I am an American citizen and received my first freelancer visa in September 2015. Coming up on its expiration, I applied for the renewal and had my appointment yesterday morning.
Upon arrival at Auslanderbehörde, I was told that a visa extension was impossible, because I am currently in Germany illegally. What happened was that I left Germany between January 2016 until July 2016 (5 of the months outside the Schengen area). I did the full Abmeldung upon leaving, and then did the Anmeldung when I came back. I never received any communication that anything was wrong, so it was huge surprise to be told I need to leave Germany immediately.
Luckily, I have a trip to the United States next week for a family wedding, and thankfully the visa officer accepted this as proof of my departure. She instructed me to abmeldung immediately and leave Germany.
Also luckily, she said I could return as a tourist and start the freelancer visa process over. But in the commotion, she didn’t specify if I could use that return ticket as planned or if I must be out of the Schengen for some time before re-entering.
My question is this: My flight back to Berlin is the 27th of July; I would only be out of Germany for under a month. Can I begin my 90 days as a tourist upon return, or is there a certain amount of time one must be out before returning given this odd ‘believed I was in compliance with my visa, but I actually wasn’t’ situation.
Unfortunately I need to know as soon as possible as this would mean I am packing up my apartment and completely moving out within the span of a few days. I greatly appreciate your help or recommendations on where to find the answer to this question!!!
Upon arrival at Auslanderbehörde, I was told that a visa extension was impossible, because I am currently in Germany illegally. What happened was that I left Germany between January 2016 until July 2016 (5 of the months outside the Schengen area). I did the full Abmeldung upon leaving, and then did the Anmeldung when I came back. I never received any communication that anything was wrong, so it was huge surprise to be told I need to leave Germany immediately.
Luckily, I have a trip to the United States next week for a family wedding, and thankfully the visa officer accepted this as proof of my departure. She instructed me to abmeldung immediately and leave Germany.
Also luckily, she said I could return as a tourist and start the freelancer visa process over. But in the commotion, she didn’t specify if I could use that return ticket as planned or if I must be out of the Schengen for some time before re-entering.
My question is this: My flight back to Berlin is the 27th of July; I would only be out of Germany for under a month. Can I begin my 90 days as a tourist upon return, or is there a certain amount of time one must be out before returning given this odd ‘believed I was in compliance with my visa, but I actually wasn’t’ situation.
Unfortunately I need to know as soon as possible as this would mean I am packing up my apartment and completely moving out within the span of a few days. I greatly appreciate your help or recommendations on where to find the answer to this question!!!
