Residence Permit Fees for Your Family in Cologne: Children Pay Half, Except a 55 Euro Settlement Permit

What the Fee Table Looks Like for a Family

Residence permit fees in Germany are not set by the city. They come from the federal Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV), and every Ausländeramt applies the same list. What Cologne adds is the way it organises the appointment, and a few pages on stadt-koeln.de that print the numbers for you. Stadt Köln’s extension page puts it plainly: adults pay 93 to 96 euros to extend a permit, minors half of that, and individual cases can differ.

The halving rule is § 50 AufenthV: for acts in favour of minors and for processing their applications, the fee is half of the fees set in the listed provisions. It then makes an exception for the settlement permit that a young person can get after five years under § 35 Absatz 1 Satz 1 AufenthG: that is a flat 55 euros. Half of the adult 113 euros would be 56.50, so the flat rate is a small saving. The other adult fees for settlement permits are 124 euros for self-employed activity under § 21 Absatz 4 AufenthG and 147 euros for highly qualified people, both in § 44 AufenthV.

Two details about what the table does not show. Fees depend on the act, not on the family as a whole. And “minor” means under 18: Stadt Köln’s page for children says that the child permit applies to children under 18 whose parent holds a qualifying title, and that the permit becomes an independent right of residence at 18.

What Cologne Says About Children

The city has a dedicated page for residence permits for children of foreign nationals, with a fee table of its own: 50 euros for a first permit for a child under 18, 46.50 euros for an extension, and no fee at all for people who live only on SGB II, SGB XII or Asylbewerberleistungen benefits, proven by a current Bescheid. The page also lists the conditions a child permit rests on: the child is under 18, holds a valid and recognised national passport, at least one parent holds a qualifying title, the parent’s main residence is in Germany, and the family covers its livelihood without benefits such as Bürgergeld.

Do not confuse the two ideas. The fee exemption for benefit recipients says you do not pay the fee. The livelihood condition for the permit itself is a separate test, and a lack of income can matter there. This site’s guide on a child’s own residence permit goes deeper into that condition; here the point is only that being on benefits changes the fee, not the legal test.

For young people from 16, the page on settlement permits for young people names the fees as 55 euros under 18 and 113 euros from 18, and says a parent with custody has to come to the appointment for a minor.

Paying: How and When

Stadt Köln’s extension page describes a process in this order:

1. Online application.You fill in the form and upload documents as PDF or JPEG. The application is normally sent without a signature.
2. Written invitation.The Ausländeramt sends you an appointment. Personal visits are possible only with an appointment and an invitation letter.
3. Appointment in Kalk.You sign the application form and pay the fee in cash or by card. The Ausländeramt is at Dillenburger Straße 56-66, 51105 Köln.
4. Decision.The page does not state a processing time, so keep the expiry date of the current permit in view.

The extension should be requested while the current permit is still valid. Which district office handles your file depends on your postcode, as this site’s guide to the Cologne Ausländeramt split explains. That matters for fees too: a fee for an application is also due when it is withdrawn or rejected, with the narrow exceptions of § 49 Absatz 3 AufenthV for a wrong office and an early withdrawal.

The Exemption for Families on Benefits

§ 53 Absatz 1 AufenthV says that foreigners who cannot support themselves without benefits under SGB II, SGB XII or the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz are exempt from the fees for issuing or extending a residence permit and for a Fiktionsbescheinigung, as well as some other fees. Other fees can be reduced or waived. Since the Bürgergeld became Grundsicherungsgeld on 1 July 2026, the notice you bring may carry the new name. Stadt Köln asks for a current Bescheid from the Jobcenter or the Sozialamt, and says the city informs you after reviewing the application. A family should therefore ask at the appointment instead of paying first and asking later.

Note what the exemption does not cover by its wording. It names the fee for a residence permit and its extension, the Fiktionsbescheinigung and a list of related acts. The settlement permit fee is not on that list, and for such acts the text only says that fees can be reduced or waived. If a settlement permit is on your calendar, ask the office what applies.

Turkish Nationals and the ID Card Rule

§ 52a AufenthV lowers the fee for people covered by the 1963 EU-Turkey association agreement. Their fee for the main permits equals the fee charged to Germans for an identity card, and for people under 24 it equals the lower under-24 rate. They are also exempt from some small fees, including that for the Fiktionsbescheinigung. The ID card fee itself is in § 1 PAuswGebV: 27.60 euros for an applicant under 24 and 46 euros in all other cases.

Stadt Köln’s pages do not agree among themselves. The settlement permit page prints 27.60 and 46 euros. The page for children and the page for spouses of foreign nationals still list 22.80 euros under 24 and, on the latter, 37 euros from 24. The regulation text on gesetze-im-internet.de is the first thing to check, and the amount quoted in your appointment letter or at the counter is what you actually pay.

A Realistic Budget

A family with two parents and two children, all extending at the same time in the common bracket for stays over three months, pays 93 euros per parent and 46.50 per child, 279 euros in total. The same family on the 96-euro bracket pays 96 per parent and 48 per child, 288 euros. If one child applies for a first permit after joining, that is 50 euros, and if a card is lost or the passport expires and the card must be reissued, the fee is 67 euros for an adult and 33.50 euros for a minor. Add the cost of passport photos, translations and any new passports for the children.

Step by Step

1. Check your permit's expiry date.Apply while it is still valid, so the permit does not lapse before your application is in.
2. Find your district office.Use your postcode, so a rejection for a wrong office does not cost you a fee.
3. Apply online through the city's form and upload documents for every family member.
4. Add up the fees per person, adults and minors separately, with the table above.
5. Bring a current benefit Bescheid if you receive SGB II, SGB XII or Asylbewerberleistungen and ask for the exemption.
6. Pay at the appointment, in cash or by card, and keep the receipt.

Compliance Note

This page describes the federal fee table of the AufenthV and what Stadt Köln published on its pages as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Fees change with the regulation and with the identity card fee, and individual cases can be different. Confirm the amounts and exemptions with the Ausländeramt or a recognised migration advice service before you pay or rely on this page.