Information for refugees from Ukraine - frequently asked questions

You are in Germany legally and with permission. The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) has issued rules (Ukraine Residence Permit Continuation Ordinance), according to which if you were in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and entered the Federal Republic of Germany for the first time by 04 March 2025, you are permitted to stay without a visa for a period of 90 days from the date of your first entry into the territory of Germany. This applies regardless of whether you are in possession of a passport or passport substitute.

However, applicants who have already submitted an application for a residence permit online are not (any longer) considered to be staying in the federal territory without a visa, but are permitted to stay in Germany until a decision has been made by the State Office for Immigration.

As a non-Ukrainian citizen did you have long-term Ukrainian residence rights before you fled, but you do not currently have a valid passport? In this case, please contact your embassy here in Berlin or your consulate general in Germany.

You were recognised in Ukraine as a refugee under the Geneva Refugee Convention or had international or equivalent protection status there, but you do not currently have a valid travel document? In this case, the State Office for Immigration will check which German substitute travel document can be issued to you.

If you were allocated to Berlin by the Berlin State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) or another authority, please apply to the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA) for a residence permit online.

You will find further information in the online application. It is not necessary to submit an application for asylum for your future protected status.

Yes. 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.

Yes. Your residence permit as a war refugee expires if you leave Germany for anything other than a temporary reason or if you leave Germany for more than six months. The six-month period can be extended – before it expires, but not afterwards – by the Land Office for Immigration if the further absence is also only temporary.

If you flee to Germany from Ukraine again, then you will need to go to the immigration authority that was responsible for you before you went back to Ukraine. If you were officially allocated to Berlin, then please submit an online request for a new residence permit to the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA).

In general, your residence permit as a war refugee entitles you to travel abroad. The journey may only be temporary and last a maximum of 6 months.

If you are planning to leave Germany for a reason that is not temporary, please fill in the deregistration form available from the citizens’ registration office (https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/120335/) in due time. No further action is required on your part.

Take the S-Bahn or U-Bahn to the station Jungfernheide. From there, shuttle bus number 410 will take you to the Arrival Centre Tegel 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 Arrival Centre Tegel 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.

Arrivals must fill out a self-disclosure form at the Arrival Centre and eligibility for protection is reviewed. You can read the explanation and requirements for this on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI).

If a person meets the requirements for receiving the protected status, it is then reviewed whether they will stay in Berlin or be allocated to another federal state.

For your appointment in the Arrival Centre, you will need the originals of all documents.

Refugees who stay in Berlin are registered at the Arrival Centre which means that their identity is determined. If you need accommodation because they are currently involuntarily without housing, you can be housed in the Arrival Centre TXL and are also looked after there.

Interpreters for Ukrainian, Russian and English are available. You can recognise them by their light purple vests.

Refugees who have been distributed to another federal state travel to their destination on the same or the next day. If the onward journey does not take place on the same day, they can stay overnight at the Ukraine Arrival Centre TXL and are looked after there.

The housing area in UA-TXL is open at all times. The HUB, in which people who arrive are allocated and registered if necessary, is not open 24/7, however. Anyone who arrives at the Arrival Centre outside of the arrival and registration hours will be able to spend the night at the Centre. If you want to stay even just one night at the Arrival Centre Tegel (AkuZ TXL), then you must be allocated by the HUB to Berlin or another federal state on the next possible working day. This necessary because staying overnight in the AkuZ TXL is considered the initial contact with an authority in Germany and thus as a request for asylum according to the Act on Staying, Working and Integrating Foreigners in the Federal Republic of Germany (Aufenthaltsgesetz – AufenthG – § 24).

In the Arrival Centre TXL medical care is provided. However, this is not intended to be standard medical care, but as initial medical and pharmaceutical care for refugees. In addition, the Arrival Centre TXL has WiFi, childcare services, changing areas for babies, basketball courts and football pitches, sandboxes, social services, emergency psychosocial services (PSNV), tents with food, drinking water stations (cold and hot water), a kiosk, washing machines, info points, a tracing service and security.

