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Summary: While your asylum case is being examined you have the right to stay (Aufenthaltsgestattung), financial support under the AsylbLG, limited medical care and, after a time, permission to work. You also have restrictions: place of residence, movement and deadlines. This guide reviews the main rights and duties. Amounts are approximate and may have changed.
Permission to stay during the procedure (Aufenthaltsgestattung)
This document is not a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel); it is the legal right to stay in Germany until the end of the procedure and arises automatically when the formal application is filed. The authority only issues its certificate, free of charge. The certificate is temporary and must be extended before it ends (free of charge). Its expiry does not remove the right to stay, but it causes problems at police checks, with your employer and with the benefits office. The document before it is the “Ankunftsnachweis”. This certificate is not a travel document for Schengen countries. For the whole process: asylum procedure.
Residence and movement restrictions
- Living in a reception centre: usually up to 18 months; for families with young children at most 6 months; in some cases up to 24 months or (for safe countries) until the BAMF decision.
- Residence restriction (Residenzpflicht): at first you may stay only within the area of the responsible residence office; after 3 months of continuous stay and the end of the duty to live in the reception centre, this restriction is usually lifted.
- Residence requirement (Wohnsitzauflage): specifies where (state or city) you must live and is separate from the residence restriction.
- Report any change of address immediately to BAMF and the authority; otherwise notices count as “received” at the old address.
Financial support: AsylbLG
Instead of Bürgergeld (which is now Grundsicherung), asylum seekers receive support from the social office (Sozialamt) under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (AsylbLG). Approximate monthly amounts based on one legal source (they may have changed):
| Group | Monthly amount (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Single adult | €455 |
| Couples / adult in shared accommodation (each) | €409 |
| Teenager 14 to 17 years | €405 |
| Child 6 to 13 years | €337 |
| Child up to 5 years | €309 |
This amount covers necessary needs (housing, food, clothing) and personal needs (tickets, phone). In reception centres it is mostly provided as goods and services, and in other housing usually through a payment card (Bezahlkarte), vouchers or cash. The payment card limits cash withdrawals and courts have given differing opinions on this. After 36 months of uninterrupted stay, the level of support usually moves closer to the social assistance level (Analogleistungen).
Income reduces part of the benefit; only €200 per person of assets is exempt.
Treatment and health
Asylum seekers usually do not have ordinary health insurance. Emergency treatment, acute pain, vaccinations, necessary preventive examinations, pregnancy and childbirth are covered; non-emergency dental care and dentures are in practice very limited. To see a doctor you usually obtain a treatment voucher (Behandlungsschein) or a treatment card from the social office or the centre. If you have psychological trauma, be sure to raise it; some cities have special centres. For ordinary insurance: bank account guide and, after obtaining residence, health insurance.
Permission to work
- To work you must have specific permission from the residence office (usually with the approval of the employment agency). Do not work without permission, even temporarily or for cash.
- Waiting period: usually 3 months from filing the application if you live in a reception centre, or 3 months of lawful stay if outside a centre; and 6 months in some cases (for example when another country is responsible).
- For vocational training (Ausbildung) and some internships the approval of the employment agency is sometimes not needed, and after 4 years of uninterrupted stay any work is permitted.
- Nationals of safe countries and people in the accelerated procedure have an absolute ban on work.
- Documents: a job offer or contract.
Children and school
Children in both cases fall under compulsory education; under the new reform, entry to school must be possible after 2 months at most. Details depend on each state’s rules.
Your duties
- Cooperate in establishing your identity and submit the documents you have.
- Stay at the designated place and attend appointments (BAMF, authority, court).
- Report changes of address and open your letters.
- Observe deadlines; asylum deadlines are short and very hard to make up.
Free counselling: where and how.
Note: this article is general guidance and not legal advice. Rules and amounts change and procedures differ between cities and states; for your own situation, ask an independent counsellor or the relevant authority. Last reviewed: October 2026.
