refugee travel document deutsch

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I am a foreigner living in germany and am planning a trip abroad. do i need a valid passport and visa.

As a foreigner you are requested to hold a valid passport or document in lieu of a passport at any time. In general, the issuance and extension of foreign passports have to be applied for at the competent foreign missions in Germany, except for recognized asylum seekers, recognized refugees according to the Geneva Refugee Convention, stateless persons or those entitled to subsidiary protection. The mentioned groups are mostly issued a passport in lieu of a passport (Passersatzpapier) by the local Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde) at the place of residence. There are three types of those documents:

- Travel document for refugees (“Blue Passport”)

- Travel document for stateless persons

- Travel document for foreigners

Holders of Blue Passports are in general allowed to travel to all the countries which have signed the Geneva Refugee Convention. Please note that for many of these countries, however, you may have to apply for a visa in advance. Information on visa provisions for non-German citizens wanting to travel to a third country can only be provided by the respective foreign mission of the country concerned. The addresses of the foreign missions in Germany are available here:

Foreign Missions in Germany

However, you are not allowed to travel to your country of origin - this would imply that you no longer need humanitarian protection; you risk losing your asylum in Germany if you travel to your home country.

Foreign nationals who are in possession of a valid German residence title (Aufenthaltstitel) may travel for a period of up to 90 days within 180 days to other Schengen-States, so do not need a visa. This applies as well to holders of a German Visa of the category “D”.

In both cases, general entry requirements of Article 6 Section 1 letters a, c and e of the Regulation ( EU ) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on a Union Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code) are fulfilled and the person is not listed by the relevant Member State as not permitted.

In case of doubt please get in touch with the competent mission of the country in Germany.

• Who are Member States of the Schengen Agreement?
• Vertretungen anderer Staaten: Länder A-Z
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Documents for foreigners

type: Article , Topic: Administrative reform

The electronic travel document and electronic residence permit have been standardized throughout the European Union in order to improve document security.

Source: BMI

Documents relevant to residence law are issued to citizens of other EU member states or non- EU countries (known as third-country nationals) on a case-by-case basis.

Electronic travel document

The electronic travel document for foreigners, refugees and stateless persons was introduced in Germany in November 2007.

The electronic travel document contains a digital photograph of the document holder. A second-generation travel document, which also includes two digital fingerprints, has been issued since 29 June 2009.

This new technology ensures a high level of security against forgery and document fraud.

Why were electronic travel documents introduced?

Like the electronic passport for German citizens, the new travel documents are intended to significantly improve and speed up identity checks. In addition, the card-holder information and biometric data stored on the chip prevent forgery and misuse by unauthorized persons.

Foreigners can view the data stored on the chip of their electronic travel document at foreigners authorities using a special chip reader.

Data stored on the chip in the electronic travel document

The type of data stored on the chip in the electronic travel document is the same as for the German passport, including the following personal and document-related information:

• first and last name, date of birth, sex and nationality;
• serial number, issuing country, document type and date of expiry.

International standards

The electronic travel document is a passport substitute, so it must be suitable for determining whether the person presenting the document during an identity check is also the rightful document holder. In addition to a conventional visual check, it is also possible to check the electronic travel document using a machine, which is the most important reason for introducing chip technology and biometrics in personal identification documents.

To check the electronic travel document using a machine, officials must be able to access the data on the chip. At the same time, this data must be protected against unauthorized access. The solution was worked out in international and European cooperation: The data stored on the chip are electronically signed, so they cannot be altered without escaping notice. And immediately after the data have been added to the chip, further write access is blocked. In addition, technical mechanisms have been defined EU -wide to protect the data on the chip against unauthorized access.

How access protection works

In an official inspection, the document holder hands the document over to the inspecting official, who opens the document and scans its machine-readable zone (MRZ), which contains the document holder’s first and last name and date of birth, and the document’s number and date of expiry. The last three items of information are used to generate a key which the document reader sends to the document in order to gain access to the data stored on the chip. That is, the document releases its data when the date of birth, document number and date of expiry are sent to it.

Additional protection for fingerprints

As especially sensitive personal data, the fingerprints stored on the chip receive additional protection on top of the already high security standard. Germany advocated an additional security mechanism and developed it in the relevant European bodies under the supervision of the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for Information Security.

This additional protection has been added to the second-generation electronic travel document: The fingerprints on the chip can be read only by countries which Germany has granted special access rights.

More information about the electronic travel document

• For general and law-related questions, please consult your foreigners authority.
• For questions about technical issues, please contact the Federal Office for Information Security ( BSI ) on 01805 274-300 (8 – 17 hrs, 14 cents per minute) or at epass (BSI) E-Mail: ePass@bsi.bund.de

Introducing the electronic residence permit

The electronic residence permit was introduced on 1 September 2011 as a separate document in credit-card format for citizens of non- EU countries (third-country nationals), replacing the residence permit stickers in passports and travel documents.

