Niederlassungserlaubnis too longer than expected...

As you have encountered, most ABH are slow, inefficient and difficult to communicate with. However, there is no alternative to bugging them until you get the result.

Hiring a lawyer will not improve this. The only advantage is that you don't have to deal with the issues any more (but have to pay quite a lot for this privilege).

Not a mistake to keep after them to insure that you haven't been forgotten. And I have experienced over the last couple of years that that a lot of important letters sent to me haven't arrived. The post office basically claims it is impossible but they honestly don't seem to be very reliable anymore. Critical to know if it gets sent but doesn't arrive. If I were you I would not badger them every day but maybe once a week until some concrete answers are given.

A factor about delays though is because of Covid many people stopped working and there is a critical shortage in many fields. The Burgerbüro by me in Stuttgart-West is closed until further notice because they didn't have enough workers. This creates delays and complications for people to get any bureaucratic things done. And the post office nearest me is now closing for 2 hours at mid-day because a lack of workers. Baden-Württemberg alone now has a shortage of 10,000 teachers.

@TominStuttgart I have the same experience with the postal system: Several letters (important ones - others I won't even notice!) were lost in the last few years. The post simply cannot be relied on any more for deliveries. Unfortunately this is not yet known to our authorites (and the legal system, which keeps insisting that only postal delivery is safe).

Yeah, banks and government offices often insist that that certain correspondence from them be sent through the post. One reason is to avoid people faking their actual residency. They will often not allow one to pick up certain documents in person or to send them by registered mail, even at your cost, so that they can be tracked. Its both an issue that one doesn't get needed correspondence properly and who knows where it ends up. Not nice wondering who has bank and official documents with sensitive information. I don't know if there is a correlation but not everyone is aware that the German Post was privatized as well.

Hi Guys, good news... after serious talks with them, I got my Niederlassungserlaubnis automatically in person the following day. Meaning they have not even Posted it then.. l just want to appreciate beppi & Tom for some info light they shared.

Please I have another..  how can I add my middle name officially ? I mean how is the process or where to go to add a name (middle name)?

   Thanks advance and Merry Christmas.

@Emmytender77 Your name is taken from the original documents you presented to the German authorities. And as far as I know, a foreigner cannot change name in Germany.

What do your home country documets say (e.g. passport)? You probably have to change those first!

@beppi Can't I swear affidavit to add middle name in court?

@Emmytender77

Is your middle name in your passport?

@Emmytender77 Your birth certificate and other documents of your home country define who you are. German authorities are not allowed to change that. If they allow you to have two separate identities, you could (ab-)use that for illegal activities. Therefore it makes sense that your home country authorities govern such things - as long as you're their citizen.

Many people have inofficial additional names (a.k.a. nickname), which have no official value. You cannot add them to your documents!

@beppi clear understanding..thanks