You can use the online services "Residence permit" and "Residence of EU and EEA citizens and their families (persons entitled to freedom of movement)" to apply for services at a foreign nationals' registration office. The data protection information on this page applies to all associated application processes.

The online services send the data you enter to the relevant immigration office and do not store it beyond that. Only the immigration office stores your data for longer so that it can process your application.

The entity responsible for processing your personal data is:

City of Mainz
, Citizens' Office
, Department of Foreigners' Affairs
, Stadthaus Kaiserstraße (Lauteren Wing)
, Kaiserstraße 3-5
, 55116 Mainz
, Phone: 115

If you have any questions about data protection or this privacy policy, you can contact our data protection officers as follows:

Unless otherwise specified below, the legal basis for data processing in online services is Article 6(1)(c) or (e) of the GDPR in conjunction with the provisions of immigration law governing the services requested.

The legal basis for the application procedures that are part of the online service "Residence Permits" is, in particular, the Residence Act (Sections 86 et seq. AufenthG) and the Act on the Central Register of Foreigners (Sections 6, 7 AZRG) as well as other regulations (including the Residence Regulation and the Regulation on the Implementation of the Act on the Central Register of Foreigners). The obligation to offer these services electronically arises from Section 1 (1) of the Online Access Act (OZG).

The legal basis for the online service "Residence of EU and EEA citizens and their families (persons entitled to freedom of movement)" is, in particular, the Freedom of Movement Act/EU (Section 11 (1) sentence 1 FreizügG/EU). The obligation to offer these services electronically arises from Section 1 (1) of the Online Access Act (OZG).

Applying for immigration services using the online service

The online services assist you in entering the data required to apply for immigration services and in transmitting this data to the relevant authority.
To do this, you will be asked to provide the application data required by the immigration authorities to process your application. Depending on the service, this may include:

• Information on your current residence status
• Details of the representative (only in the case of representation)
• Data of the applicant (e.g., surname, first name, address, date of birth, marital status, nationality)
• Contact details
• Data of minor children (only in the case of joint applications for children)
• Details of the reference person (only in the case of family reunification)
• Data of the employer and company representative (only in the accelerated skilled worker procedure)
• Copies of identity and residence documents
• Copies of supporting documents (e.g., employment contract)
• Confirmation of acknowledgment of instructions 
  

Storage period in online services: until the end of the session or after 30 minutes of inactivity (for more information, see "Temporary storage and automatic deletion in online services")

Temporary storage and automatic deletion in the online service

If you use the online services and interrupt the application process, your entries will be temporarily stored on the online service servers for a maximum of 30 minutes. Temporary storage is necessary to give you enough time to complete the electronic application. This allows you to interrupt the application process for a short time, e.g. to search for documents.

If you interrupt your session for longer than 30 minutes, the data entered up to that point will be deleted and you will have to restart the respective online service.

Your application data is not permanently stored in the online services. At the end of your session, i.e., after you have submitted your application, your application will be irrevocably deleted from the service environment. Your application will also be deleted if you cancel your session.

Provision of online services

The following data is processed for the duration specified below for the technical provision and to ensure the functionality of the online services:

• Session key for logging in and receiving the session (stored locally in the browser's session storage): until the end of the session or after 30 minutes of inactivity
• Web server log data (IP address, browser information): 90 days
• Log data of the online service (application ID, session and transmission status. Only if the application could not be transmitted for technical reasons will the entire application be stored in the log): 24 months during the pilot operation.

Creation of usage statistics from the online services

The aforementioned log data from the online services is also used to compile anonymous usage statistics. The usage statistics show, among other things, how many successful applications have been sent to the immigration authorities or whether and how many applications have been canceled. The usage statistics serve to improve the online services and measure the success of the implementation of the OZG. The processing of online applications after their receipt by the immigration authorities is not recorded and is not included in the statistics.
Storage period: 24 months during the pilot phase (storage ends with anonymization, see above).