Interpreters for Ukrainian, Russian and English are available and can be recognised by their light purple vests.

A transfer zone for people with special needs has been set up at the entrance to Terminal C. People with physical disabilities, for example, receive support to ensure that they can be mobile. Refugees who have special support needs (for example LGBTI*) can approach the staff at the HUB who wear a rainbow button and ask for counselling in the transfer zone.

A veterinarian is on site for pets that have been brought along. Care for the animals is provided and it is ensured that they can get exercise.

Please register in the Arrival Centre TXL in the former Tegel Airport at the address “am Saatwinkler Damm” in 13405 Berlin. You can register from Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. – not at weekends or holidays. If you need a place to stay when you first arrive in Berlin, then you can come to the Arrival Centre TXL at any time of day or night. You will be allocated to a federal state and registered on the next possible working day.

At the Arrival Centre TXL, first it will be checked whether the requirements for requesting asylum are fulfilled according to the implementing decision of the European Council establishing that there is the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons as described in Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC and establishing that temporary protection is to be implemented.

Following this, it will be reviewed whether you will be allocated to another federal state or whether you fulfil the requirements for being allocated to Berlin. For more information, see the question “Under what conditions can I stay in Berlin?”

No, not immediately. As a Ukrainian citizen, you can stay for a maximum of 90 days in Germany without a visa until 02 June 2025 as long as you entered Germany at the latest on 04 March 2025. Within 90 days of the time you first entered the Federal Republic of Germany, you should make sure that you register even if you do not need any social benefits.

If you need social benefits (financial support, medical care, accommodation) or you want to request a residence permit from the LEA, then you will need to register. After registering, you have a legal claim to state support.

No, the baby does not need to be registered. However, you will need to request a “residence permit for children born in Germany” as quickly as possible. There are two possibilities for this depending on the circumstances.

The residence permit is issued by the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) if

• Only one parent (if the parents have joint custody) has a residence permit when the baby is born or
• If the baby does not have its own passport but instead was entered in the mother’s passport.

Please book an appointment online with the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA) in these cases.

The residence permit is issued by the Citizen’s Registration Office (Bürgeramt) if

• Both parents (if the parents have joint custody) or the parent with sole custody already have a residence permit when the baby is born and
• Those residence permits were issued by the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA) and
• The baby has its own passport.

Please book an appointment online with a Citizen’s Registration Office in these cases.

In all cases, the baby must have been born in Germany, and it must be registered as living with the parents or the parent with sole custody in Berlin.

You can apply at the Arrival Centre Tegel to stay in Berlin if at least one of the following conditions applies to you and you can provide the corresponding original documentation:

• You or a close family member have urgent medical, care or mental health needs and are therefore temporarily or permanently unable to travel. This is determined by a doctor at the Arrival Centre TXL.
• You have already found a flat or permanent accommodation (for at least 2 years) in Berlin. You must prove this by means of a registration certificate, a certificate from the accommodation provider, a permanent tenancy agreement or a confirmation of accommodation. If the accommodation provider is a private owner of the accommodation, then a copy of the owner’s state-issued ID card and a copy of the land register entry (Grundbucheintrag) must also be provided.
• Your spouse or civil partner, your children, parents or an unmarried, minor sibling already live here. In the case of second-degree relatives (grandparents or grandchildren), authorities will check whether you were completely or largely dependent on the part of the family living in Berlin (financial dependence, dependence in terms of living situation, dependence due to nursing care etc.). This dependency must have already existed at the time the war in Ukraine began and must be proven. This also applies to binational partnerships and for family members who are not Ukrainian citizens.
• You already have a job with an employment contract that covers the requirements according to the Social Code Book II (SGB II), a training place or a place at university in Berlin (for in-person studies). You must prove this in writing.
• You are heavily pregnant or are in a maternity protection period.
• You identify as trans* or inter*. You can get more information from the contact points for LGBTI refugees.

