Housing evidence under section 11 NAG: legal entitlement, locally customary living space and documents for lease, sublease, ownership and residence right.
Accommodation evidence in NAG proceedings is often confused with a registration slip. Section 11(2)(2) NAG actually asks for a legal entitlement to accommodation which, measured against a resident family of comparable size, can be regarded as locally customary. That is more than an address in a register.
The registration slip alone does not establish the enforceable entitlement. Leases, subleases, ownership and a sufficiently concrete enforceable residence or use right can carry the requirement. A host letter is supporting evidence and carries the case on its own only if it establishes an enforceable legal entitlement.
Some permits follow their own rules. The Red-White-Red Card, for example, is expressly exempted from this subparagraph by section 41 NAG. In family reunification household size and living space gain additional weight. This article shows what a workable evidence package looks like.
The check sorts the legal basis, the living space and the household size. From every result an enquiry with the chosen context can be sent.
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Submit the complete lease with landlord, start, duration, size and number of rooms. A current registration confirmation can be added as a supplement; it does not answer the NAG requirement on its own but supports the review of the place of residence.
The sublease should be complemented by the consent of the main tenant or the housing management. Cooperative and subsidised flats bring extra rules. Without consent the legal entitlement looks weak.
For ownership the land register extract is central. A right of residence is shown with an agreement stating date, parties, space and use. If several persons are entitled, the actual use should be unambiguous.
Submit the lease or ownership of the sponsor. Add a statement confirming that the accommodation is available for the joining person and show the space and number of rooms.
If the current flat is not sufficient, a new lease or a documented relocation is needed. The authority expects a workable solution by the time of grant, not a mere declaration of intent.
If the space is tight for the number of persons, an open explanation is more effective than a schematic calculation. Room plan and use support the classification; statistical comparison data offer orientation, not a binding formula.
The registration slip under the Registration Act is a register and address note. It shows where a person is officially registered. For a residence permit, however, the enforceable legal entitlement to the flat is decisive. Only those who can present a lease, sublease, ownership or a sufficiently concrete enforceable residence or use right meet the requirement under section 11(2)(2) NAG.
A lease shows the entitlement most clearly. It should identify the parties, the contract start, the duration, the living space and the agreed use. In a sublease, the consent of the main tenant and the admissibility under the main contract belong to the package.
Where ownership exists, the land register extract carries the evidence. If a right of residence has been agreed contractually, the agreement including space and use details belongs to the package. Mere host declarations without a legal basis leave the requirement open.
The statute uses the comparison to a resident family of similar size. It does not set a fixed square-metre formula but establishes an evaluative comparative standard. Province and region influence the assessment.
For small households a smaller flat can appear locally customary faster than for larger households. In family reunification, the ratio of space, rooms and persons is decisive. A flat that suits one person can be too small for four.
If the space appears tight, an open explanation is more effective than a schematic calculation. Room plan and actual use support the classification. The family reunification check sorts the baseline for families.
With a classic main lease, the evidence relies on the lease itself. If the contract is fixed-term, the rules on renewal should be clear. In a sublease the consent of the main tenant is decisive; without consent the underlying use right becomes unstable.
Cooperative and subsidised flats bring extra rules. Subletting is often restricted and requires consent from the cooperative. Anyone ignoring these rules risks the flat itself and, with it, the evidence.
In shared flats a purely informal division rarely carries the case. A written sublease or use agreement together with the main tenant's consent regulates the situation.
Section 41 NAG exempts the Red-White-Red Card from the housing requirement under subparagraph 2. For employer-bound cards, the housing space does not have to be shown as in the general NAG standard. Once family reunification comes into play, however, the housing question re-emerges.
For students and residence authorisations, workable accommodation may be sufficient. It should still demonstrate an enforceable legal entitlement. For classic settlement, the detailed evidence under section 11(2)(2) NAG remains the standard.
In family reunification, household size and living space play a special role. The topic overview on family reunification shows how the pieces of evidence interact.
Rent and housing costs affect the calculation of sufficient means of support under section 11(5) NAG. High rent binds income and reduces the freely available amount. Anyone clarifying the housing question should keep the support calculation in mind at the same time.
Where several persons live in one flat, the roles should be clear. Who is the main tenant, who pays, who uses which rooms? For the authority the evidence remains workable only if housing and household data are consistent.
A move during the procedure should be reported to the authority. New documents replace the old ones; otherwise a contradictory picture weakens the whole application package.
If the housing evidence is missing at the filing date, the authority can issue an improvement request for curable defects. It grants an appropriate case-specific deadline for submission. Substantive requirements cannot be created retroactively through the improvement stage.
For interim solutions, written statements of accommodation with clear time limits are common. They do not replace a permanent legal entitlement but they can document the transitional phase. What matters is workable evidence when the permit takes effect.
The documents checklist helps with the assembly. Translation duties follow the specific procedural requirements; where they apply, an early instruction to a certified translator prevents deadline issues.
No. The registration slip confirms the address but not the enforceable legal entitlement to the flat. Section 11(2)(2) NAG requires a workable basis such as lease, sublease, ownership or a sufficiently concrete residence right.
There is no binding square-metre formula. The authority assesses the space against the household size and the region. Statistical data serve as orientation.
A sublease is possible if the main tenant or the cooperative consents and the main contract allows it. Without consent the use right becomes unstable and the evidence weak.
Section 41 NAG expressly exempts the Red-White-Red Card from subparagraph 2. For the card itself the locally customary accommodation does not have to be shown as in the general regime. In family reunification the housing question becomes relevant again.