Logging in to online services with a user account

You can log in to the online services with a user account to automatically transfer the data stored in your user account to the online services. However, you can also adjust the data in the online services retrospectively, as the data is not yet verified when it is transferred. The Foreigners' Registration Office processes the following data:

• Requested master and communication data of natural and legal persons
• Technical data (in particular authentication and session cookies)

Legal basis: Notwithstanding the above legal bases, the processing of your data when you log in with your user account is permitted in accordance with Article 6(1)(e) GDPR in conjunction with the consent given in accordance with Section 8(5) OZG.

Storage period in the online services: until the end of the session or after 30 minutes of inactivity

Storage period in the user account: The provider of the respective user account (BundID, user accounts of the federal states, My Business Account) is responsible for storing the data stored in the user account.

Institute for Municipal Data Processing in Bavaria (AKDB): The Immigration Office has commissioned AKDB with the technical provision of the online service. AKDB processes the data in order to transmit it to the Immigration Office. The AKDB uses subcontractors for technical support. The AKDB publishes the current list of its subcontractors on its website (https://www.akdb.de/ (opens in a new tab)).

Foreigners' Registration Office: The Foreigners' Registration Office receives the data from the online service and then processes it further.

Processing your application

When you submit your application, the application data specified under "Applying for immigration services using the online service" will no longer be stored in the respective online service, but will be stored by the immigration office so that the immigration office can process your application.

The immigration office will store your application data for as long as is necessary to fulfill its respective tasks in accordance with the statutory retention requirements of the federal and state governments (including the provision of information, permits, orders, and ancillary provisions, as well as regulatory decisions regarding your residence, proper record keeping, and fulfillment of documentation obligations).

Your data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer needed for the performance of the task.

Otherwise, your data will be stored by the Foreigners' Registration Office for the following periods:

• in the case of naturalization: 10 years after naturalization (Sections 67/68 (2) sentence 2 of the Residence Regulation),
• in the event of departure: 10 years after departure from the jurisdiction of the Foreigners' Registration Office (Sections 67/68 (2) sentence 3 of the Residence Regulation),
• in the event of death: 5 years after the date of death (Sections 67/68 (2) sentence 3 of the Residence Regulation),
• in the event of expulsion or deportation: 10 years after the expiry of the time limit (§ 91 (1) AufenthG, § 68 (2) sentence 1 AufenthV).

Recipients:

• Official registers (databases): Due to legal requirements, your data will be stored in various registers, i.e., databases of public authorities. Among other things, your data will be transferred to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees as the competent registry authority for storage in the Central Register of Foreigners (§ 6 (1) No. 1 AZRG). Your data will also be stored in other registers to which authorities in other member states of the European Union also have access (e.g., EURODAC database, Visa Information System, Schengen Information System).
• Other recipients: If necessary and legally permissible, the Immigration Office will also pass on your personal data to the authorities in Germany and abroad specified in the AZRG and the Residence Regulation (e.g., the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, the Employment Agency, the Federal Printing Office). This may be necessary in order to decide on your residence, prevent the misuse of public funds, examine security concerns, or promote your integration.

Contacting the Immigration Office
If you have questions about the online services and the services offered and contact the Immigration Office, it will process your contact information (name, email address, telephone number) and the content of your inquiry in order to process your request.

The Immigration Office will only store your data for as long as it needs it to respond to your inquiry. Depending on the subject of the inquiry, it may also be necessary to store the data in accordance with the statutory retention periods or regulations for file retention (see "Processing your application").

You have the following rights regarding the processing of your personal data in the online service and at the immigration office:

• Right to information (Article 15 GDPR): If your personal data is processed, you have the right to obtain information about the data stored about you.
• Right to rectification (Article 16 GDPR): If incorrect personal data is processed, you have the right to have it corrected.
• Right to erasure, restriction, and objection to processing (Articles 17, 18, and 21 GDPR): If the legal requirements are met, you can request the erasure or restriction of processing and object to processing.

If you exercise your above-mentioned rights, the competent immigration authority will check whether the legal requirements for this are met.

Please note that you can only exercise your aforementioned rights in full if you also send your application to the immigration authority using the online service, as no application data is stored permanently in the online service (see "Temporary storage and automatic deletion in the online service"). Your rights as a data subject will then also apply to the further processing of your application by the immigration authority (see "Processing of your application").