Bundesportal | Free movement of EU and EFTA citizens and their family members

More Information

Publisher

Bremen, Stadt

Last update or date of publication

April 29, 2026

Contact

The government service telephone number 115 – your point of contact for questions related to the federal, state and local.

Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 18:00 (and beyond these times in some regions).

Call 115 now

Government service telephone number calls are charged at local rates.

EU citizens and citizens of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland (EFTA states) have the right to freedom of movement in Germany. You therefore do not need an application or permit to enter and stay in Germany.

In principle, you can prove your right to freedom of movement with your national passport from your country of origin or your identity card. Proof of the right to freedom of movement has no longer been issued since 2013. An application or a visit to the Bremen Migration Office is therefore no longer necessary, but also no longer possible.
However, if you not only want to visit Germany/Bremen but also live here, you must be working, studying or training in Bremen or you must be a relative of a person entitled to freedom of movement.

In this case, it is sufficient for you to register your place of residence at the Citizens' Registration Office in order to reside here legally.

However, family members of EU or EFTA citizens who are not themselves citizens of these countries require a residence card if they wish to live in Germany/Bremen.

As soon as you have been working, studying or training in Germany/Bremen for five years, you and your family members can apply for a permanent residence permit or permanent residence card from the Migration Office. This does not apply to Swiss nationals. You can apply for a settlement permit.

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Preconditions

Please contact the responsible office.

We will inform you about the amount of the fees in our invitation letter

Basis for legal action

Gesetz über die allgemeine Freizügigkeit von Unionsbürgern (Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU-FreizügG/EU) vom 30.07.2004

Richtlinie 2004/38/EG des Europäischen Parlamentes und des Rates vom 29.04.2004

Legal Remedies

Please enquire about your legal remedies at the responsible office.

Procedure

Residence card:
If you would like to apply for a residence card for third-country national family members, please send us the following documents by post:

An informal written application with a brief description of your current situation
For spouses: copy of the marriage certificate of the EU or EFTA citizen
For children: birth certificate
A copy of your national passport
A copy of the EU or EFTA citizen's national passport/identity card
A confirmation of registration from you and your family member
Proof of your family member's right to freedom of movement (e.g. current employment contract, proof of salary, proof of other gainful employment, pension insurance history, permanent residence certificate, proof of sufficient resources and health insurance).

If we require further documents, we will write to you. If we are able to issue you with a residence card, we will send you an appointment.

Permanent residence permit:
If you would like to apply for a permanent residence permit, please send us a copy of the following documents by post:

An informal written application with a brief description of your current situation
Your current employment contract
A current pension insurance history (can be found under "Further information")
Your last payslip

If we require further documents, we will write to you. If we can issue you with a residence card, we will send you an appointment.
If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to mailto:ref20@migrationsamt.bremen.de with your question, your telephone number and when we can best reach you.

Deadlines

As a third-country national family member, you require a residence card if you wish to stay in Germany for longer than three months.