Autism Support Services in Germany: Guide for Ukrainian Refugees

Understanding Legal Status and Health Insurance for Ukrainian Refugees

Ukrain­ian refugees in Ger­many receive spe­cial pro­tec­tion under §24 of the Res­i­dence Act (Aufen­thalts­ge­setz), which grants tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion sta­tus allow­ing access to var­i­ous social and health ser­vices. Upon arrival, you must reg­is­ter at your local immi­gra­tion office (Aus­län­der­be­hörde), where you will receive an elec­tron­ic res­i­dence per­mit (elek­tro­n­is­ch­er Aufen­thalt­sti­tel) to prove your legal sta­tus.
For the first 18 months, you’re eli­gi­ble to receive ben­e­fits under the Asy­lum Seek­ers Ben­e­fits Act (Asyl­be­wer­ber­leis­tungs­ge­setz). After this peri­od, reg­u­lar social wel­fare ben­e­fits (Bürg­ergeld) become avail­able.
When it comes to health cov­er­age, you can obtain insur­ance through statu­to­ry providers like AOK or TK. You will receive a health insur­ance card (Gesund­heit­skarte) which is essen­tial for access­ing med­ical ser­vices, includ­ing sup­port for mobil­i­ty aids.

How to Start the Assessment and Prescription Process for Mobility Aids

The first step to get a mobil­i­ty aid such as a wheel­chair or walk­er is to vis­it a gen­er­al prac­ti­tion­er (Hausarzt) with your health insur­ance card. Your doc­tor will assess your med­ical needs and, if nec­es­sary, issue a pre­scrip­tion (Rezept) spec­i­fy­ing the type of aid, its med­ical neces­si­ty, and the diag­no­sis code (ICD-10).
Some­times, espe­cial­ly for more com­plex needs, your doc­tor might refer you to a spe­cial­ist like an ortho­pe­dist (Orthopäde) or neu­rol­o­gist (Neu­rologe) for fur­ther eval­u­a­tion.
If you’re not con­fi­dent with Ger­man, free trans­la­tion ser­vices can be arranged to help you dur­ing med­ical appoint­ments. Remem­ber to bring copies of all med­ical doc­u­ments and any pre­vi­ous health records you have to sup­port the process.

Obtaining Mobility Aids Through Health Insurance

Once you have the pre­scrip­tion, take it to a med­ical sup­ply store (San­ität­shaus) that accepts your insur­ance. Staff there will assist you in sub­mit­ting the appli­ca­tion to your health insur­ance provider.
Stan­dard mobil­i­ty aids, like basic walk­ers, usu­al­ly get approved quickly—within 1 to 2 weeks. Cus­tom or spe­cial­ized devices may need a longer approval process, often 4 to 8 weeks.
Keep in mind there may be a co-pay­ment (Zuzahlung), typ­i­cal­ly €10 plus 10% of the aid’s cost, with a month­ly cap of €10. Some refugees with low income can apply for exemp­tions from these pay­ments (Befreiung von Zuzahlun­gen).
If your appli­ca­tion is denied, you have the right to file a writ­ten appeal (Wider­spruch) with­in one month to ask for recon­sid­er­a­tion.

Additional Support and Resources Available

If your health insur­ance doesn’t cov­er all costs, social wel­fare offices (Sozialamt) can offer finan­cial help for uncov­ered expens­es. Sev­er­al Ukrain­ian com­mu­ni­ty groups pro­vide guid­ance and trans­la­tion sup­port to make this process eas­i­er.
Char­i­ta­ble orga­ni­za­tions such as Car­i­tas, Diakonie, and the Ger­man Red Cross offer donat­ed mobil­i­ty aids, which helps reduce wait­ing times and costs. Addi­tion­al­ly, dis­abil­i­ty inte­gra­tion pro­grams (Eingliederung­shil­fe) pro­vide long-term assis­tance.
Spe­cial pro­vi­sions exist for war-relat­ed injuries, includ­ing human­i­tar­i­an aid pro­grams tai­lored to those affect­ed by con­flict. Local vol­un­teer net­works are very sup­port­ive, help­ing with paper­work, appoint­ments, and nav­i­gat­ing the sys­tem.
Impor­tant online resources to check for up-to-date infor­ma­tion and sup­port include refugeeguide.de, handicap-international.de, and drk.de.

Being Prepared and Patient

The process of get­ting mobil­i­ty aids involves sev­er­al steps and some­times wait­ing, but being pre­pared can make it smoother. Keep copies of all doc­u­ments, appoint­ments, and com­mu­ni­ca­tions. Don’t hes­i­tate to ask for help from com­mu­ni­ty orga­ni­za­tions and vol­un­teers who under­stand your needs.
Though lan­guage and paper­work might feel chal­leng­ing at first, you do have resources and sup­port. Tak­ing these steps will help you access the aid you need to improve mobil­i­ty and qual­i­ty of life while set­tling into Ger­many.

bamf.de — Ukraine Aufen­thalt, integrationsbeauftragte.de — Infor­ma­tio­nen für ukrainis­che Staat­sange­hörige, germany4ukraine.de — Health Care, eu-gleichbehandlungsstelle.de — Ukraine