If you do not meet any of these requirements, you can be assigned to another federal state.

With the granting of the residence permit, a binding residence ruling has been issued for the state of Berlin in accordance with Section 12a (1) of the Residence Act (AufenthG). A move is therefore not easily possible. The holders of the residence permit must first apply to the State Office for Immigration (LEA) to have their residence ruling lifted or changed in accordance with Sections 12a and 73 para. 3a of the Residence Act.

After an application has been made, the LEA contacts the immigration authority at the desired place of residence and asks for approval to cancel or revoke the residence ruling. If the relevant authority at the desired place of residence agrees to the application, the residence ruling is adjusted accordingly by the LEA. The issued permit remains valid regardless of this and is not reissued at the place of arrival.

No. One application per family which includes all relevant family members is sufficient.

However, it is not a problem if family members submit an online application separately.

But parents and their minor children should only ever fill out one online application together, as this is the only way we can guarantee that you will all receive an appointment for an interview at the same time.

You may only make an online application for a residence permit if you have already been allocated to Berlin by the State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) or another authority (allocation decision).

You cannot apply online if you have not been allocated to Berlin. Please go first to the LAF to be allocated and registered.

Yes, if you were allocated to Berlin please make an online application. You need a residence permit to be allowed to stay in Germany. You can only obtain it from the Berlin Immigration Office. When you apply online to be granted a residence permit, we will send you an email with an appointment to appear in person.

It can take some time for your application to be processed. All rights and obligations arising from the residence permit already apply when you receive the confirmation after filling out the online application (“Certificate of an application for refugees from Ukraine for temporary protection according to § 24 of the Residence Act”). The certificate is only valid in combination with a valid passport or replacement passport and the certificate of initial arrival in German (Anlaufbescheinigung) with the option number from your allocation decision. It remains valid until the decision is taken on your requested residence permit.

Please bring your arrival certificate with the option number to the appointment at the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA).

If you receive an appointment and realise that you will not be able to attend it, please contact us. We will move your appointment. Your certificate for the submitted request will remain valid.

The residence permit will be issued as of the day of your appointment, regardless of whether that day is earlier or later.

You will only be able to submit the online application if you have already been registered by the Berlin State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) or another authority and allocated to Berlin (allocation decision).

Please first go to the Arrival Centre TXL at the former Tegel Airport. All family members are registered together in the Arrival Centre. That is why all family members must be present in person.

After you have registered, you can submit the online application for a residence permit. The Arrival Centre may allocate you to another federal state. In this case, please contact the Foreigners’ Registration Office in the federal state you have been allocated to.

If you made initial contact with the Arrival Centre TXL and do not fulfil the requirements because you cannot show proof of them, for example, then you will be issued a letter with the reasons. According to the Official Journal of the European Union, if you cannot show proof of the original relevant documents, it is not possible to safely return to your country of original, and the process to determine your claim to temporary protection or suitable protection according to national law will be too complex, you can enter into the asylum process.

Yes, a residence permit for war refugees will also be granted if you cannot produce a passport but your identity has been clarified.

Ukrainian nationals who are not in possession of a valid passport or other identity document with a photograph are requested to turn to the Ukraine embassy here in Berlin and to bring the documents issued there to the appointment at the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA).

Non-Ukrainian nationals who are not in possession of a passport are requested to turn to the embassy of their country of origin here in Berlin or to their consulate-general in Germany, and to bring the documents issued there, along with a photo, to the appointment at the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA).

If you were recognised as a refugee in Ukraine under the Geneva Refugee Convention or enjoyed international or equivalent protection status there, the Berlin Immigration Office will check on which German travel document you can be issued as a substitute, once you have made your online application.

