My residence permit is about to expire or I have a Fiktionsbescheinigung. Can I travel abroad and come back?

If your residence permit or visa is still valid, you can enter Germany even if only a few days or weeks are left. This usually goes without problems. The police often just mention that your time is running short.

Take the email confirming that your extension application was received, or a letter from the LEA (Berlin's immigration office). Then you can show it if you are asked.

It is different if you will come back after your permit expires. Then you must get a Fiktionsbescheinigung (a temporary certificate showing your application is being processed) before you leave.

Trips to Turkey and back on a Fiktionsbescheinigung have gone without trouble. This worked after a family reunification visa had run out, and on a 20-day family trip while the permit type was changing.

But not every Fiktionsbescheinigung allows re-entry; it depends on the type. Before you travel, check the wording on the document and ask the LEA.