Registering as a war refugee: rights and obligations arising from temporary protection status

Ukrainian refugees who have fled Ukraine since 24 February 2022 can obtain war-refugee status throughout the EU. This is also known as temporary protection status. Two steps are necessary to obtain this status.

Firstly, it will be decided at the Arrival Centre in Tegel whether you will stay in Berlin or be allocated to another federal state. If you have relatives or close friends in Berlin, please inform us at the Arrival Centre. As a rule, you can stay in Berlin if you have relatives here. The same applies if you have found permanent accommodation or a job in Berlin.

• Ukrainian nationals and their close family members who have fled Ukraine since 24 February 2022
• Non-Ukrainian nationals, stateless persons and their close family members who are recognised as refugees in Ukraine or possess international protection status
• Non-Ukrainian nationals who cannot return safely to their country of origin

Ukrainian refugees who already have a residence permit as a refugee in Poland, for example, can receive a residence permit in Germany under the same conditions as refugees who come directly from Ukraine.

You do not have to register as a war refugee immediately. You can stay in Germany without a visa or residence permit for up to 90 days after entering the country. However, if you wish to stay longer, find work or claim social benefits, you must register and apply for a residence permit.

In order to register, go to the Arrival Centre at Tegel Airport. You can use the free shuttle buses from the main railway station, from the General-Ganeval-Brücke bus stop and from the P3 car park at Tegel Airport.

At the Arrival Centre it is decided assess whether you can stay in Berlin or will be allocated to another federal state in Germany. The allocation takes place according to the Königstein distribution scale, by which about 5 percent of all refugees can stay in Berlin. If another federal state is responsible for your accommodation and supplying your basic needs, you can travel there free of charge and apply for a residence permit on arrival. If you have relatives in Berlin, or you have found permanent accommodation or you have found a job, you can usually remain in Berlin. This applies regardless of whether your relatives have lived in Berlin for some time or whether they also fled from the war and already have a right of residence in Berlin.

If you are able to stay in Berlin, you will also be registered at the Arrival Centre in Tegel.

Registration usually takes 20 to 60 minutes. To make sure the appointment goes as smoothly as possible, please bring the following documents with you:

• Ukrainian identity documents or residence permit in Ukraine
• If available: residents’ registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung), lease or your current address if you have made your own accommodation arrangements with friends or family.

During the registration, your fingerprint and photos of you will be taken. After the registration, you are not yet allowed to work and do not yet have a residence permit. To receive a residence permit you have to apply online.

If you are registered in Berlin, you can apply for a residence permit. An online procedure is available for this. You can access the online application here.

The temporary residence permit will be issued for an initial period of two years; depending on how the situation develops, it may be possible to extend this to three years. It may take some time to process your application due to the very high number of refugees. All rights and obligations arising from the temporary residence permit will already apply to you through the confirmation (“Certificate of an application for refugees from Ukraine for temporary protection under §24 Residence Act”) you will receive after completing the online application.

If you have submitted an online application for a residence permit, you are entitled to claim social benefits and standard health care.

After submitting your online application for a residence permit, you will receive a PDF document as confirmation. This certificate or the confirmation of registration in Berlin allows you to apply for social benefits – for instance a health card or accommodation costs. You apply for these at the social services (Sozialamt) office responsible for you, which belongs to the district you are living in. An overview of the social services offices in Berlin is available here. In order for the costs of your accommodation to be paid, some requirements must be met. You need a tenancy or subtenancy agreement. In addition, the rent must not exceed certain maximum limits and the accommodation must comply with certain minimum sizes, depending on the number of residents. You can find more information here.

The certificate of your online application also allows you to work.

As a matter of principle, you must follow the laws and regulations applicable in Germany and Berlin.

You are required to register your residence within two weeks of moving in. A specific citizens’ registration office is responsible for the area where you live. You can find more information here.

Children aged six or older are required to attend school. Refugee children must also attend school after arriving in Germany. Further information is available here.

If you are a non-Ukrainian citizen who studied in Ukraine on 24 February and would like to continue your studies in Berlin, you can submit an online application for a residence permit. Please note the following points:

• Until 31 August 2022, you can submit the application without previously having been registered and assigned to Berlin. In this case, please state in your online application for a residence permit, in addition to your personal details, that you have been assigned to Berlin. Please enter the option number “BE1234567”. Once you have done this, you will still have to appear at the Arrival Centre in Tegel to register. Be sure to point out your status as a student. However, it is still possible that you will be assigned to another federal state.

• As of 1 September, you will only be able to submit the online application if you have previously registered at the Tegel Arrival Centre and have been assigned to Berlin.

If you do not receive a residence permit according to Section 24 of the Residence Act, you can apply for a residence permit for the purpose of studying or carrying out vocational training (Section 16b of the Residence Act). This requires, among other things, admission to a university or taking part in preparatory measures to study at university, such as attending a preparatory course together with proof that you can finance your livelihood. If you cannot yet fully meet these requirements, you will first be issued a temporary residence permit.