On presentation of new, valid documents, the residence permit for war refugees will be issued, as appropriate with a German travel document for foreigners. A fee of up to EUR 60 will be charged for the travel document, with no exception being made. The issuing of a substitute travel document is free of charge (EUR 0). Only travel in Germany is possible with the substitute travel document. Travel is possible in most countries with the travel document.

If you move somewhere within Berlin you do not have to inform us. The only important thing is that we can reach you via the email address you have given us.

If you move outside Berlin or even leave Germany, the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA) will no longer be responsible for you. Please cancel the appointment to appear at the office as soon as you receive it by email. Kindly register then, as appropriate, at the immigration office (Ausländeramt) responsible for you at your new place of residence.

If you have made a mistake with your email address: please complete the online application again and give the correct email address. Enter all the other data exactly as before.

If you have made a mistake with your personal details, your address or other information, you don’t have to do anything. We will correct the data when you come to your appointment. The only important thing is that we can reach you via the email address you have given us.

If you have forgotten to mention a member of the family: please submit a separate online application for this family member.

If you lost your certificate, please enter the same data again. Then you can download a new certificate. We will still only send you one appointment for an interview.

For Germany, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) passed the “Verordnung zur Regelung der Fortgeltung der gemäß § 24 Absatz 1 Aufenthaltsgesetz erteilten Aufenthaltserlaubnisse für vorübergehend Schutzberechtigte aus der Ukraine” (UkraineAufenthFGV, Ordinance to Regulate the Continuing Validity of the Residence Permits Issued according to § 24(1) of the German Residency Act for Those People from Ukraine who are Temporarily in Need of Protection). The Ordinance entered into force on December 5, 2023.

Based on the Ordinance, all residence permits issued according to § 24 of the German Residency Act that are valid on February 1, 2024, will continue to be valid together with their conditions and additional regulations until March 4, 2025. This means:

• Persons holding these residence permits do not to submit a request for an extension. It is not necessary to go to the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA). The requirement for this is that the current residence permit according to § 24 of the German Residency Act is valid until at least February 1, 2024.
• Due to the automatic extension, the opportunities to work, study, obtain social assistance, travel abroad and other guaranties and freedoms linked to the residence permit also continue.
• Holders of these residence permits also continue to have the right to obtain social assistance according to Social Code Book II and Social Code Book XII, and they also have the right to assistance according to the Federal Education Assistance Act (BAföG), child benefits, housing assistance and health insurance benefits.

No, this is no longer possible, nor is it necessary. These residence permits are valid until March 4, 2025, even if the expiry date on the document has passed. The extension of these residence permits is automatically reported to the Central Registry for Foreigners. The border agencies of the Schengen member states are informed as are the offices responsible for social assistance and benefits in Germany.

• If you have already submitted an online application to LEA for the extension of your residence permit according to § 24 of the German Residence Act: We will send you an invitation to an appointment. Please be patient. After you have submitted your application, a “fictitious acceptance” applies. This means that your residence permit continues to be valid with all associated rights until your appointment.
• In all other cases: please use the contact form to get in touch with the unit responsible for your nationality.

After registration at the Ukraine Arrival Centre Tegel and application for a residence permit, you are entitled to claim social benefits (maintenance) and medical care. The benefits are paid by the Job Centre in your district of residence if you already have a “fictitious acceptance” (Fiktionsbescheinigung). If you are 65 or older, you will receive your benefits from the Social Welfare Office in your district of residence. If you have already received a pension in Ukraine and are under 65, please register with the Job Centre first.

For further information, please see: https://www.berlin.de/ukraine/en/arrive/applying-for-social-benefits/

You receive your social benefits through the Social Welfare Office. However, in certain cases, you may have to go to the Job Center first to have your case reviewed before you are referred to the Social Welfare Office.

You must report to the Job Center if

• You have already received a pension in Ukraine, but have not yet reached the German retirement age.
• You have not yet reached the German retirement age and are unable to work due to other circumstances (e.g. illness, disability).

