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

Get­ting mobil­i­ty aids in Ger­many as a Ukrain­ian refugee is man­age­able with a clear under­stand­ing of the legal sta­tus and appli­ca­tion steps. This guide out­lines the cru­cial eli­gi­bil­i­ty require­ments, nec­es­sary prepa­ra­tions, and ongo­ing oblig­a­tions to help you secure the sup­port you need effi­cient­ly.

Eligibility Requirements and Legal Status for Ukrainian Refugees

The first step for Ukrain­ian refugees is obtain­ing the tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion sta­tus under § 24 of the Res­i­dence Act (Aufen­thG). This sta­tus allows refugees to access social ben­e­fits and work oppor­tu­ni­ties sim­i­lar to Ger­man cit­i­zens with­out long wait­ing peri­ods.

You must reg­is­ter with your local author­i­ties to get the reg­is­tra­tion cer­tifi­cate (Anmeldebescheini­gung), which con­firms your res­i­dence. Apply­ing for ben­e­fits must hap­pen with­in spe­cif­ic time­frames after arrival, so time­ly reg­is­tra­tion is essen­tial to avoid delays.

Adults aged 18 and old­er can apply for mobil­i­ty aid on their own, while minors will require a guardian to sub­mit appli­ca­tions. Fam­i­lies with chil­dren, preg­nant women, or per­sons with dis­abil­i­ties have addi­tion­al pro­vi­sions that ensure tai­lored sup­port dur­ing the appli­ca­tion process.

Work autho­riza­tion sta­tus influ­ences ben­e­fit eli­gi­bil­i­ty, so if you have per­mis­sion to work, it might affect how ben­e­fits like mobil­i­ty aids are grant­ed but not pre­vent access.

Documents and Preparation for Your First Jobcenter Visit

Before vis­it­ing the Job­cen­ter for your mobil­i­ty aid appli­ca­tion, pre­pare these essen­tial doc­u­ments to make the process smoother:

• Your pass­port and tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion cer­tifi­cate (Aufen­thalt­ser­laub­nis).
• The Anmeldebescheini­gung prov­ing your local reg­is­tra­tion.
• Proof of your bank account with a Ger­man IBAN, which is nec­es­sary for ben­e­fit pay­ments. If you don’t have one yet, dis­cuss alter­na­tive pay­ment options at the Job­cen­ter.
• Hous­ing doc­u­men­ta­tion such as your rental agree­ment or con­fir­ma­tion of tem­po­rary accom­mo­da­tion.
• Med­ical doc­u­ments rel­e­vant for mobil­i­ty aids, includ­ing preg­nan­cy cer­tifi­cates or dis­abil­i­ty doc­u­ments, with offi­cial trans­la­tions if they are in Ukrain­ian or Russ­ian.
• Records from pre­vi­ous employ­ment and qual­i­fi­ca­tions, espe­cial­ly if you seek work-relat­ed ben­e­fits along­side mobil­i­ty aid.
• Fam­i­ly doc­u­ments like mar­riage or birth cer­tifi­cates for chil­dren, which sup­port your appli­ca­tion for fam­i­ly-relat­ed allowances.

Gath­er­ing these papers in advance and hav­ing trans­la­tions done improves the effi­cien­cy of your first con­sul­ta­tion.

Bürgergeld Application Process and Benefit Amounts

Ukrain­ian refugees apply for mobil­i­ty aids through the Bürg­ergeld sys­tem, which replaced the old­er Hartz IV ben­e­fits and offers enhanced finan­cial sup­port and inte­gra­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties. Book­ing an ini­tial appoint­ment with the local Job­cen­ter is your start­ing point.

At your appoint­ment, sub­mit all pre­pared doc­u­ments and fill out the appli­ca­tion form for Bürg­ergeld ben­e­fits, which includes requests for spe­cial sup­port like mobil­i­ty aids. The typ­i­cal pro­cess­ing time for an ini­tial deci­sion is about 4 to 6 weeks, though inter­im pay­ments may be offered to cov­er urgent needs.

The month­ly Bürg­ergeld rate for 2024 stands at €502 for sin­gle adults. Part­ners receive €451, and fam­i­lies can receive addi­tion­al child allowances based on children’s age. Hous­ing and heat­ing costs are cov­ered sep­a­rate­ly, and one-time allowances are avail­able for neces­si­ties like fur­ni­ture and equip­ment required for your apart­ment.

Spe­cial sup­ple­ments exist to help cov­er diet-relat­ed or dis­abil­i­ty-relat­ed expens­es, which may include mobil­i­ty aids. If your appli­ca­tion is denied or the sup­port is insuf­fi­cient, you can file a for­mal appeal through the Wider­spruch process to seek recon­sid­er­a­tion.

Ongoing Obligations and Integration Support Services

After receiv­ing ben­e­fits, you must keep up with report­ing require­ments, includ­ing month­ly updates on your job search activ­i­ties and any changes in income. Fol­low­ing an Eingliederungsvere­in­barung or inte­gra­tion agree­ment, you’ll need to par­tic­i­pate in Ger­man lan­guage cours­es (Inte­gra­tionskurs) and ori­en­ta­tion pro­grams to facil­i­tate your entry into the job mar­ket.

Job appli­ca­tion quo­tas and par­tic­i­pa­tion in employ­ment place­ment ser­vices are part of your respon­si­bil­i­ties to main­tain ben­e­fits. Reg­is­ter­ing with a health insur­ance provider through the Job­cen­ter is also manda­to­ry to ensure access to health­care ser­vices.

Fam­i­lies with chil­dren should apply for Kindergeld, the child ben­e­fit, which inter­acts with Bürg­ergeld to max­i­mize sup­port. Edu­ca­tion­al sup­port like BAföG or voca­tion­al train­ing allowances are options if you or your fam­i­ly mem­bers pur­sue stud­ies or train­ing.

Think­ing about the future, tem­po­rary pro­tec­tion can be a path­way to per­ma­nent res­i­den­cy and sta­ble employ­ment, so engag­ing ful­ly with inte­gra­tion mea­sures is impor­tant for long-term plan­ning.

If you want to under­stand all steps clear­ly and see more detailed expla­na­tions, check out this guide on mobil­i­ty aids for Ukrain­ian refugees to help you through each stage of the process.

Sources

Ger­man Fed­er­al Employ­ment Agency Guide­lines,
Ger­man Res­i­dence Act § 24,
2024 Bürg­ergeld Rates Social Code Reg­u­la­tions,
Infor­ma­tion drawn from cur­rent Ger­man social wel­fare law and Ukrain­ian refugee assis­tance pro­grams.