Left Germany while residence permit application was pending – need advice on returning
I completed my Master's degree in Germany and applied for a residence permit for job seeking (Aufenthaltserlaubnis zur Arbeitsplatzsuche) at the Berlin LEA before leaving Germany.
My student residence permit expired, and I returned to Turkey while my application was still being processed without getting Fiktionsbescheinigung. LEA recently confirmed that my application is still active and being processed.
When I asked LEA how I could return to Germany, they told me to apply for a re-entry visa (Rückkehrvisum).
However, the German Consulate told me that a re-entry visa is not be possible because I no longer have a valid residence permit.
Has anyone experienced a similar situation? What happened with your pending application?
Shortly: I left Germany while my residence permit application was still being processed by LEA, without obtaining a Fiktionsbescheinigung. I am currently in Turkey and would like to return to Germany.