In addition, there are exceptions, for example, for severely disabled people. Therefore, in case of doubt, you should always have your case checked at the Job Center.

For further information, please see: https://www.berlin.de/ukraine/en/arrive/applying-for-social-benefits/

If you flee from Ukraine to Germany, you do not have health insurance from the first day you arrive. You can only request social benefits once you have registered. You will only receive social benefits in the federal state to which you have been allocated.

To start the process, please go to the Arrival Centre Tegel. There you will either be allocated to another federal state or to Berlin.

You can find the requirements for staying in Berlin above.

Even if you do not yet have health insurance in Germany, in an emergency you can call any emergency number of the Berlin hospitals. Or you can call the on-call physician service at (030)116 117 for out-patient medical care.

As soon as you have registered as a war refugee according to § 24 (allocation to Berlin and initial contact registration in the Arrival Centre Tegel or a residence permit from the LEA), then you will have access to standard medical care, which also includes psychotherapeutic care. Before you register, you have a right to basic medical care such as acute, necessary medical treatment and acute, necessary medications and medical aids.

If you are a new arrival in Berlin and do not have accommodation, please report to the new Arrival Centre Tegel at the former Tegel Airport. In Tegel, you will receive temporary accommodation and care. If you are allocated to Berlin, it is important for you to know that group accommodation for refugees is currently difficult to find due to the high number of arrivals. You may have to stay longer at the Arrival Centre Tegel (AkuZ TXL) until accommodation is found for you.

If you are allocated to another federal state, then you will be given your accommodation, social benefits and medical care at your destination.

That depends on how long you have been staying in Berlin:

• If you move into a flat in Germany for the first time after entering the country or are taken in by friends/acquaintances/families, you do not have to register for the first 3 months. However, you can do this voluntarily. Voluntary registration is particularly recommended if you need a school or kindergarten place or other benefits from local government for your children.

• After 3 months, you and your children are required to register. Please register at the citizens’ registration office of the district in which you live.

For persons up to the age of 16, the person into whose home the minors move has to register them. Newborns who were born in Germany only have to be registered if they live in a home other than that of the parents or the mother.

If you are registering accommodation in Berlin for the first time, please only contact one of the two refugee citizenship offices:

• Berlin Mitte
  Rathaus Tiergarten
  Mathilde-Jacob-Platz 1
  10551 Berlin
  Responsible for: Mitte, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Neukölln Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Pankow, Marzahn-Hellersdorf, Lichtenberg, Reinickendorf, Treptow-Köpenick

• Berlin Charlottenburg
  Bürgeramt Hohenzollerndamm
  Hohenzollerndamm 177
  10713 Berlin
  Responsible for: Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Spandau

If you move within Berlin, you can contact any Berlin Citizens’ Registration Office to register the change in your place of residence. Because you must register your move within 13 days and the waiting times in the Citizens’ Registration Offices can be very long, we advise you to make an appointment with a Citizens’ Registration Office online.

You will need the following documents to register your initial place or residence or your change of residence if you move:

