Integration Courses
Learning German is important if you are looking for work, if you need to complete application forms, if you would like to support your children in school or if you would like to meet new people. There are also certain things that you should know about Germany, for example about its history, culture and its legal system. This is why an Integration courses are offer and funded by the German government. In an integration course, not only you will acquire the language, but also learn quite a lot about German culture and society.
An integration course is a combination of language and orientation courses and is supposed to aid your integration in Germany. The language course usually entails 600 learning hours, which concludes with a final exam („Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer” or DTZ for short) at the B1 level. The orientation course usually entails 100 hours of learning and concludes with a final exam. For fast learners, there are so-called intensive courses, in which they learn the same as everyone else in regular integration courses but in less time.
Whether you can participate in an integration course depends on your residence status. In principle, all foreign citizens (living in Germany for at least one year) who have obtained a residence permit because of their employment, or due to family reunification or by virtue of their recognition as asylum seekers, refugees or individual entitled to subsidiary protection can take part in an integration course.
If your asylum procedure is ongoing, your right to participate depends on your country of origin or date of entry to Germany.
Who an and who cannot take the course:
- If you come from a country with a “solid prospect to stay” (“guter Bleibeperspektive”), you can take part in an integration course.
- If you are currently in a “Dublin procedure”, you cannot take part in an Integration course.
- If you come from a “safe country of origin”, you are not allowed to take part in an integration course.
- If you came to Germany before 31.07. 2019, and you are registered as a jobseeker at the Federal Employment Agency or in case you work or are going through a vocational training programme, you may take part in an integration course after three months
- If you have have a tolerated stay permit (“Duldung”) you are not entitled to participate in an integration course. There are, however, exceptions to this general rule: People who have an “Ermessensduldung” . A tolerated stay for the purpose of vocational training (“Ausbildungsduldung”) and a tolerated stay for the purpose of employment (“Beschäftigungsduldung “) are considered types of “Ermessensduldung”.
- When the Immigration Office (“Ausländerbehörde”) hands you your residence permit, they will also let you know whether you are obliged to attend an integration course or not.
- If you intend to receive benefits from the Jobcentre or Social Welfare Office, they may also require you to attend an integration course.
If you are eligible or required to take part in an integration course, the Immigration Office (or the Jobcentre or the Employment Agency) will issue you a certificate of eligibility (“Berechtigungsschein”). With this document, you can register at the school of your choice directly. Alternatively, you can search for courses nearby on BAMF.
In addition to the regular integration courses, there are also literacy courses for the following groups:
- People who cannot read or write well in any language
- people who are not familiar with the Latin alphabet but can read and write in another language.