If you want to live in Germany, you should learn German. This is important when you are looking for work, have to fill out applications, support your children at school and want to meet new people. You should also know a few things about Germany, for example its history, culture and legal system.

For this purpose, specially designed integration courses are available in Germany.

Refugees from Ukraine are not generally obliged to take part in an integration course. However, under certain circumstances, they may be obliged to do so by the basic welfare support organisations and foreigners authorities.

Every integration course consists of a language course and an orientation course:

In the language course, you will learn the vocabulary for all important areas of daily life and the world of work. This includes topics such as shopping, public transport, contact with the authorities, finding accommodation, recreational activities with friends and neighbours and everyday situations. You will learn how to write letters in German, fill in forms, make phone calls and apply for a job. The topics vary depending on the type of course you attend. For example, if you take part in a parent integration course, topics of particular interest to parents will be covered, such as school attendance and childcare facilities in Germany.

In the orientation course you will get to know Germany and learn the most important things about the laws, politics, culture and recent history of Germany.

You can find more information about integration courses here.

• General integration course: this course comprises 600 teaching units of language course and 100 teaching units of orientation course.
• Specialised integration courses: these courses comprise 900 teaching units of language course and 100 teaching units of orientation course. They are available for
  • Women
  • Parents
  • Young adults who are no longer required to attend school (youth integration course)
  • Immigrants with a literacy course
  • People who have not learnt the Latin alphabet (second literacy course)
  • People with an increased need for language support (support courses)
  • People with disabilities (e.g. deaf people, visually impaired people)
     
• Intensive courses: these courses are suitable if you find language learning easy and want to and are able to achieve the course goal particularly quickly. An intensive course comprises 400 teaching units in the language course and 100 teaching units in the orientation course.

You can find more information about the integration course here and about special integration courses here.

Before you can participate in an integration course, you must take a placement test. The placement test is used to determine your individual requirements and which of the following courses best suits your personal situation:

General integration course: This course consists of 600 lessons of language course and 100 lessons of orientation course.

Special integration courses: These courses consist of 900 lessons of language course and 100 lessons of orientation course. They are available for:

• Women
• Parents
• Young adults who are no longer obliged to attend school (youth integration course)
• Immigrants with literacy needs (literacy course)
• People who have not learned the Latin alphabet (second language course)
• People with increased linguistic needs (remedial courses)
• People with disabilities (e.g. hearing impaired, visually impaired)

Intensive courses: These courses are suitable if language learning is easy for you and you want to and and are able to reach the course goal particularly quickly. An intensive course consists of 400 lessons in the language course and 30 lessons in the orientation course.

Integration courses are run by accredited educational institutions. You can attend them as full-time or part-time courses.

As a refugee from Ukraine, you need a residence permit or a fictitious certificate from the foreign citizens’ authority.

Please enclose a copy of the relevant proof. If you are applying online, please upload the proof.

Step 1: You must apply for admission to the integration course

Please submit your application for admission to the integration course online via the Fed-eral Portal. Click on the link below. The application wizard will guide you through the pro-cess step by step.

Please follow the link below if you wish to apply for admission online. The application wizard guides you through the application step by step (available only in German).

For the online application you need an electronic identity document to authenticate yourself with bundID:

• Electronic residence permit
• European identity card with online ID function
• German identity card with online ID function

Further information on submitting applications online can be found on the BAMF website and on the Federal Portal.

You can contact an integration course provider if you need help with the online applica-tion process. You can find these providers on BAMF-NAvI.

Step 2: You register with an education provider that offers integration courses.

• If your application is successful, the BAMF will send you a qualification certificate by post. This qualification certificate is your permission to attend the course.
• Contact an education provider in your area that offers integration courses as soon as possible. Find an education provider
• Hand in your qualification certificate there. The education provider will help you to choose a suitable course. They will also tell you when the next course starts.

At the end of the language course, you will take the examination “German Test for Immigrants (Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer)” (DTZ). The orientation course is completed with the final test “Living in Germany (Leben in Deutschland)”. If you successfully complete the language test with a B1 result and the “Living in Germany” test, you will receive the “Integration Course Certificate (Zertifikat Integrationskurs)”.

Participation in the integration course is generally subject to a fee. Under certain conditions, however, the costs can be covered in full or in part. In this case, you must apply for cost exemption. The application can also be submitted online via the federal portal. You will find the link to this further down on the page under ‘Apply for cost exemption for the integration course’.

Please find further information here.

If you have successfully taken part in a general integration course within two years (or three years for a special course) after your entitlement to participate was issued (final test „Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer“ with at least level B1 and achieving the required number of points in the test "„Leben in Deutschland“) you can apply a refund of half of the cost contribution you have paid.

• Participants of integration courses who are exempt from costs due to receiving citizen's allowance (SGB II), benefits under SGB XII, benefits under the AsylbLG, or benefits under SGB III – that is, who are exempt due to receiving different types of social benefits – are entitled to a travel allowance.
• However, participants who are exempt from costs due to low income, personal economic unreasonableness or as late repatriates are not entitled to a travel allowance.
• Persons with a verifiable severe disability are always entitled to a travel allowance if, for whatever reason, they are exempt from the costs of attending the integration course.
• In addition, under the new regulation, there is generally only a need for a travel allowance if the distance between the place of residence and the course location is 5.0 kilometres or more on foot.

You can find the corresponding application form here.

Children can be supervised near their parents during the integration course as part of the available services if no regular childcare is available for these children and the children are not yet of compulsory school age.

This is the purpose Programme ‘Integration Course With Child Plus: Prospects Through Qualification’ of the European Social Fund, supported by the BMFSFJ and the BMI, which runs from the start of 2024 until the end of 2026. The childcare is free of charge.

You can find suitable offers by using the BAMF-NAvI and entering the desired location.