The foreigners' office (Ausländerbehörde) in Ulm, Neu-Ulm and Heilbronn

If you come from outside the EU, you enter Germany with a visa and then apply for a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) at the foreigners’ office (Ausländerbehörde). Which office is responsible depends on where you live, not where you work or study.

Before your appointment

Register your address first (Anmeldung guide).
Apply before your visa expires. Appointments can take weeks, so book as soon as you can.
Get a digital biometric photo code. Paper photos are no longer accepted. How the photo code works.
Check the document list on your office’s page. It depends on your permit (study, Blue Card, family).

Check your passport before you apply. If it is valid for less than a year, renew it first. When my passport had less than a year left, my residence permit was only issued until my passport’s expiry date.

What I had to bring (student, permit renewal in Ulm)

For extending my student residence permit, the foreigners’ office in Ulm asked for:

my passport,
my university enrolment certificate (Immatrikulationsbescheinigung),
my registration certificate (Meldebestätigung),
a bank statement. A normal bank statement was accepted; it did not have to be a blocked account. Mine showed more than €12,000.

I bank with Sparkasse, so I went to my branch and got the statement within 10 minutes.

For comparison: the official amount for students is €992.00 a month, which is €11,904.00 for a year. Your office may ask for different documents, so check its list before your appointment.

Ulm

Bürgerdienste Ulm (registration office and foreigners’ office)

Olgastraße 66, 89073 Ulm · Map

Registration office on the ground floor, foreigners’ office on the first floor (owner’s experience).

Theater (tram) · 60 mHauptbahnhof (tram) · 140 mUlm Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) · 250 m

Foreigners’ office: opening hours

Walk in on Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings. Otherwise by appointment only. Closed on Wednesday.

Monday	08:00–12:00Walk-in 14:00–16:00Appointment only
Tuesday	08:00–12:00Walk-in
Wednesday	Closed
Thursday	08:00–12:00Appointment only 14:00–17:30Appointment only
Friday	08:00–12:00Walk-in
Saturday	Closed

Walk-in mornings can mean long waiting times, says the city. Book online for a fixed time.

Checked 5 October 2026 · Official hours · Book an appointment · Hours can change; check before you go.

Only responsible for people whose residence is in Ulm.
Some applications (e.g. residence permits for education) can be made online.
Appointments are recommended and can be booked online.

The foreigners’ office in Ulm handled both my first residence permit and my renewal. Both times it took exactly one month until I had my permit.

Neu-Ulm

Residence permits for people living in Neu-Ulm are issued by the district office (Landratsamt Neu-Ulm), not by the City of Neu-Ulm. It is in a different building from the citizens’ office where you register.

Landratsamt Neu-Ulm (foreigners’ office for the Neu-Ulm district)

Kantstraße 8, 89231 Neu-Ulm · Map

Kantstraße (bus) · 65 mLandratsamt (bus) · 120 mHallenbad (bus) · 200 m

Foreigners’ office: opening hours

Appointment only. Send residence permit applications in writing first; the office then contacts you for an appointment.

Monday	07:30–12:30Appointment only
Tuesday	07:30–12:30Appointment only
Wednesday	07:30–12:30Appointment only
Thursday	07:30–17:30Appointment only
Friday	07:30–12:30Appointment only
Saturday	Closed

These are the district office’s opening hours. The foreigners’ department (FB 51) can only be visited with an appointment.

Checked 5 October 2026 · Official hours · Book an appointment · Hours can change; check before you go.

Responsible for everyone living in the Neu-Ulm district, including the city of Neu-Ulm. The City of Neu-Ulm itself does not issue residence permits.
Only accepts digital passport photos (since 1 May 2025). Paper photos are no longer accepted.

Heilbronn

Rathaus Heilbronn (Bürgeramt and foreigners’ office)

Marktplatz 7, 74072 Heilbronn · Map

Entrance Lohtorstraße. Registration office on the ground floor, foreigners’ office on the second floor (service point: room 281). Photo terminal in room 213A (owner’s experience and city website).

Nearby: Marktplatz (market square), Kilianskirche (church, about 140 m), Hafenmarktturm (tower, about 170 m)

Rathaus (tram) · 90 mHarmonie/Hafenmarktpassage (tram) · 290 m

Foreigners’ office: opening hours

Appointment only. Tuesday mornings are for asylum seekers only.

Monday	08:30–12:00Appointment only
Tuesday	08:30–12:00Appointment only(asylum seekers only)
Wednesday	08:30–12:00Appointment only
Thursday	14:00–18:00Appointment only
Friday	Closed
Saturday	Closed

Checked 5 October 2026 · Official hours · Book an appointment · Hours can change; check before you go.

Visits only with an appointment, which can be booked online.
If you live outside the city of Heilbronn (in the surrounding district), a different office may be responsible. Check with your town.

In Ulm and Heilbronn you can often combine trips: the registration office and the foreigners’ office are in the same building. In Neu-Ulm, plan for two different places about 1 km apart.

If you lose your passport

After an appointment at the foreigners’ office in Ulm I couldn’t find my passport and thought I had lost it. I went to the police and reported it lost. The police recorded it and put out an alert, in case someone tried to use it.

A few days later, when I went to pick up my residence permit, my passport was there: I had left it at the foreigners’ office. I was told to report it to the police again once found, so I went back and told them.

What I learned: report a lost passport to the police straight away. If you were at an office shortly before, ask there too. And if it turns up, tell the police that it was found.

This is general information, not legal, visa or tax advice. Rules can change and your case may differ. Always check with the responsible office.

Before your appointment

What I had to bring (student, permit renewal in Ulm)

Ulm

Neu-Ulm

Heilbronn

If you lose your passport

Sources