Your first days in Berlin: accommodation and support

You are generally not obliged to register immediately after your arrival in Berlin. As a war refugee from Ukraine you may stay legally in Germany without a visa for a maximum of 90 days after your first entry. However, if you want to stay longer, find work or need social benefits, you must register.

If you do not have accommodation in Berlin, you can stay in the homes of private individuals or families. You can make a request for accommodation on unterkunft-ukraine.de even before you enter the country. Refugees can also find accommodation on the platform www.helfendewaende.de. Otherwise, go directly to the Ukraine Arrival Centre in Tegel.

Take the S-Bahn or U-Bahn to the station Jungfernheide. From there, shuttle bus number 410 will take you to the Ukraine Arrival Centre at the former Berlin-Tegel airport. This bus also stops at the U-Bahn station Jakob-Kaiser-Platz and at the General-Ganeval-Brücke. You cannot reach the airport by foot! The shuttle bus is free of charge and a bus comes every 10 minutes. The shuttle bus will also take you from the Ukraine Arrival Centre back to the Jungfernheide station.

Alternatively, you can take bus number 109 from the stations Zoo or Charlottenburg and transfer to the shuttle bus 410 at General-Ganeval-Brücke. Please note: You must pay the regular BVG fare to take bus 109.

There you will be temporarily accommodated and cared for. Afterwards, you will be moved on to accommodation in Berlin or in another German federal state. You will then receive your accommodation, social benefits and medical care at your destination.

You are not required immediately to register as a war refugee and apply for a residence permit for temporary protection. You may stay in Germany for a maximum of 90 days after your initial arrival without a visa or residence permit.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community has passed an ordinance on this matter. The 90-day rule applies if you enter Germany until March 04, 2024, without a visa and without a biometric form of identification. Then you are still staying legally in Germany and are entitled to support. For Ukrainian citizens and people who have a refugee status in Ukraine, the following applies in addition: You may legally stay in Germany even if you were not in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

However, if you wish to stay longer, work or need social benefits, you have to register and apply for the temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis).

For this, the first step is to report to the Arrival Centre at the former Tegel Airport. The Arrival Centre will check whether you can stay in Berlin or whether you will be allocated to another German federal state. If you have relatives in Berlin, or you have found permanent accommodation or a job, or if you have a trans* or inter* identity, you will generally be allowed to stay. If you are allocated to Berlin, you will also be registered immediately at the Arrival Centre. Among other things, your fingerprints will be taken and photos will be taken of you.

Subsequently, you can apply for a temporary residence permit online. You can access the online application here. After you have filled out the application, you are allowed to work and apply for social benefits.

Registering your residence is important for many further steps. For example, for children and young people to attend school and daycare.

To register your residence, you will need your passport and, if possible, confirmation of your address – what is called a “Wohnungsgeberbestätigung” in German (housing provider confirmation). You can get this from your landlord or the main tenant of the place you are living. You can download a sample form here (PDF – in German).

You do not need an appointment, but you must be prepared to wait. You can register your residence at the following Residents’ Registration Offices (Bürgerämter) depending on where you live:

If you are moving home within Berlin, you must re-register. To do this, you can go to any Citizens’ Registration Office (Bürgeramt) in Berlin, but you must make an appointment in advance. Go to the overview of the Citizens’ Registration Offices (Bürgerämter) in Berlin.