Foreigners in Munich are standing in line for months at the Ausländerbehörde - but why?

A few months ago, I wrote an article about simple ways to make your trip to the Ausländerbehörde a bit more comfortable. I mean, there is no getting around the long waits, the construction woes, and god forbid you don't speak German. It's been a few months since I've tried to apply for a blue card. That's right - I've been trying to apply for months.

So why is it like this? Why do foreigners have to wait for months to get an answer to a question or an appointment for a visa?

1. Sheer number of foreigners in Munich

Almost 37% of Munich's population is not German. It's a foreign paradise, to be honest. The perfect mix of German-speaking and 'I can still live in English if I have to'. For work, you really can't find a better situation. Germany's unemployment rate is at an all time low and the active startup scene also makes finding a job in English easier than ever. It makes sense that this office would be overrun with visa inquiries, but you would have expected them to grow with the times.

2. Only one (?!?!) office that handles this

If you have to get a work visa, tourist visa extension, even a blue card, there is only one office that handles this for all of Munich and the surrounding areas. One very small office in the 2nd floor of the Poccistraße building. I know - KVRs (Kreisverwaltungsreferat) are everywhere in Germany but they don't handle these types of inquiries. If you need to get your address changed, or something simple done you can usually head to the KVR but if you are applying for blue card or updating something on your visa, the Ausländerbehörde is your only option.

3. The System is a Mess - and often changing

Even though they claim to have upped the number of appointments available, getting an appointment spontaneously is nearly impossible. As a veteran of the foreign office in Munich, I've seen them go through 3 different system-wide changes and about 4 or so construction processes.

It used to be quite simple, you go in, wait about 45 minutes, go to the service punkt in the international office and give some docs. If you have to, you wait longer for an appointment. Some people would book online ahead of time but you had a better chance of getting something when you went in and waited.

As of the end of 2019, this system has been thrown out the window. Now, people line up around 6 am and when the doors open at 8:30 they run like hell upstairs to get one of the precious appointments. Last time I went there were approximately 250 people waiting when the doors open people pushed and ran upstairs and in the end, they gave out 15 appointments or so that day to the people who got there first. Some days they give out more, some days less. You read that right, 250 people waiting and only 15 appointments.

I personally have only gone to this morning stampede around 12 times, and every time I see people pushing, shoving, falling down, literally fighting their way up the stairs to get the appointment. I know some of you will say 'you just have to book an appointment online, it's easy' - I've been checking the online appointments for months and it's full way past the time my visa is up.

4. It's the DMV of Germany

One more note, if you think the normal KVR is bad, you should experience the foreigners' office. This place is the DMV of Germany. If you are kind, they will be neutral to you. If you have one section of one document not filled out you might as well just not even try to get in. If you have a question about your application you are out of luck.

These people are getting yelled at constantly. They are working every day in one of the worst offices in Germany, notorious for its long waits. My advice - be kind... and speak German.

I don't know if or when I'll be able to actually apply for my blue card. I've missed so many hours of work to stand in the lines that I am grasping at straws. I asked them if it is possible to get an appointment via a lawyer or employer, they said no. Maybe after this next system change, there will be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.

Are you planning your next trip to wait in line? Read my article about how to make it suck less.