Like everyone who is forced to leave Germany, Willy Bornstein, too, requires a clearance certificate in order to emigrate. "Tax clearance certificates" serve as proof that all tax levies have been paid. They must be submitted to the passport office in order to apply for a valid passport, and also to the currency exchange control office in order to apply for permission to take property and belongings out of the country.
Willy Bornstein does not succeed in fleeing. The ship he boards to leave Germany is sent back. He is murdered in Auschwitz in 1942.