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EU/EEA Citizen — Economically Inactive or Pensioner

GermanyFree movement

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

Official link

Which citizenship, status or regional agreement creates the person's right to move/reside?

The right derives from EU citizenship. Nationals of other EU member states (not Germans) have the right of entry and residence under the Freedom of Movement Act/EU (FreizügG/EU), which also covers nationals of EEA states that are not EU members. It is a statutory free-movement right, not a visa.

See recorded sources

Under which circumstances can the person reside: worker, self-employed, student, jobseeker, self-funded person or another recognised basis?

A non-economically-active person (e.g. a pensioner or self-funded person) has the right of residence if they have sufficient health insurance cover and sufficient means of subsistence.

See recorded sources

What entry, registration or residence-document formalities remain?

No visa is needed to enter and no residence title is needed to reside; a valid ID card or passport suffices for stays up to three months. The immigration authority may require credible evidence of the right three months after entry; the evidence can be handed in at the registration office when registering residence (Anmeldung). For a non-active person the authority may ask for proof of sufficient health insurance and sufficient means.

See recorded sources

Which non-member-country family members can accompany or join, and what broad rights do they receive?

Spouse, registered life partner, descendants (of the person or spouse/partner) under 21 or maintained, and maintained ascendants may accompany or join; for family of a non-working Union citizen (e.g. pensioner) adequate health insurance and adequate livelihood are required, and these resources may come from the joining family member or another source. Non-EU family members receive, within six months, a residence card valid normally for five years. The official source does not state the employment rights of non-EU family members.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Employment rights of non-EU family members are not stated in the cited text.

When do permanent/long-term rights arise and what continuity, absence or retention conditions matter?

Permanent right of residence (Daueraufenthaltsrecht) after five years of continuous lawful residence in Germany, independent of the original residence basis; on application it is certified without delay. Continuity is not affected by absences of up to six months a year in total, absence for military/alternative service, or one absence of up to 12 consecutive months for an important reason (e.g. pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, study, vocational training, posting). Absence for a non-temporary reason of more than two consecutive years causes loss of the permanent right.

See recorded sources
  • https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/freiz_gg_eu_2004/BJNR198600004.html
    (1) Unionsbürger, die sich seit fünf Jahren ständig rechtmäßig im Bundesgebiet aufgehalten haben, haben unabhängig vom weiteren Vorliegen der Voraussetzungen des § 2 Abs. 2 das Recht auf Einreise und Aufenthalt (Daueraufenthaltsrecht).
  • https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/freiz_gg_eu_2004/BJNR198600004.html
    (6) Der ständige Aufenthalt wird nicht berührt durch 1. Abwesenheiten bis zu insgesamt sechs Monaten im Jahr oder 2. Abwesenheit zur Ableistung des Wehrdienstes oder eines Ersatzdienstes sowie 3. eine einmalige Abwesenheit von bis zu zwölf aufeinander folgenden Monaten aus wichtigem Grund, insbesondere auf Grund einer Schwangerschaft und Entbindung, schweren Krankheit, eines Studiums, einer Berufsausbildung oder einer beruflichen Entsendung. (7) Eine Abwesenheit aus einem seiner Natur nach nicht nur vorübergehenden Grund von mehr als zwei aufeinander folgenden Jahren führt zum Verlust des Daueraufenthaltsrechts.
  • https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/freiz_gg_eu_2004/BJNR198600004.html
    (5) Auf Antrag wird Unionsbürgern unverzüglich ihr Daueraufenthaltsrecht bescheinigt.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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