German residence permit

Specimen of the credit-card sized German residence permit (obverse)
Specimen of the credit-card sized German residence permit (reverse)

The German residence permit (German: Aufenthaltstitel) is a document issued to non-EU citizens (so-called third-country nationals) living in Germany.

Prior to 1 September 2011, residence permits and additional provisions were affixed to pages inside the passport (in sticker form). Today, residence permits are issued as ID-1 (credit card size) plastic cards and the additional provisions are printed on a separate sheet of paper, so that residents have to possess (but not carry around) up to three different documents: a passport from their country of citizenship, their residence permit, and the supplementary sheet (if applicable). Carrying passports and residence cards is only compulsory when crossing borders. Within Germany, it is sufficient to know where they are and to show them to the police within a reasonable amount of time, when requested.