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

Get­ting mobil­i­ty aids in Ger­many as a Ukrain­ian refugee requires under­stand­ing the eli­gi­bil­i­ty cri­te­ria, paper­work, and ben­e­fits avail­able. This guide lays out clear steps to get the sup­port you need, from estab­lish­ing your legal sta­tus to access­ing finan­cial and inte­gra­tion ser­vices.

Eligibility Requirements and Legal Status for Ukrainian Refugees

The pri­ma­ry require­ment is hold­ing Ukraine-relat­ed tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion sta­tus under § 24 Aufen­thalts­ge­setz. This sta­tus grants you imme­di­ate access to social ben­e­fits, includ­ing mobil­i­ty aid pro­grams, sim­i­lar to those avail­able to Ger­man cit­i­zens. Reg­is­tra­tion with local author­i­ties (Anmel­dung) and obtain­ing your refugee reg­is­tra­tion cer­tifi­cate (Anmeldebescheini­gung or Fik­tions­bescheini­gung) is essen­tial before apply­ing.

Appli­ca­tions for ben­e­fits must be filed with­in spe­cif­ic time­frames fol­low­ing your arrival in Ger­many. Adults aged 18 and above can apply inde­pen­dent­ly, while minors need a guardian to apply on their behalf. Your autho­riza­tion to work affects which ben­e­fits you qual­i­fy for. Fam­i­lies with chil­dren and preg­nant women ben­e­fit from spe­cial pro­vi­sions designed to sup­port their unique needs.

Documents and Preparation for Your First Jobcenter Visit

Before your ini­tial vis­it to the Job­cen­ter, pre­pare the nec­es­sary doc­u­ments to stream­line your process. Essen­tial papers include your pass­port, tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion cer­tifi­cate, and reg­is­tra­tion con­fir­ma­tion (Anmeldebescheini­gung). A Ger­man bank account with an IBAN is required for ben­e­fit pay­ments, though alter­na­tive solu­tions exist if you haven’t opened an account yet.

You’ll also need proof of hous­ing such as a rental agree­ment or a tem­po­rary accom­mo­da­tion con­fir­ma­tion. Med­ical doc­u­ments, like preg­nan­cy or dis­abil­i­ty cer­tifi­cates, should be ready if rel­e­vant. Offi­cial trans­la­tions are required for doc­u­ments not in Ger­man. For those seek­ing employ­ment ben­e­fits, bring past work records and qual­i­fi­ca­tions. Fam­i­ly-relat­ed doc­u­ments like mar­riage and birth cer­tifi­cates are also impor­tant.

Bürgergeld Application Process and Benefit Amounts

To apply for Bürg­ergeld, sched­ule your first appoint­ment at the Job­cen­ter and sub­mit your doc­u­ments. The 2024 month­ly stan­dard rate stands at €502 for sin­gle adults and €451 for part­ners, with addi­tion­al allowances for chil­dren depend­ing on their age. Addi­tion­al ben­e­fits cov­er costs like hous­ing (Kosten der Unterkun­ft) and heat­ing.

One-time pay­ments are avail­able for fur­ni­ture and ini­tial house­hold equip­ment if you have recent­ly moved. Spe­cial sup­ple­ments can cov­er dietary needs or dis­abil­i­ty-relat­ed costs. Typ­i­cal­ly, deci­sions take 4 to 6 weeks; how­ev­er, inter­im pay­ments may be grant­ed dur­ing this peri­od. If your appli­ca­tion is denied or ben­e­fits deemed insuf­fi­cient, you can file a Wider­spruch (appeal) to con­test the deci­sion.

Ongoing Obligations and Integration Support Services

Recip­i­ents of ben­e­fits must pro­vide month­ly updates on employ­ment efforts and any changes in income. Attend­ing inte­gra­tion cours­es, includ­ing Ger­man lan­guage and ori­en­ta­tion class­es, is gen­er­al­ly required to sup­port fast labor mar­ket entry. You agree to a plan with the Job­cen­ter (Eingliederungsvere­in­barung) out­lin­ing job appli­ca­tion tar­gets and par­tic­i­pa­tion in place­ment ser­vices.

Health insur­ance enroll­ment through the Job­cen­ter is manda­to­ry. Child ben­e­fits such as Kindergeld work along­side Bürg­ergeld to pro­vide addi­tion­al sup­port. Stu­dents and voca­tion­al trainees may qual­i­fy for edu­ca­tion­al fund­ing like BAföG. The sys­tem aims to help you move from tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion sta­tus towards per­ma­nent res­i­den­cy and sta­ble employ­ment in Ger­many over time.

For a deep­er dive into how to access and use mobil­i­ty aids, vis­it our detailed guide on mobil­i­ty aids in Ger­many for Ukrain­ian refugees.

Sources

• Ger­man Fed­er­al Employ­ment Agency guide­lines
• Ger­man Res­i­dence Act § 24 pro­vi­sions
• Cur­rent Bürg­ergeld rates 2024