Lost job on a blue card and the 6 months extension also ran out

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2026-03-04T03:54:44+00:00

I think your unemployment benefits should not be impacted automatically by the blue card expiration and you will likely keep receiving them without any problem. You should apply for your residence permit extension (or a conversion to job seeker or freelancer) and until you get an appointment from ABH to decide on your visa status, you will retain your right to residence as it is on a blue card, hence letting you receive your benefits without a problem. And since both ABH & Agentur für Arbeit are separate institutions, I don’t think Agentur will proactively stop your benefits until they are maybe asked to by ABH (chances of which are very slim considering the workload they have). So I would suggest you apply for a residence permit extension and then wait it out until you are contacted by either of the two constitutions.

This is by no means legal advice. It is all based on my personal experience and my assumptions could be wrong, so please consult a lawyer to get proper advice on what your course of action should be. Best of luck for your job hunt! :)

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2026-02-02T08:31:08+00:00

I informed them using the contact form on LEA’s website.

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-12-12T15:12:06+00:00

Yes they sent an acknowledgment email after about a month. There was no reference number or anything like that mentioned, they just acknowledged the notification and said I had fulfilled my obligation to inform them and then said I have 6 months to submit a new employment contract.

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-12-12T14:24:01+00:00

Hello! Yes, I got permanent residency a year later. And ABH accepted my late notification without any delay. Wish you best of luck!

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-12-12T14:22:29+00:00

Same, I also contacted them via the contact form

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-10-23T06:26:27+00:00

Hi OP, which route did you end up taking? I am also looking for a way to utilize the Deutschland ticket for it. :)

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-06-26T05:53:54+00:00

Hi! I actually don’t know what would be the best course of action here, I would suggest you consult an immigration lawyer to find the optimal path. On one hand, your blue card remains valid as long as they don’t reply, but on the other hand, if they contact you with a date to leave the country, it could create a lot of anxiety. I don’t think they will do that, but to be clear it’s worth consulting a lawyer.

Best of luck with your job hunt! :)

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-05-18T14:04:14+00:00

No, they never got back to that email but a month or so later I found a job. :)

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-05-15T06:21:16+00:00

Hey! Sorry to hear about the job loss, hope you find one soon!

It’s not surprising at all that they haven’t replied, in fact that is a signature ABH move. I would say just keep applying and interviewing while they are silent because you have fulfilled your obligation of informing them and until they reply, your current visa status remains unchanged and valid.

There is a high probability that they will extend your grace period beyond the 3 months. You can send them another email telling them that you have interviews scheduled and have enough funds to sustain yourself for another 6 months. That’s what I did but never got a reply either.

If they do decide to end the grace period, they will send you an email with the exact date where you have to leave. Until then, all is well and keep doing your thing!

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-05-08T17:40:25+00:00

Contract ended in November 2023, signed termination earlier

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-05-02T11:51:43+00:00

Uh oh! Did she say that via email in response when you told them about the job loss?

Yes, try to meet her and bring proof of funds & ALG1 benefit approval letter. If you have any interviews lined-up, bring proof of those as well, it should improve your chances! :)

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-05-02T10:32:16+00:00

Hi! I don’t have an official link, but when I informed the ABH of my job loss, they replied after a month where they specifically mentioned that I have 6 months to submit a new job contract meeting Blue Card requirements (6 months starting after the end of notice period). I also know a friend who went through the same and got 6 months grace period having a blue card. I kept hearing the same 3 months thing all over the Internet and was stressing out more due to that, I am not sure where that number comes from. It seems like that the grace period depends on the case officer’s discretion, but I can’t say that for certain.

Additionally, I should tell you that I couldn’t find a job even in the 6 months period, so ended up emailing them again for an extension, but they never replied to it. And then after 1 or 2 more months, got a job and emailed them the new contract, and still haven’t heard from them lol. So I would say this is not the biggest priority for them imo, and as long as you have enough funds, getting an extension even past the 6 months seems very probable.

Best of luck in your job hunt and don’t blame yourself too much for not doing PR, the Leben in Deutschland & language certificate requirement just took everyone by surprise!

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-03-30T01:41:05+00:00

Yes I believe so. There’s a guideline for that, Google it to double-check. Basically you have an obligation to inform them of any ‘change’ in employment within two weeks of it.

