As Germany’s pathway for people with ‘tolerated’ status to receive a more stable residence permit comes to an end, new figures shed light on how successful the initiative has been.
Note that the Opportunity Residence permit discussed in this article is different to the Opportunity Card, which was designed for skilled immigrants looking to move to Germany for employment.
Tens of thousands of long-term residents in Germany have spent years living with an uncertain immigration status.
Many hold ‘tolerated’ status, known in German as a Duldung. This means they are legally required to leave the country but cannot be deported, for example because of health reasons, family circumstances or difficulties obtaining a passport.
A total of 190,974 of the 232,067 people required to leave Germany at the end of 2025 held a Duldung, figures show.
In an attempt to give those affected the chance to move into a more stable situation, Germany’s previous coalition government – made up of the centre-left SPD, the Greens and the liberal FDP – introduced the Opportunity Residence permit (Chancen-Aufenthaltsrecht) at the end of 2022.
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The scheme gave people who had lived continuously in Germany for at least five years by October 31st 2022 the chance to obtain an 18-month temporary residence permit.
During that time, they could work towards meeting requirements – such as proof of German language skills – for a secure, long-term residence status.
However, the scheme was not extended by the current conservative CDU/CSU and centre-left SPD coalition government, and it expired at the end of 2025.
Now, new figures show how many people benefited from the pathway.Â
How many people secured permanent residence rights?
According to the government, a total of 91,116 temporary residence permits were granted under the initiative.
By the cut-off date of September 30th 2026, 32,233 adults had secured a permanent right to remain in Germany. A further 4,135 children and young adults had also been granted a longer-term right of residence.
Combined, this means 36,368 people – just under 40 percent of those who received the Opportunity Residence permit – have so far secured a permanent right of residence.
The figures were released in response to a parliamentary question from Green Party MP Filiz Polat.
However, many others are still in limbo when it comes to their immigration status.Â
As of September 30th, 27,763 former recipients of the ‘Opportunity Residence Permit’ were living in Germany with a so-called Fiktionsbescheinigung (provisional residence certificate).
This document is issued to people who have applied for a residence permit but whose application has not yet been decided.
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A further 7,131 people still held the temporary Opportunity Residence permit. Their residence status remains valid until the permit expires.
Meanwhile, 11,935 people had fallen back into ‘tolerated’ status, signalling they had not met the requirements.Â
Others have been granted different residence permits, had their permits revoked or allowed to expire, or had their applications rejected.
A total of 3,957 people who had previously benefited from the temporary permit were no longer living in Germany by the end of September.Â
Questions over handling of the schemeÂ
The decision to not extend the ‘Opportunity Residence’ permit has been slammed by the opposition.Â
Polat, a Green politician from Lower Saxony says that the figures provided by the government show that “when people are given the necessary conditions, they also seize the opportunities presented to them”.
The figures come amid questions about what happens to people whose applications were still awaiting a decision when the Opportunity Residence scheme expired.
As The Local recently reported, a ruling by the Higher Administrative Court in Hesse said that applications still pending after the scheme expired cannot automatically be granted under the old rules.
Although the ruling applies only to the state of Hesse, it has raised concerns about the situation of applicants elsewhere in Germany who may have submitted their applications before the deadline but are still waiting for a decision.