The new electronic residence permit meets EU requirements for standardized residence titles for third-country nationals. The relevant EU regulations (EC No 1030/2002 and 380/2008) require all EU member states to issue uniform residence titles with biometric features.

The electronic residence permit contains a chip on which personal data, biometric features (digital photograph and two fingerprints) and any residence or employment restrictions are stored. The biometric data may be read only by official authorities such as foreigners authorities or the police. These data prevent forgery and fraud and are intended to help fight illegal immigration and residence.

The card itself is comparable to the new national identity card for German nationals, as it has the same optional electronic functions and offers additional advantages:

• Card holders can use online services securely,
• government authorities and online shops have access to a larger number of potential clients and customers using the online identification function, and
• card holders can register with Internet portals and prove their age more safely and easily.

Only those service providers who have a government-issued authorization certificate are allowed access to card-holder data.

The electronic residence permit is also prepared for qualified electronic signature ( QES ), which allows card holders to sign legally binding digital documents, such as contracts. To use this function, card holders must purchase the necessary certificate.

For third-country nationals who had a valid residence permit in the form of a sticker, nothing changed on 1 September 2011; these permits remain valid until their original date of expiry. Electronic residence permits are issued to third-country nationals applying for renewals or new permits.

Applications for all residence permits should be submitted to the foreigners authorities. Permit applicants should note that the electronic residence permits take longer to produce and issue.

Note: You must apply for a residence permit in person at your local foreigners authority four to six weeks before your current permit expires. For more information about the application procedure, please ask your foreigners authority.

Related topics

National identity card.

The new national identity card in credit-card format has been issued since 1 November 2010.

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Content Search

The mobility key: realizing the potential of refugee travel documents, attachments.

Unlocking Mobility: Analysis Examines Refugees’ Limited Access to Travel Documents and Recommends Ways to Overcome Challenges

WASHINGTON, DC — Governments increasingly are experimenting with new mobility pathways for refugees, beyond traditional resettlement operations. These include complementary pathways that connect refugees with work or study opportunities in a country other than the one in which they first sought safety. Yet this push to expand refugees’ future prospects by creating more and safer mobility options is running into the reality that refugees’ ability to travel internationally is often restricted.

Refugees are not able to safely use the most common travel document—a passport issued by their country of origin—and therefore are often unable to travel internationally safely and legally. This restricts their agency and keeps pressure on top refugee-hosting countries by blocking refugees from taking up opportunities abroad.

There are some other travel document options for refugees, the most common of which is the Convention Travel Document issued by a country of asylum. In practice, though, refugees face a range of challenges acquiring and using these travel documents, as a new Migration Policy Institute (MPI) policy brief explores.

In The Mobility Key: Realizing the Potential of Refugee Travel Documents , MPI Associate Policy Analyst Samuel Davidoff-Gore explores the types of travel documents available, the challenges refugees face in acquiring and using them and the steps governments and other stakeholders could take to overcome these challenges.

Countries of asylum should make refugee travel documents easier to acquire and use by aligning them with national passports, streamlining the application process and reducing logistical challenges for refugees. Destination and transit countries could address discrepancies in handling refugee travel documents, enhance trust in the security of these documents and train officials to recognize and process them appropriately. Donors and international organizations could provide capacity support and funding to countries of asylum for travel document processes, including machinery, software, training and institutional strengthening. This support could also be extended to regional mobility integration processes such as those being undertaken in East Africa and the Horn of Africa.

“While some of these changes can be done by individual countries unilaterally, the complexity and interconnectedness of travel document policy requires that countries coordinate with each other to achieve these reforms in a cohesive and systematic way,” the author notes.

The brief is the latest analysis produced under the three-year Beyond Territorial Asylum: Making Protection Work in a Bordered World initiative undertaken by MPI and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The initiative seeks to address challenges to asylum systems that are under immense pressure and seize the opportunity to explore and test new ways to facilitate access to protection that better support equity and result in more flexible, sustainable infrastructure. Earlier reports have examined meaningful ways to build refugee participation in policymaking , the growing use of external processing , role for digital tools in international protection, difficulty shifting public narratives about refugees, and flexible approaches to protection.

Read today’s brief here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/refugee-travel-documents .

Media Contact

Michelle Mittelstadt

202-266-1910

[email protected]

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• Advance Parole, Reentry Permits and Travel Documents (Form I-131)

What is a Refugee Travel Document?

Home » What is a Refugee Travel Document?

July 5, 2021

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues Refugee Travel Documents to persons with refugee or asylum status (and in some cases to lawful permanent residents who obtained their permanent residence through refugee or asylum status).