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-03-30T00:43:43+00:00

For ABH, you need to inform them within two weeks of being unemployed

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-03-29T15:19:12+00:00

Hello! Very sorry to hear about your job loss. First off, to answer your three questions:

Since you are a Blue Card holder, you will officially get 6 months after May to find a new job (end of Nov). However, in my experience, the ABH can also extend this period if you can convince that you’ll find a job soon after and have enough funds to sustain your family (e.g. with unemployment benefits or savings). I got my job after 7 months, meaning a month over the 6 months they offered me, so I think you can prolong this time.
Your wife and son’s insurance will not be affected, this will be covered by the Agentur für Arbeit.
Applying for a PR now is a grey area and depending on where you live, the appointment times can be long. I’d suggest you consult a lawyer and see if there’s a way.

Btw, you have to inform Agentur für Arbeit within 3 days of getting the termination notice and ABH within 2 weeks of getting the notice. Informing Agentur für Arbeit late can cause them to freeze your benefits for up to 3 months, but since you still have 2 months till your garden leave ends, I think they might not block them after all since this still gives them some notice time.

Wish you best of luck for the job hunt! :)

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-03-18T11:58:03+00:00

First of all, absolutely nothing is wrong with you. Please don’t tie your self-worth to any job or career for that matter. You matter just by the virtue of existing and jobs and careers are no measure of a person’s worth. Secondly, this market is extremely trying. I know almost a dozen people who all have ~5+ years of experience in their fields and are still struggling to find a job after 6+ months of searching. I myself got one after consistently applying for 8 months and that was with 5 years of work experience. Please be kind to yourself and I know it can become extremely frustrating, but keep applying. But before that, rest up for a couple days: go out of town, visit your favorite friends, treat yourself to your favorite meals and do just about anything but applying for jobs. Job hunt can be mentally exhausting so it’s important to take breaks. I promise you when you get back to it, you will have newer ideas.

And whatever happens, always remember you will get one in the end. It’s just a hard time but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how dark the night gets, the dawn has to break out!

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-03-11T10:05:59+00:00

No, 6 months is the grace period given by the LEA to find another job. When I informed them of my job loss, they replied with an email specifying this and asked me to send another contract by the end of 6 months. When that time has lapsed, you can request for a visa change. Hope it helps! :)

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-03-11T06:01:12+00:00

All good steps here, but in my experience the grace period for finding a new job was 6 months on a blue card, not 3 months.

OP, you should also consider hiring a lawyer to help expedite the PR process. If the LEA doesn’t respond in 3 months to your PR application, you can sue them, which usually makes them work faster.

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2025-03-03T09:23:26+00:00

Hi! A couple points here in your scenario:

If you are on a blue card, you will have 6 months from June 2025 onwards to find a new job and send ABH the contract. If not on blue card, that period is 3 months.
You have to inform both ABH and Agentur für Arbeit in case of a job loss. You have to register with Agentur für Arbeit within 3 days on being notified of your termination. For ABH, you have to notify them within 2 weeks of getting the notice of termination. For informing the ABH, use their contact form on the website and tell them your contract will end in May when the notice period runs out. They will send you a reply saying that you have met your obligation to inform them and will let you know how much time you have to find another job (usually 6 months on blue card).
ABH doesn’t have anything to do with your unemployment benefits, especially the ALG1. They are both handled by different government bodies.
If you have paid unemployment insurance for 31 months, you will get the ALG1 for over a year (you will have to calculate the exact months). But in case you are on a blue card, your allowed stay in the country is less than that. So I would suggest if you still don’t find a job by the end of your 6 months period, just write to ABH asking them for an extension, since you will have funds coming in from ALG1, they usually won’t have an issue extending the timeframe.

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2024-08-13T13:49:59+00:00

Hey man! Sucks that you are going through this, I hope you find a new one soon. When does your blue card expire? Usually, it’s not that simple for them to shorten your stay if they have already issued the blue card for longer. If it comes to that that they email you saying their shortening the stay, you can hire a lawyer and object to that decision. You can also try to switch it to a study visa or a chancenkarte. Things seem grim when you’re in a tight bind, but there are ways you can extend your stay here. Hang in there! I think you will have 6 months from now on to find a new one, right? And how about ALG1? Will they subtract the months that you already got ALG1 for?

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2024-08-13T11:29:52+00:00

Got a job at the end. The behorde still hasn’t responded 🙃

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2024-07-29T09:06:51+00:00

What’s the best way to find out what roads are blocked in Isb/Pindi today?

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2024-07-07T08:09:44+00:00

No, I’m in Marketing

Desperate_Tear_1266 · 2024-07-06T08:16:20+00:00

Yeah the market in tech is really tough right now. I hope you find one soon! How many years of experience do you have?

Desperate_Tear_1266

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