Residence and Naturalization

Many citizens of Bonn have a non-German passport. In Bonn, the municipal foreigners office is the competent authority for almost all questions regarding residence and naturalization. It is required to have an appointment for a visit. Appointments can be scheduled by phone at Bonn‘s municipal foreigners office at 0228/776000 or by using the online-form.

Legal foundation

The Immigration Act is the legal foundation for all questions that have to do with entry and residence of foreign citizens in Germany. The Immigration Act basically consists of

• the Free-Movement-Act/EU, that regulates the legal status if citizens of the European Union (EU), of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland as well as their family members.
• and the Residence-Act, that applies to all other foreign citizens.

Next to this, various single acts, regulations and administrative instructions exist. The different  rubrics can obviously only provide a broad overview over the legal situation. In particular cases, a thorough legal advice is necessary, due to the complexity of the immigration law.