A hearing letter from the immigration office

What this letter is

An „Anhörung“ means the office is considering a decision about your residence status and is required to let you comment first. It is a formal step before a decision, not the decision itself.

Because it comes before a decision, what you write in response can matter a great deal.

Why to get help with this one

This is a letter about your right to stay. What you should say, and what you should not, depends entirely on your individual circumstances — no general guidance can substitute for someone reading your file.

For a letter of this kind, get help from a person rather than acting alone. A Migrationsberatung (migration counselling service), a Sozialberatung, a Verbraucherzentrale, or a lawyer can read the actual letter and tell you what your options are. Many of these services are free.

The deadline that applies to you is printed on your own letter — usually near the top or at the end of the section describing what you must do. Look for a date, or a phrase such as „innerhalb von zwei Wochen“ (within two weeks) or „bis zum“ (by). Do not rely on a period you read online, including here: the same letter type carries different deadlines depending on why it was sent.