The Aufenthaltsdokument-GB: your Brexit residence card in Germany, explained
If you were living in Germany on 31 December 2020, Brexit didn't take your rights away. It did hand you a card to look after, and that card now matters every time you cross a border.
The short version
- UK nationals and their family members who lived in Germany under EU law on 31 December 2020, and still live here, have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement [1][3].
- Those rights are proved by the Aufenthaltsdokument-GB, which in Berlin is generally valid for 10 years and allows any kind of work [3].
- With the card, you don't register on the EU's Entry/Exit System; without it, you risk being mistaken for an overstayer [1].
- If you never registered, you can still apply, but you may have to prove your past residence yourself [3].
- Anyone who moved to Germany from 2021 has no Withdrawal Agreement rights and needs a normal residence permit [3][4].
Who it covers
Berlin's immigration office, the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA), is clear that rights under the Withdrawal Agreement can no longer arise from 1 January 2021 onwards [3]. If you were here on 31 December 2020 and lawfully resident under EU free movement rules, you're in. That includes [3]:
- workers and trainees, the self-employed, students and job seekers;
- people not working who had enough money to live on and health insurance;
- UK soldiers stationed in Germany, who count as workers under EU law.
You didn't need to speak German to qualify [3]. One important limit: the right to stay applies only to Germany, not to other EU countries [3]. Your status here doesn't let you move to Lisbon on the same terms.
The card itself
The Aufenthaltsdokument-GB is a biometric card. The LEA issued it automatically to people who had told it they were living in Berlin by the end of 2020, and it's generally valid for 10 years [3]. The FCDO says the document needs renewing every five or 10 years, depending on your status [1]. It certifies your right of entry and residence and allows all forms of employment and self-employment [3].
Strictly speaking, your rights come from the treaty, not the card, and the LEA notes that your right to work doesn't depend on holding it [3]. But try explaining that to a border guard at Schönefeld at 6am. The FCDO's advice is that you need the Aufenthaltsdokument-GB when entering or leaving Germany [1].
The Entry/Exit System
The EU's Entry/Exit System is being rolled out across Schengen, taking fingerprints and a photo of non-EU visitors and counting their days [2]. The FCDO says that with an Aufenthaltsdokument-GB you won't have to register with the EES when entering, leaving or travelling within Schengen. Without it, you may be wrongly identified as overstaying and refused entry to Germany or other Schengen countries [1]. If you don't have a valid biometric document, contact your local Ausländerbehörde [1].
Withdrawal Agreement residents vs newcomers
| Withdrawal Agreement resident | Newcomer (arrived from 2021) | |
|---|---|---|
| Document | Aufenthaltsdokument-GB [3] | Residence permit (eAT), e.g. Blue Card [4] |
| Work | Any employment or self-employment [3] | As the permit allows |
| German required | No [3] | Depends on the permit; needed for settlement |
| EES at the border | Exempt with the card [1] | Exempt with a valid residence permit [1] |
| Moving elsewhere in the EU | No extra rights [3] | No extra rights |
| Family joining later | Close family covered [3] | Under general German family rules |
If you never registered
The LEA asked UK nationals in Berlin to report their residence by 30 June 2021 [3]. If you missed that, don't panic: the LEA says failing to do so is neither a criminal nor a regulatory offence [3]. You can still apply, though you may have to prove your lawful residence before 2021 yourself [3]. The FCDO says that if successful you'll get a biometric document, and if refused you may be able to appeal [1].
- Gather proof of residence on 31 December 2020: your Meldebescheinigung (address registration), tenancy agreement, payslips or tax returns, health insurance and bank statements.
- Contact the LEA through its contact form; appointments are booked online [3]. Outside Berlin, go to your local Ausländerbehörde [3].
- Attend your appointment with your passport and photos.
- Collect your card and keep a copy of the old documents in a safe place.
Keeping your status: absences
This is where people come unstuck. Before you have permanent residence, you can lose your status with long absences. The LEA's guidance allows up to six months a year abroad, or a one-off absence of up to 12 months for important reasons such as pregnancy, serious illness or study [3]. Once you have permanent residence, which under the Withdrawal Agreement usually comes after five years of continuous lawful residence, you only lose it after five consecutive years outside Germany [3].
So if you're planning a long stint looking after a parent back home in Blighty, check where you stand before you book the flights.
Family members and new passports
Close family are covered too: a spouse or registered partner, children and grandchildren under 21 (or older if you support them), and dependent parents or grandparents [3]. Children born or adopted after 31 December 2020 can qualify if they're under 21 when they join you [3]. Other relatives fall under general German law [3]. If your family hasn't moved yet, read our guide to Brits in the EU after Brexit.
Renewed your British passport? The card is linked to it, so you transfer it at a Berlin Bürgeramt or the LEA [3]. That costs EUR 37 (about £31), or EUR 22.80 (about £19) for under-24s [3]. Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002). Our guide to renewing a British passport from abroad covers the UK side.
Frontier workers
If you lived in another EU country and commuted to work in Germany before 2021, there's a separate frontier-worker document, the Aufenthaltsdokument für Grenzgänger-GB [3]. The FCDO points frontier workers to its own guidance [1].
Arrived after 2021?
You don't qualify, however many years you spent here on holiday before. Newcomers are third-country nationals. The upside is that British citizens can still enter Germany visa-free and apply for a residence permit here, as long as the application goes in within 90 days of entry [4]. Our guides to moving to Berlin and German residence permits set out the routes.
Many Withdrawal Agreement residents now go a step further and naturalise. Since June 2024, Germany lets you keep your British passport [1][5]. See German citizenship for Brits after the 2024 reform.
Stuck with an awkward case, like a gap year or a partner who joined late? Ask in our community group for Brits in Germany; someone has usually been there.
Sources
- GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Germany (last updated 11 December 2025)
- GOV.UK (FCDO): Germany travel advice – entry requirements
- Berlin.de, Landesamt für Einwanderung: Brexit (15 August 2024)
- Gesetze im Internet: § 41 Aufenthaltsverordnung
- Berlin.de, Landesamt für Einwanderung: Einbürgerung