• Proof of identity
  Passport or passport replacement papers. Passport replacement papers are: ID card, diplomatic passport, service passport, travel document of a child, certificate for return to Ukraine, stateless persons travel document, refugees document for travelling abroad, travel document for person granted complementary protection. Alternatively: as an exception, you may also present a passport or passport replacement that has already expired. If you cannot present a recognised passport or passport replacement, your residence permit or proof of arrival is also sufficient. In both cases, you must contact the consular mission of Ukraine, apply for a passport or passport replacement and submit it to the Bürgeramt (citizen’s registration office) as soon as possible. Please bring all the documents mentioned and available to you for all persons concerned.
• Registration form
  Members of a family who are moving from a previous flat to a new flat together can use one registration form. If there are more than two persons to be registered, please use a further registration form. You can find the form here.
• Civil status certificate
  For your first registration in Berlin, it may also be necessary to submit civil status documents (e.g. marriage certificate, birth certificate). You should therefore bring any existing documents with you just in case.
• Moving-in confirmation of move-in by the landlord/landlady (housing provider confirmation)
  The housing provider confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) must contain the following data: name and address of the housing provider and, if the housing provider is not the owner, also the name of the owner, date of moving in, address of the flat and names of the persons subject to registration. The submission of a tenancy agreement does not replace the moving-in confirmation. You can find a sample here. The “Confirmation of Permanent Provision of Accommodation for Ukrainian Refugees” for submission to the State Office for Immigration or State Office for Refugee Affairs is also recognised by the citizens’ registration offices as confirmation by a housing provider.
• If applicable, the declaration of consent of the absent legal guardian and his/her passport or identity card.
  A sample for the declaration of consent of the legal guardian is available here.

You can find further information (in German only) here.

Your data will be saved in the civil register. As proof of your registration, you will receive an official registration confirmation (Meldebestätigung). Please keep this in a safe place. You will need this as proof of your place of residence for other authorities, for example.

To be permitted to work, you need a residence permit or the confirmation of your online application. You can start working as soon as you have submitted the online application for a residence permit with the Berlin Immigration Office (LEA). In the certificate that you can download as confirmation of your application, it states that you have the right to work. This also applies to any family members who are also entered on your certificate.

Yes, you can work immediately and do not need any other work permit. For your own security, however, you are strongly advised always to conclude a proper employment contract with your employer.

You may also found a company or become self-employed, e.g. as an artist. Since further permits may be required for this, you are recommended to seek advice beforehand. You can find more information on this here.

Further information is available from the responsible authority, the Point of Single Contact Berlin.

If you work in Germany, you must have health insurance. You can either choose a health insurance provider yourself or your employer will register you with a statutory health insurance provider.

The tax identification number (Steuer-ID or IdNr.) is assigned to every person who registers with a main or sole residence in a registry of residents in Germany. It is also required for children to identify them in tax procedures, such as for the payment of child benefit, for exemption orders or for the payment of benefits from pension insurance (orphan’s benefit).

It is issued automatically after registration of a residence in Germany. The ID number is then sent by post to the registered residential address.

If you are unable to register your residence, for example because you have not yet found a permanent place to live but are already working, you must submit an application for your tax identification number to the tax office of the district in which you currently reside. You can find the relevant application form on the website of the Federal Ministry of Finance. Search the forms database for the form 010250 – Antrag auf Vergabe einer steuerlichen Identifikationsnummer für nicht meldepflichtige Personen durch das Finanzamt (010250 – Application for a tax identification number by the tax office for persons not required to register). Proof of identification (e.g. copy of ID card) must be enclosed with the application.

Further information (in German only) is available here:
https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/329123/

If you work as an employee (not self-employed), then you need a social insurance identity card. When you start your first job in Germany, then as part of the paperwork you will get a social insurance number with the application for a social insurance identity card. This social insurance number applies until you retire. The application can be submitted to your health insurance provider by you or by the company that wants to hire you.

Many universities offer special courses to refugees to give them the opportunity to prepare to study and fulfil their entry requirements. Further information and the conditions of participation are available from the respective university.

An overview (in German and English) of Berlin’s universities’ courses specifically for refugees can be found here:
https://www.berlin.de/sen/wissenschaft/politik/integration-von-gefluechteten/artikel.652156.php

In addition, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) provides information on staying in Germany, accessing universities, studies and research, and everyday life in Germany in German, English and Ukrainian here: https://www.daad-ukraine.org/

This “National Academic Point of Contact for Ukraine” is available in German and English, and the Ukrainian versions are being expanded.

If you have questions about support for researchers from Ukraine, you can contact the central office of the EU Commission. The focus is on finding places to live and work and making it easier for your university degrees to be recognized. You can find more information (in Germany and English as well as every other EU language) here.

