Information for refugees with a residency permit acc. to § 24 AufenthG or with a fictitious certificate
Update:
Status: 26.02.2025
Third-country nationals with a temporary residence permit in Ukraine:
Apply for a residence permit by next week Tuesday (March 4)!
Refugees from Ukraine without Ukrainian citizenship who are currently in Germany with temporary protection and a residence permit in accordance with Section 24 AufenthG must in many cases apply for a residence permit by next Tuesday, March 4, at the latest in order to avoid being required to leave the country. This applies under the following conditions:
You are a non-Ukrainian citizen
You only had a temporary residence permit in Ukraine
You have a residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG, which was issued before February 1, 2024.
In this case, temporary protection and the residence permit will end automatically at the end of March 4, 2025 and will not continue to apply after that date. The residence permit is valid until March 4, 2025 even if an earlier expiry date is noted on it; this results from the previous version of the Ukraine Residence Permit Continued Validity Ordinance. If the residence permit pursuant to Section 24 AufenthG was not issued until February 1, 2024 or later, the residence permit will remain valid until the expiry of the noted validity period; the time pressure is then not too great.
For most non-Ukrainian nationals with § 24 AufenthG, however, this means that they must apply for a different residence permit by March 4 at the latest. This application has a fictitious effect in accordance with § 81 Para. 4 AufenthG, i.e. the old residence permit continues to apply fictitiously. This also applies, for example, to claims at the Jobcenter. The immigration authority must issue a fictitious certificate in accordance with § 81 Para. 5 AufenthG. However, the statutory fictitious effect also applies if the fictitious certificate is not issued unlawfully.
Copyright: Projekt Q – Büro zur Qualifizierung der Flüchtlings- und Migrationsberatung
Extension of important regulations for entry, residence and protection status of refugees from Ukraine
There is news for people who have fled Ukraine!
As the war in Ukraine continues, the Council of the EU decided in July to extend protection for Ukrainian refugees, see below. Now the corresponding regulations in Germany have also been extended. In detail:
The Ukraine Residence Transitional Regulation (UkraineAufenthÜV) continues to apply until 4 March 2026. Ukrainian nationals and stateless persons as well as non-Ukrainian third-country nationals with international protection or an indefinite right of residence in Ukraine can enter the federal territory without a residence permit until 4 December 2025 and stay here for 90 days. They are exempt from the requirement for a residence permit, meaning that they can enter Germany without a visa. Stateless persons and non-Ukrainian third-country nationals without international protection status or without a permanent right of residence in Ukraine are not covered by the scope of application.
The period of validity of the Ukraine Residence Permit Continued Validity Ordinance (UkraineAufenthFGV) was also extended until 4 March 2026. The residence permits pursuant to Section 24 (1) AufenthG for persons from Ukraine entitled to temporary protection will automatically remain valid until 4 March 2026. The scope of application does not include stateless persons and non-Ukrainian third-country nationals without international protection status or without a permanent right of residence in Ukraine.
The following groups of persons are exempt from the requirement of a residence permit for 90 days from the date of first entry until 4 December 2025:
Ukrainian nationals and
stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine, provided that they
enjoyed international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine on 24 February 2022
are family members of Ukrainian nationals or stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who enjoyed international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine on 24 February 2022, or
legally resided in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 on the basis of a valid permanent residence permit issued under Ukrainian law.
The following persons are still not covered by the scope of the regulation
Stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine without international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine or with only temporary residence permits in Ukraine
The continued validity of residence permits pursuant to Section 24 (1) AufenthG applies to the following groups of persons
a) Ukrainian nationals who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022,
b) stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who enjoyed international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 or who were legally residing in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 on the basis of a valid permanent residence permit issued under Ukrainian law, and
c) family members of the persons mentioned under letters a and b.
The continued validity of residence permits pursuant to Section 24 (1) AufenthG therefore does not apply to the following groups of persons:
stateless persons and non-Ukrainian third-country nationals without protection status or without a proven permanent right of residence in Ukraine
The background to this is that the Federal Government had already decided this year to no longer grant third-country nationals and stateless persons with a temporary Ukrainian right of residence and without protection status in Ukraine any further protection under Section 24 (1) of the Residence Act. Residence permits will no longer be issued or extended for these groups of people in accordance with Section 24 (1) AufenthG.
Please note: Ukrainian nationals who have initially fled from Ukraine to another country and have received a temporary or permanent residence permit there (e.g. to study) and do not have a residence permit for temporary protection will no longer receive a residence permit here in accordance with Section 24 AufenthG!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
