued for a later date or not (see e.g. BVerwG, judgement of 9 June 2009 - 1 C 7/08 - juris para. 13; BVerwG, judgement of 29 September 1998 - 1 C 14/97 - juris para. 15).
The plaintiff could not be granted a residence permit retroactively because of his German wife
The applicant could not be retroactively granted a residence permit for family reunification with his German wife (§ 28(1) Sentence 1 No. 1 AufenthG) because he had not applied for such a residence title in 2008. Additionally, according to his own statements, there was no longer any marital cohabitation at that time. The applicant had indicated on the application form dated March 13, 2008, that he was „separated“ and had crossed out the fields for „information about the spouse.“ For the „purpose of stay,“ he did not check the box for „family reunification“ but instead entered „work.“
He had also informed the immigration authorities on 5 March 2010 that he had been separated from his wife since 2006. This separation therefore already existed before his wife became in need of care (according to him) in 2008. The criminal judgement of the Regional Court of Munich I of 6 October 2009 also revealed that the plaintiff had already been separated from his wife in 2007. During the criminal proceedings, he visited her once a week in the nursing home. The assumption in the administrative court's decision of 12 December 2013 that the plaintiff's regular visits to the nursing home meant that a marital partnership ("even if not in the traditional sense") still existed was expressly an assumption in the plaintiff's favour. The plaintiff was also only registered in a shared flat with his wife until 28 November 2005.
If the special requirements are not met, the general requirements are irrelevant
If neither an application nor the factual requirements for a residence permit pursuant to Section 28 (1) sentence 1 no. 1 AufenthG are met, such a residence permit cannot be granted (even retroactively) for this reason alone, without the (non-)existence of the general requirement for granting a residence permit pursuant to Section 5 (1) no. 2 AufenthG still being relevant.
The plaintiff's further submission was therefore no longer relevant to the decision and could not give rise to any serious doubts as to the correctness of the administrative court's judgement, as a residence permit could not be granted for other reasons.
A residence permit based on an independent right of residence in accordance with § 31 Para. 1 AufenthG is only possible as an extension. It can only be considered if the foreigner has a spouse-related residence permit and applies for an extension before its expiry. If they fail to submit an application in good time, the spouse-related residence permit expires (§ 51 Para. 1 No. 1 AufenthG) and can no longer be extended in accordance with § 31 Para. 1 AufenthG. This provision does not provide for a new permit to be issued (see in detail BVerwG, judgement of 22 June 2011 - 1 C 5/10 - juris para. 12 ff.).
The plaintiff's most recently issued spouse-related residence permit expired on 8 November 2007. Therefore, the extension/renewal applied for on 13 March 2008 could not trigger the fictitious effect of § 81 Para. 4 Sentence 1 AufenthG. It was not until the Act of 1 June 2012 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1224), which came into force on 1 August 2012, that the immigration authority had the option of ordering the fiction of continued validity despite a late application (Section 81 (4) sentence 3 AufenthG in the currently valid version).
The plaintiff's submission also did not justify any other assumption of serious doubt as to the correctness of the administrative court's judgement
The Administrative Court had also "assumed" that the plaintiff had a spouse-related residence permit and referred to its expiry date (see BVerwG, judgement of 10 December 2013 - 1 C 1/13 - juris para. 14).
The plaintiff was also unsuccessful in his claim that the requirement that there must be no reason or interest for deportation could be waived in his case by way of exception. Such an exceptional case is only given if there is an atypical course of events that is so significant that it eliminates the otherwise decisive weight of the statutory rule requirement. It must be a deviation that makes the application of the standard case appear so disproportionate in terms of meaning and purpose and in consideration of higher-ranking law, such as the protection of marriage and family within the meaning of Art. 6 GG, that it would be unreasonable to adhere to it (see BVerwG, judgement of 13.6.2013 - 10 C 16/12 - juris para. 16; BayVGH, decision of 9 December 2015 - 19 B 15.1066 - juris para. 35; BayVGH, decision of 24 April 2014 - 10 ZB 14.524 - juris para. 7; BayVGH, decision of 4.12.2013 - 10 CS 13.1449, 10 C 13.1451 - juris para. 21; Maor in Kluth/Heusch, Beck'scher Online-Kommentar Ausländerrecht, Status 1.11.2016, § 5 AufenthG para. 20).
The reasons for the applicant's deportation (the criminal offences he had committed) did not differ from the majority of cases in which reasons for deportation prevent the granting or extension of a residence permit. In view of the large number of criminal convictions, it could not be assumed that the applicant would not pose a danger in the future. With regard to Art. 8 ECHR or Art. 6 Para. 1 GG, it was also not necessary to waive the conditions for granting a residence permit set out in § 5 Para. 1 AufenthG. Just because the plaintiff had been living in Germany continuously since 1996 and had been in a long-term employment relationship since June 2012, the reference to the lack of the general conditions for granting a residence permit provided for in Section 5 (1) sentence 2 AufenthG was not disproportionate. The same applied to the Administrative Court's statements regarding the exercise of the discretionary powers available to the immigration authority when applying Section 31 para. 4 sentence 2 AufenthG.
The plaintiff's plea of divergence (Section 124 (2) no. 4 VwGO) was also unsuccessful
It must be stated which specific and generalisable legal opinion the administrative court has based its decision on and to what extent this does not agree with a specific legal principle in the case law of one of the courts named in Section 124 (2) No. 4 VwGO. The divergent legal principles must be compared in such a way that the divergence is recognisable (established case law, see e.g. BayVGH, decision of 22 August 2016 - 10 ZB 16.804 - juris para. 4 with further references).
The plaintiff's submission did not meet the requirements for a proper statement of grounds for authorisation
The plaintiff's submission did not fulfil these requirements. He had merely argued that the Administrative Court "with its decision that an extension of the residence permit pursuant to Section 31 AufenthG fails because a residence permit cannot be granted retroactively pursuant to Section 28 AufenthG" deviated from the established case law of the Federal Administrative Court and the Higher Administrative Courts. However, the Administrative Court had not established such a legal principle in its decision. It had not denied the possibility of a retroactive granting of a residence permit in accordance with Section 28 (1) sentence 1 no. 1 AufenthG as such, but rather assumed precisely this possibility. Even in the case of an assumed retroactive granting of the residence permit, it then correctly came to the conclusion that an extension in accordance with § 31 AufenthG was not possible.
The plaintiff also incompletely reproduced the administrative court's comment. The Administrative Court had stated that it was contrary to the system of the Residence Act to extend an expired residence permit with retroactive effect "before the date of application". This was correct. There is no case law to the contrary from the Federal Administrative Court or any other court mentioned in Section 124 (2) No. 4 VwGO. A retroactive grant is only possible for the period from the date of application, but not for a period prior to the date of application (BVerwG, judgement of 9 June 2009 - 1 C 7/08 - juris para. 13; BVerwG, judgement of 29 September 1998 - 1 C 14/97 - juris para. 15).
Source: Bavarian Higher Administrative Court
Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty. Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.
If you need legal advice, please feel free to call us at 0221 - 80187670 or send us an email at or send an email to info@mth-partner.de info@mth-partner.de
Lawyers in Cologne advise and represent clients nationwide in immigration law.