Who Needs a Refugee Travel Document

You must have a Refugee Travel Document to return to the United States if you:

• Have refugee or asylum status but are not a lawful permanent resident (green card holder); or
• Are a derivative asylee or refugee.

If you do not obtain a travel document before you leave the U.S., you may be unable to re-enter the United States or you may be placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge.

Lawful permanent residents who obtained their status through refugee or asylum status may also apply for a travel document. Although permanent residents can generally enter the United States with the green card (after an absence of less than one year), a travel document may be needed to enter other countries. In this way, the travel document is much like a passport.

An asylum “applicant” cannot obtain a Refugee Travel Document. Instead, asylum applicants may apply for an Advance Parole Document . Advance Parole allows certain aliens to return to the United States without a visa after traveling abroad.

Form I-131, Application for Travel Document

To apply for a Refugee Travel Document, file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document . You should file a Form I-131 before you leave the United States and expect processing times of approximately three months. However, it may take longer. Expedited processing may be available for your situation.

Should you need to leave the United States before USCIS grants the travel document or you want to apply outside the United States, please consult with an immigration attorney .

Mistakes on your Form I-131 can cause costly delays or a denial.

Period of validity.

A Refugee Travel Document is valid for up to one year. During this time you can use the document multiple times.

USCIS will not renew your travel document. Instead, you’ll need to apply for a new one with Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.

Traveling to the Country of Persecution

Traveling back to the country where you experienced past persecution or claim a fear of future persecution is highly discouraged.

RECOMMENDED: Dangers of Refugee/Asylee Travel to Home Country

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• Travel documents

Netherlands

Holders of an asylum residence permit or a permanent asylum residence permit can apply for a refugee passport ( vluchtelingenpaspoort ) issued by the Netherlands. There are no differences between refugees and subsidiary protection beneficiaries.

The duration of validity of the passport for refugees issued to a holder of a permanent asylum residence permit is 5 years. The duration of validity of the passport of a holder of a non-permanent asylum residence permit depends on the validity of the residence permit. There is a minimum duration of validity of 1 year and a maximum duration of validity of 3 years of the passport for refugees. Therefore, if the residence permit has a duration of validity less than a year, it is not possible to obtain a passport for refugees.

The possibility for obtaining a passport for refugees is provided in the Act of Passports ( Paspoortwet ). Holders of a (permanent) asylum residence permit can apply for a passport for refugees in the municipality where they live and where they are registered at the BRP. The municipality issues passports for refugees. The application must be done in person. The person must show his or her residence document and must bring two passport photos. Fingerprints will also be taken. The municipality must issue the passport as soon as possible, which means most of the time in 5 days. The municipality officially has 4 weeks to decide to issue the passport. The fee for a passport for refugees is maximum €58.89. The refugee passport contains a travel limitation, prohibiting travel to the country of origin.

The application for a travel document is filed by an automated system at the municipality; the beneficiary does not need to apply. As far as the Dutch Council for Refugees is aware, there are no obstacles in the recognition of travel documents for beneficiaries of international protection issued by other countries. There are no statistics available on the number of travel documents issued.

Table of contents

• Overview of the legal framework
• Overview of the main changes since the previous report update
• Types of procedures
• List of authorities intervening in each stage of the procedure
• Number of staff and nature of the first instance authority
• Short overview of the asylum procedure
• Access to the territory and push backs
• Registration of the asylum application
• Regular procedure
• Admissibility procedure
• Border procedure (border and transit zones)
• Accelerated procedure
• Identification
• Special procedural guarantees
• Use of medical reports
• Legal representation of unaccompanied children
• Subsequent applications
• First country of asylum
• Safe third country
• Safe country of origin
• Provision of information on the procedure
• Access to NGOs and UNHCR
• Differential treatment of specific nationalities in the procedure
• Short overview of the reception system
• Criteria and restrictions to access reception conditions
• Forms and levels of material reception conditions
• Reduction or withdrawal of reception conditions
• Freedom of movement
• Types of accommodation
• Conditions in reception facilities
• Access to the labour market
• Access to education
• Health care
• Special reception needs of vulnerable persons
• Provision of information on reception
• Access to reception centres by third parties
• Differential treatment of specific nationalities in reception
• Grounds for detention
• Alternatives to detention
• Detention of vulnerable applicants
• Duration of detention
• Place of detention
• Conditions in detention facilities
• Access to detention facilities
• Judicial review of the detention order
• Legal assistance for review of detention
• Differential treatment of specific nationalities in detention
• Residence permit
• Civil registration
• Long-term residence
• Naturalisation
• Cessation and review of protection status
• Withdrawal of protection status
• Criteria and conditions
• Status and rights of family members
• Social welfare
• ANNEX I – Transposition of the CEAS in national legislation