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After You File an Untätigkeitsklage: What Happens Next

Fiona Macdonald
1 day ago
5 min read

The administrative court’s first step after an Untätigkeitsklage (action for failure to act) arrives is to send it to the authority and ask for its response. From there, most cases end in one of two ways: the office decides, sometimes within a deadline the court has set, or the court issues a judgment ordering the office to grant the application or to decide on it again. No statute sets a timetable for any of this. How long it takes depends on the court’s caseload and on how the office reacts.

What the court does first

Under § 85 VwGO, the presiding judge orders service of the action on the defendant authority and asks it to respond in writing, and can set a deadline for that response. The court also asks for the administrative file. Authorities are obliged to submit their files and give information to the court (§ 99 Abs. 1 VwGO).

Written submissions are passed on to the other side by the court (§ 86 Abs. 4 VwGO), so you receive the authority’s reply and can comment on it. You also have the right to inspect the court file and the file the office has sent in (§ 100 VwGO). That file shows what has actually happened with your application, including which checks are complete and which are still outstanding.

If the office decides in your favor

In practice, many offices decide once the action has been served. If the permit or the naturalization is granted, there is nothing left for the court to order. Both sides declare the case settled (Erledigungserklärung), and the court then decides only on costs, by order and at its discretion, taking the state of the case into account (§ 161 Abs. 2 VwGO). If you declare the case settled and the authority does not object within two weeks of receiving your declaration, the case counts as settled anyway, provided the court has pointed out this consequence.

For an Untätigkeitsklage, § 161 Abs. 3 VwGO adds a rule in your favor: if the office decides only after you have sued and you then end the case, the authority always bears the costs, provided you could expect a decision before you filed. Where the delay was unjustified, the court fee advance you paid is therefore usually reimbursed by the authority.

If the office asks for more time or refuses

The authority can also explain why it has not yet decided. If the court accepts that there is a sufficient reason, it suspends the proceedings and sets the office a deadline, which it can extend (§ 75 S. 3 VwGO). If the office grants the application within that deadline, the case is declared settled (§ 75 S. 4 VwGO). If it does not, the proceedings resume.

A refusal does not end the case either. The action can continue against the refusal, and the court then examines whether you are entitled to what you applied for. Whether that requires a formal step on your end, and by when, depends on the case. A refusal letter normally ends with a notice of the available remedy and a one-month time limit (§ 58, § 70, § 74 VwGO). Send it to the court or to your lawyer the day it arrives, and do not assume that the pending action takes care of it automatically.

Hearing or decision on paper

The starting point in the law is an oral hearing (§ 101 Abs. 1 VwGO). With the consent of both sides, the court can decide without one (§ 101 Abs. 2 VwGO). It can also issue a Gerichtsbescheid (court decision without a hearing) where the case has no particular factual or legal difficulty and the facts are clear, after hearing the parties on that step (§ 84 Abs. 1 VwGO). A Gerichtsbescheid has the effect of a judgment. Within one month of service, either side can apply for an oral hearing or, where the conditions are met, for leave to appeal (§ 84 Abs. 2 VwGO).

The judgment and what comes after

If the court rules, the judgment in this kind of case is an order against the authority (§ 113 Abs. 5 VwGO). Where the refusal or the failure to act is unlawful and the case is ready for decision (spruchreif), the court orders the office to grant what you applied for. Otherwise it orders the office to decide on your application again, observing the court’s view of the law. If the office still does not comply once the judgment has become final, the court can, on application, set it a deadline, threaten a penalty payment of up to €10,000 and impose it when the deadline passes, repeatedly if necessary (§ 172, § 167 Abs. 2 VwGO).

An appeal is not automatic. Either side needs leave to appeal (Zulassung der Berufung), and if the administrative court has not granted leave in the judgment, the application for it must be filed within one month after the full judgment is served (§ 124, § 124a Abs. 4 VwGO).

When to get a lawyer

Advice is most useful at two points in the case. The first is when the authority’s reply to the court arrives, because it shows whether the office intends to decide, wants more time or defends the delay, and the file it has sent in shows what is really missing. The second is when a refusal arrives while the action is pending, because the right response and its timing depend on the case. A lawyer can read the file, answer the authority’s arguments and make sure the cost decision reflects who caused the delay.

Have your action handled through to the decision

Fiona Macdonald files and conducts actions for failure to act on delayed residence permit, Blue Card, permanent residence and naturalization applications, from filing through the authority’s reply to settlement or judgment, at a flat fee. Fiona Macdonald advises clients anywhere in Germany and internationally by video.

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Sources

Last reviewed: October 2026 — RAin Fiona Macdonald

This article reflects information available at the review date above and may not remain current as rules and practice change. It is general information only, not legal advice, and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Liability for reliance on its contents is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

© 2026 Fiona Macdonald Rechtsanwältin

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