Special regulations for refugees from Ukraine

Information for refugees with a residency permit acc. to § 24 AufenthG or with a fictitious certificate

Update:

(Status: 17.10.24)

There is a new EU decision on the right of residence for refugees from Ukraine. But beware: the decision has not yet been implemented by Germany. This means that the previous legal situation will continue to apply for the time being!

Here is the most important news:

  • Non-Ukrainian third-country nationals with temporary Ukrainian residence permits will no longer be granted temporary protection if they do not yet have a residence permit in accordance with Section 24 of the Residence Act (AufenthG). Even if these persons have a residence permit in accordance with Section 24 AufenthG, they will not be covered by a further possible extension beyond 4 March 2025 by the BMI (see page 9 of the Fourth State Letter). The BMI has therefore expressly stated that no new residence permits under Section 24 AufenthG will be issued or extended for this group of people from 5 June 2024.

 

  • Secondary migration from third countries: Refugees from Ukraine who have stayed in a third country with a temporary or permanent right of residence and then migrate on to Germany are not to be granted temporary protection. In the opinion of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the persons concerned are no longer covered by the wording of the EU Council Implementing Decision of 4 March 2022 ((EU) 2022/382), as they cannot be considered ‘displaced’ (see page 23).

 

  • Extension of temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees until 4 March 2026. This was decided by the Council of the EU and the decision was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 3 July 2024.


You can find more information at the Baden-Württemberg Refugee Council or at asyl.net.

 

Before the war, people from Ukraine who wanted to come to Berlin to study needed an entry visa and a residence permit to study or prepare for their studies. This has changed due to various new laws from the EU and Germany.

Ukrainian nationals and third-country nationals as well as stateless refugees from Ukraine with an indefinite right of residence in Ukraine can continue to enter Germany without a residence permit until 31 December 2024 and stay in Germany for 90 days.

Unlike in the past, however, stateless persons and non-Ukrainian third-country nationals without a permanent residence permit in Ukraine are no longer covered by this special regulation - they are no longer exempt from the requirement for a residence permit and require a visa to enter Germany.

You can find more information on entry here.

If you are a Ukrainian national, you will usually receive a humanitarian residence permit for temporary protection under Section 24 of the Residence Act (AufenthG). If you have been assigned to Berlin, you can apply for the residence permit online at the State Office for Immigration (LEA).

Refugees who are permanently accommodated in Berlin can now apply for this residence permit online at the State Office for Immigration (LEA).

As long as the application is being examined, you will receive a so-called "fiction certificate". This is a document with which you can prove that you are staying in Berlin legally.

Please note: the residence title is currently not issued as a card (electronic residence title, eAT), but in the form of an adhesive label in order to simplify the administrative procedure.

With a residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG you have the following options:

  • Studying permitted
  • Unlimited gainful employment permitted
  • Right to receive social benefits such as BAföG or citizen's allowance if the other requirements are met
  • There is usually a residence requirement
  • Valid until 04.03.2025 if the regulation is not extended

Beneficiaries are Ukrainian nationals and third-country nationals who were in Ukraine at the time of the outbreak of the war if they

  • enjoyed international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 or
  • legally resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 on the basis of a permanent residence permit issued under Ukrainian law.

If you do not fulfil any of these criteria, you will receive a so-called fictitious certificate in many cases. This gives you time to fulfil the requirements for a residence permit for study purposes or for another residence permit.

You can find more information here.

If you can no longer return to your country of origin because you have fled from there, you should seek advice from us on the asylum procedure.

New regulations for third-country nationals from Ukraine (Source: Flüchtlingsrat Berlin, as of 30.07.24)

On 13.06.2024, the State Office for Immigration (LEA) published its new procedural information on residence in Berlin (VAB). The new VABs contain a major improvement for third-country nationals who have fled to Germany to escape the civil war in Ukraine.

In many cases, they did not and do not fall under the group of beneficiaries of Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022, but often have to see whether they meet other residence requirements. In the past, many of them have received a request to leave the country from the LEA even though they were able to prove that they were gainfully employed. However, if the job was not qualified, it was of little help to those affected. This has now changed:

Under §19c AufenthG, it now states that these third-country nationals from Ukraine who can prove that they had a Ukrainian residence permit at the time the war broke out and have now been employed for at least 6 months by a Berlin or Brandenburg employer subject to social security contributions, are able to support themselves and have A1 German language skills, can obtain a residence permit under §19c AufenthG.

Flüchtlingsrat Berlin:

https://fluechtlingsrat-berlin.de/news_termine/ukraine_english/#90

Information from LEA:

https://www.berlin.de/einwanderung/service/downloads/artikel.875097.php

or

https://www.berlin.de/einwanderung/en/

Information from Berlin Senate:

https://www.berlin.de/ukraine/

https://www.berlin.de/ukraine/en/arrive/online-application-temporary-residence-permit/

 

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Disclaimer: The advice and assistance provided by the Center for Student Refugees is subject to careful examination of the content. However, we do not assume any liability for the content. All advice and assistance are of a general nature and cannot cover every individual case in a binding manner. If you have any further questions, we will be happy to help.

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A man on the left offers a pen and paper to another person on the right.

General Information on Entry and Residence

Residency permit for studying vs Asylum procedure