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.

Integration courses are run by authorised education providers. You can attend them as full-time or part-time courses.

More information on integration courses can be found here and on special integration courses here.

Please note: The following changes will come into force in the course of 2025:
 

• The special integration courses for young adults, parents and women as well as catch-up courses will be discontinued with a transition phase from 1 May 2025
• In future, the system of course types will no longer be based on external characteristics, but will focus solely on the expected learning progress in the respective course type. 
• This is also the context for the planned launch of the ‘Course for the less literate’ option next year.
• The range of courses for people with disabilities and impairments will remain unchanged.
• Accordingly, the integration course programme will include the following course types in future: 
  • General integration course 
  • Intensive course 
  • Literacy course 
  • Course for learning an additional alphabet 
  • Course for the less literate 
  • Special courses for people with disabilities and impairments.
     

It is possible to attend a state-subsidised German course. Depending on how well you can already speak German, your options are either an integration course or a job-related language course.

If you do not speak any German or your German language skills are very limited, and you have a residence permit under Section 24 of the Residence Act, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) can grant you admission to an integration course. There are various offers that fit various situations, for example courses specifically for women or parents.

If you have already completed an integration course or you already know German well (level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), you can attend a job-related language course. The prerequisite is that you are permitted to work. Your local jobcentre can give you advice. They can help you find a course that fits and give you the participation authorisation. 

Participation in the professional language course is generally for free. You only need to pay your own contribution to the costs if you work and your income is more than a certain amount and you do not receive any state support benefits.

If you receive a residence permit under Section 24 of the Residence Act, you can also attend an initial orientation course or a so-called “MiA course” (“Migrantinnen einfach stark im Alltag”, an offer especially for women).

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) offers an overview of free online ways to learn German on its website.

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, for example, topics such as shopping, public transport, contacts with authorities, finding a flat, spending leisure time with friends and neighbours, as well as situations in everyday life. You will learn how to write letters in German, fill in forms, make phone calls or apply for a job. The topics vary depending on which type of course you attend. If you attend a parent integration course, for example, topics are covered that are of particular interest to parents, such as school attendance and childcare options in Germany.

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

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.

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.

Yes, if you are attending an integration course and incur costs for travelling to the course, you can apply for a subsidy for travel costs. The requirement is that your walking distance to the course location is at least 3.0 kilometres.

Please note: The following changes will come into force on 17 November 2020:
 

• From this date, only participants of integration courses who are exempt from costs due to receipt of citizen's allowance (SGB II), benefits under SGB XII, benefits under AsylbLG and receipt of benefits under SGB III, i.e. due to different benefit receipt, will be 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.
   

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)”.

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.

Getting a job does not necessarily depend on your ability to speak German.

In general, however, it is important for you to have a basic grasp of German so that you can communicate with your employer and colleagues. There are also many jobs and fields where it is important for you to have adequate German language skills. In what are known as regulated professions (information in German and English), your German language skills may be required to be at a certain level in order for you to obtain a professional licence.

For this reason, it is always a good idea to attend a course to learn German.

The vocational language course builds on the integration course. You can attend it if you attended an integration course before or if you know German well (level B1).

In the vocational language course, you learn German for the world of work. These courses have 400 to 500 lessons of 45 minutes each.

There are basic courses with different objectives (for example, level B2, C1, C2). You learn general content from the world of work.

The courses often have about 15 participants. In rural areas, smaller groups are also possible.

The teacher regularly records the participants' learning progress in writing and evaluates it together with them at the end of the course. At the end of the course you will take a certificate exam.

There are also special courses:

• for people in the recognition process for academic health professions (e.g. doctor) and health professions
• with subject-specific content for the field of commercial technology or retail trade
• with entry level A1 and A2 for participants from the integration course who have not reached level B1

You have to fulfil the following requirements for participating in a vocational language course:

• Either you speak German at A1 or A2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages, have attended an integration course and have taken the German test for immigrants and failed.
• Or you speak German at B1, B2 or C1 level.
• Your language skills will be tested in a placement test. This is not necessary if you have a certificate of your German language skills that is no more than six months old.
• You have registered as a job-seeker, unemployed person or training-seeker with the Employment Agency or you are receiving basic benefits for job-seekers under the German Social Code Book II (SGB II).
• Or you are currently undergoing the recognition procedure for your vocational or training qualification.

You can also take a vocational language course if you are working or undergoing training.

Participation in the professional language course is usually automatically free of charge for refugees from Ukraine. 

You only have to pay a contribution to costs if you work and earn more than a certain amount. Your employer can also pay this contribution. If you successfully complete the examination, you can apply for a refund of 50 per cent of the cost contribution.

If you incur costs for travelling to the course, you can apply for a subsidy towards the travel costs under certain conditions.

If you receive basic benefits for jobseekers (German Social Code, Book II, SGB II), your job centre will help you apply for a vocational language course and find the most suitable course for you. The counsellors also know which language schools offer courses.

If you have a job, are undergoing training or are in the recognition process and do not receive benefits under SGB II or SGB III, you must apply directly to the BAMF for entitlement to participate.

You can find a vocational language course near you here. Once you have found a course, the course provider can also help you with the application for entitlement to participate.

You will find the appropriate application form below:

Application for trainees WORD, 53 KB, not barrier-free

Application for employees WORD, 53 KB, not barrier-free

Applicatioor the recognition procedure or professional permit WORD, 60 KB, not barrier-free

You can find your contact person at the BAMF here PDF, 466 KB, not barrier-free .