How to Get Mobility Aids in Germany: Guide for Ukrainian Refugees

Get­ting mobil­i­ty aids in Ger­many as a Ukrain­ian refugee requires under­stand­ing your eli­gi­bil­i­ty under the tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion sta­tus and nav­i­gat­ing the appli­ca­tion process at local Job­cen­ters. This guide explains the key steps and nec­es­sary doc­u­ments to help you secure essen­tial sup­port effi­cient­ly.

Eligibility Requirements and Legal Status for Ukrainian Refugees

Tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion sta­tus under § 24 of the Ger­man Res­i­dence Act (Aufen­thG) is the foun­da­tion for access­ing mobil­i­ty aids and social ben­e­fits. You must have reg­is­tered with the local author­i­ties (Anmel­dung) and received your refugee reg­is­tra­tion cer­tifi­cate (Anmeldebescheini­gung) or a tem­po­rary cer­tifi­cate (Fik­tions­bescheini­gung).

Appli­ca­tions must be sub­mit­ted prompt­ly after arrival. Adults aged 18 and above can apply inde­pen­dent­ly, while minors need a legal guardian to han­dle appli­ca­tions. Your work autho­riza­tion sta­tus may influ­ence eli­gi­bil­i­ty, but Ukrain­ian refugees gen­er­al­ly have the right to work imme­di­ate­ly. Fam­i­lies with chil­dren and preg­nant women have spe­cial pro­vi­sions to ensure quick­er and eas­i­er access to assis­tance.

Documents and Preparation for Your First Jobcenter Visit

Before vis­it­ing the Job­cen­ter, gath­er all essen­tial doc­u­ments to avoid delays. You’ll need your pass­port, tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion cer­tifi­cate (Aufen­thalt­ser­laub­nis), and reg­is­tra­tion con­fir­ma­tion (Anmeldebescheini­gung). A Ger­man bank account with an IBAN is required to receive ben­e­fit pay­ments, but alter­na­tive options can be dis­cussed if you don’t have one yet.

Bring proof of your hous­ing sit­u­a­tion, such as your rental agree­ment or tem­po­rary accom­mo­da­tion con­fir­ma­tion. If applic­a­ble, pre­pare med­ical doc­u­men­ta­tion like preg­nan­cy or dis­abil­i­ty cer­tifi­cates. For­eign doc­u­ments often require offi­cial trans­la­tions to be accept­ed.

Also, bring any pre­vi­ous work records and qual­i­fi­ca­tion cer­tifi­cates if you plan to apply for work-relat­ed ben­e­fits. Fam­i­ly doc­u­ments such as mar­riage and children’s birth cer­tifi­cates are nec­es­sary for fam­i­ly ben­e­fit claims.

Bürgergeld Application Process and Benefit Amounts

The Bürg­ergeld appli­ca­tion starts with sched­ul­ing your first appoint­ment at the Job­cen­ter where you sub­mit all required doc­u­ments. In 2024, the stan­dard rate is €502 per month for sin­gle adults and €451 for part­ners, with addi­tion­al allowances for chil­dren depend­ing on their age.

You may also receive sup­port for hous­ing and heat­ing costs along with one-time pay­ments like an ini­tial equip­ment allowance for set­ting up a new home. If you have spe­cial dietary needs or dis­abil­i­ties, there are extra sup­ple­ments avail­able.

The deci­sion process usu­al­ly takes 4–6 weeks, and inter­im pay­ments can help dur­ing this peri­od. If your appli­ca­tion is denied or you believe the ben­e­fits are insuf­fi­cient, you can file a for­mal appeal called a Wider­spruch.

Ongoing Obligations and Integration Support Services

After receiv­ing Bürg­ergeld, you have to stay engaged with the inte­gra­tion process by reg­u­lar­ly report­ing your job search activ­i­ties and any income changes month­ly. Par­tic­i­pat­ing in Ger­man lan­guage class­es (Inte­gra­tionskurs) and ori­en­ta­tion cours­es is impor­tant for improv­ing your chances of employ­ment.

You must ful­fill job appli­ca­tion quo­tas and take part in job place­ment ser­vices. The Job­cen­ter also ensures you are enrolled in manda­to­ry health insur­ance. Fam­i­lies can apply for child ben­e­fits (Kindergeld) which com­ple­ment Bürg­ergeld sup­port, and stu­dents may qual­i­fy for edu­ca­tion­al aid (BAföG) or voca­tion­al train­ing allowances.

Your sit­u­a­tion is active­ly reviewed to sup­port your path­way from tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion to per­ma­nent res­i­den­cy and employ­ment in Ger­many, mak­ing mobil­i­ty aids part of a broad­er inte­gra­tion strat­e­gy.

For more detailed help, vis­it the службы поддержки аутистов в Германии for addi­tion­al inte­gra­tion ser­vices and guid­ance.

Sources

• Ger­man Fed­er­al Employ­ment Agency — Guide­lines and ben­e­fits details
• Ger­man Res­i­dence Act (Aufen­thalts­ge­setz) § 24 — Legal frame­work for tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion
• 2024 Social Code Reg­u­la­tions — Cur­rent Bürg­ergeld rates and allowances