Entered Germany 6 days before student visa validity — now facing Federal Police investigation. Need advice
Hi r/germany,
I'm a Turkish student living in Munich and I recently received a letter from the Bundespolizei (Federal Police, Munich Airport) informing me that I'm under criminal investigation for two offenses under the AufenthG:
Unauthorized entry (§95 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 AufenthG)
Unauthorized stay (§95 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 AufenthG)
What happened:
I applied for a student visa on 9 July 2025 together with my girlfriend, under identical conditions and on the same day. Her visa arrived within 2 weeks. Mine was significantly delayed — it only arrived physically at my address on 5 September 2025. During the wait I even emailed the consulate asking if there was a problem.
Due to last-minute stress (booking flights, accommodation etc.) I didn't carefully check the visa start date. The visa was valid from 24 September 2025 but I entered on 18 September 2025 — a difference of 6 days.
At no point was I warned or stopped:
Not at passport control in Ankara (departure)
Not at the boarding gate in Ankara
Not at passport control upon arrival in Munich — I showed my university enrollment documents and was waved through
I only realized the discrepancy on day 2 in Germany when I tried to activate my Sperrkonto and got an error. By then I was already in Germany and since I had passed 3 official checkpoints without issue I didn't take further action.
Since 24 September 2025 I have been fully compliant — enrolled as a student, registered in Munich, and working as a Werkstudent at a tech company since November 2025.
The issue was discovered on 29 April 2026 when I was leaving for an emergency trip to Turkey (my father was ill). I returned to Munich the following week with no issues — border police only asked about my student status.
I have a deadline to respond in writing by 20 May 2026.
My questions:
Has anyone experienced something similar?
Is this likely to result in a fine, or could it affect my residence permit / future visa applications?
Any recommendations for free legal aid in Munich? (I'm already looking at Caritas and Studentenwerk)
I understand I made a mistake by not checking the visa date carefully. I'm not trying to avoid responsibility — I just want to understand the realistic outcome and handle this correctly.
Thanks in advance.