In principle, refugees – regardless of their nationality – can take up a course of study or continue their studies under the same conditions as other applicants with foreign nationality. The minimum requirements for studying are:

1. a recognized university entrance qualification and
2. sufficient language skills for the chosen course of study.

In the event that your certificates are incomplete or completely missing due to being a refugee, the universities have procedures in place to facilitate proof of the university entrance qualification.

If you would like to continue your studies, under some circumstances your previous coursework and examinations can be recognised since Ukraine as been part of the Bologna Process since 2005. The final decision on recognition of coursework and examinations completed abroad is up to the university at which you would like to study.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) offers a first point of contact through the admissions database (in German and English) on its website or the internet platform anabin (in German only). These provide non-binding information on whether you can be admitted to study at German universities on the basis of a school leaving certificate or periods of study completed in Ukraine.

If your Ukrainian school or university degree, or the academic results you acquired in Ukraine, do not entitle you to study in Germany, you must take the assessment test (Feststellungsprüfung) for admission to higher education. You can do this at a Studienkolleg: these institutions offer preparatory courses through which you can acquire subject-specific knowledge and language skills that are required for study successfully at a German university. In Berlin, you can do this at the Free University of Berlin, the TU Berlin and at the University of Applied Sciences in cooperation withTU Berlin (https://www.htw-berlin.de/studium/bewerbung/besondere-faelle/studienkolleg/) (all in German and English).

It is always advisable to contact the student advisory service of the university you are interested in. The counselling centres of the universities can help you choose a course of study and inform you about the course admission requirements, the recognition of academic work and study preparation. A central contact point for refugees who want to study is currently being planned.

The application deadline for regular courses which begin in the winter semester is usually July 15. However, some universities set earlier deadlines, for example for a master’s program or Studienkolleg. You can find out the exact deadlines for your desired course of study directly from the respective university.

If you meet the requirements for a course of study, you can apply for a course of study using Uni-Assist (in German and English). Uni-Assist can also check for refugees if they fulfil the requirements to study and has set up a separate FAQ for refugees (in German and English).

Berlin’s state and denominational universities do not charge any tuition fees. However, at the beginning of each semester, a semester contribution must be paid that includes a charge for the semester ticket for using public transportation, among other services. If you already have a residence permit or temporary residence certificate, you can apply for BAföG benefits (training support through the Federal Training Assistance Act). If you are still waiting for your residence permit, you can apply for benefits at the Social Welfare Office.

In addition, refugees can apply for scholarships from various institutions, foundations and organizations. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has set up a database (in German, English and Ukrainian) to help you search: https://www.daad-ukraine.org/de/studieren-in-deutschland/finanzierung/daad-stipendiendatenbank/.

You can open a so-called “basic account” at most banks. With it, you can deposit and withdraw money, make transfers, execute direct debits and set up standing orders. The fees for basic accounts vary depending on the bank. All you need to open a basic account is proof of identity, such as your passport. If you want to open a regular current account, further documents are required depending on the bank.

No, you do not need to register your vehicle immediately. The obligation to register your vehicle in Germany is suspended for you for a maximum period of one year. The period of one year is calculated from the day of entry into Germany. This also applies if you are already registered in Germany.

However, you will need to insure your vehicle, as the insurance obligation still applies. Any care that use public roads must be insured with car insurance. Driving without insurance is a crime.

To insure your Ukrainian vehicle, you have two options.

• With a green card, which you can obtain from your Ukrainian motor liability insurer. This is currently also available digitally from Germany.
• With a border insurance policy, which you can obtain either at an external EU border or from a third-party liability insurer in Germany.

Further information (in German only) is available here

You may also continue driving in Germany with your valid Ukrainian driving licence. If you have lost your Ukrainian driving licence, please contact the motor vehical licencing authority.

You can find more information on the website of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.