K Kompanion

Ukrainians in Germany

Yana Bystrytska · Checked against sources 12 October 2026 · Next check 12 November 2026

This section is for Ukrainians who live in Germany or plan to move there: legal status and documents, work, taxes, social benefits, a bank account and transfers, and the affairs you still have in Ukraine. The topic guides are in the list of topics below; each one has a list of sources and the date it was checked.

Just arrived

  1. Apply for a residence permit. If you were in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and enter Germany by 4 December 2027, you can stay without a residence permit for 90 days from your first entry, as long as you do not already have temporary protection in another EU country. The same rule applies to Ukrainian citizens who lived in Ukraine at the time but were temporarily abroad on 24 February 2022 itself, and to people who were recognized as refugees in Ukraine or had international or equivalent protection there. During this time you must apply for a permit under § 24 of the Residence Act (AufenthG) to your local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde). An arrival certificate (Ankunftsnachweis) is not a residence permit. The steps and your rights are described on the page Temporary protection in Germany.
  2. Have a document confirming that you meet your military obligations or are exempt from them, if you have such obligations. From 5 August 2026, temporary protection in the EU is granted only on this condition to everyone who, on 4 August 2026, did not yet have protection in the EU country where they apply for it. In addition, from 9 October 2026 the German ordinance on 90 days without a permit does not apply to people who have such obligations and do not prove that they meet them: to enter and stay in order to get a § 24 permit, they need a national visa. Holders of a biometric passport can still make short trips of up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa under EU rules. More on the page about temporary protection.
  3. Be ready for allocation. If you are going to live on social benefits and have not found private permanent housing, after initial registration you will, as a rule, be assigned to a specific federal state and place of residence. People who support themselves, for example by living with friends or relatives, usually choose their own housing, according to the federal portal.
  4. Register your address (Anmeldung) with the residents’ registration office (Meldebehörde) within two weeks of moving in. After registration, your tax identification number (Steuer-ID) is assigned automatically and sent by letter to that address.
  5. Keep your Fiktionsbescheinigung. While your application is being processed, the office issues a certificate confirming that your stay is legal during that time (Fiktionsbescheinigung). If it contains the entry “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt” (“employment permitted”), you can already work. How all your documents are issued is explained on the page Documents for living in Germany.
  6. Open a bank account. Which account to choose while you still have few documents is explained in the article A bank account in Germany for Ukrainians (in Ukrainian).
  7. If you have no money, ask for support. The basic income support Grundsicherungsgeld is granted by the Jobcenter (the employment office that pays this benefit) to people of working age who are able to work and have a § 24 permit or a Fiktionsbescheinigung issued after their identity was established. People of pension age, people who cannot work and people who already receive an old-age pension are helped by the social welfare office (Sozialamt). People who have only asked for protection and do not yet have a Fiktionsbescheinigung receive benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act (AsylbLG).

Already living in Germany

  • Permit validity. Under the UkraineAufenthFGV ordinance, § 24 permits that were valid on 1 February 2026 remain valid without extension until 4 March 2027. One page of the federal portal germany4ukraine.de gives 4 March 2028, but as of 12 October 2026 there is no ordinance on such an extension in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl). The EU itself has extended temporary protection until 4 March 2028. If there is no new ordinance, apply for an extension by 4 March 2027: your permit is then treated as valid until a decision is made. Permits first issued after 1 February 2026 are not covered by the ordinance; for them, the date on the card applies. More on the page Residence permit card (eAT) and Fiktionsbescheinigung.
  • Switching to another permit is possible, but the EU Blue Card and a study permit are not issued while a person has temporary protection (§ 19f AufenthG). This ban does not apply to permits for skilled workers with vocational or academic qualifications (§ 18a, § 18b). If you give up § 24 and later ask for it again, in our reading of EU Decision 2026/1912 you will have to confirm that you meet your military obligations, if you have any. A comparison of all grounds is on the page Legal status in Germany.
  • Travel. The permit lapses if you left Germany for a reason that by its nature is not temporary, or did not return within six months or a longer period set by the office. If you receive Grundsicherungsgeld, you must get the Jobcenter’s consent to your absence in advance, as a rule for no more than three weeks a year.
  • Benefits. Since 1 July 2026, Bürgergeld has been replaced by the basic income support Grundsicherungsgeld, with stricter sanctions. The bill to move some Ukrainians to benefits under the AsylbLG is still before a Bundestag committee; it has not become law. Conditions and amounts are described on the page Social benefits in Germany.
  • Pension. How to receive your Ukrainian pension and whether your Ukrainian work record counts in Germany is explained on the page Pension in Germany for Ukrainians.

Working in Germany or earning income in Ukraine

A § 24 permit or a Fiktionsbescheinigung with the entry “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt” gives you the right to any kind of work. From 1 January 2026, the minimum wage is €13.90 gross an hour. In a Minijob (a job with low earnings and no unemployment insurance) you can earn up to €603 a month. How to look for work and what a contract must contain is covered on the page Work in Germany. If you have lost your job, the conditions for benefits are described on the page Unemployment benefit in Germany.

Tax in Germany depends on where you live, not on your immigration status. Anyone who has a home here or stays for more than six months in a row pays tax on their worldwide income, including income from Ukraine. For 2025 and 2026, the 1995 double taxation agreement between Germany and Ukraine applies. A new agreement was signed on 19 May 2026, but it has not yet come into force. Details are on the pages Taxes in Germany and How to file a tax return in Germany.

Bank account, transfers and banking products

A short overview of the banking rules is on the page Banks and transfers for Ukrainians in Germany.

Taxes and sole traders (FOP)

Cars

Calculators

What has changed in the rules

  • On 9 October 2026 Germany extended visa-free entry for people from Ukraine until 4 December 2027. For people who have military obligations under Ukrainian law, the 90-day exemption from the residence permit requirement now applies only with proof that they meet these obligations or are exempt from them.
  • On 5 August 2026 EU Decision 2026/1912 came into force. Temporary protection was extended until 4 March 2028. From that day it is granted only to people who meet their military obligations in Ukraine or are exempt from them, if they have such obligations. The requirement does not apply to people who already had protection in a given EU country on 4 August 2026 and keep it there without a break.
  • On 1 July 2026 the basic income support Bürgergeld was renamed Grundsicherungsgeld; along with the name, the sanctions and the rules on savings changed.
  • On 19 May 2026 Germany and Ukraine signed a new double taxation agreement. It is not yet in force.
  • On 30 October 2025 the option of getting German citizenship after three years for special integration achievements was abolished.

We cover each change in more detail on the page Legal status in Germany.

In German

Most of these articles are available in German in the German edition of Kompanion. It is useful if you read German or want to show an article to a tax adviser or a Jobcenter employee.

Sections about Germany

Sources

  1. Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI): changes to the residence of Ukrainians, 21 August 2026, more than 1.3 million people with temporary protection or an application for it; the wording about people entering the EU for the first time from 5 August 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  2. EU Council Decision 2026/1912 extending temporary protection, Art. 1, Art. 2, Art. 3 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  3. Corrigendum to Decision 2026/1912 (EUR-Lex, ELI), Art. 2: 4 August 2026; Art. 3: Art. 2 applies from 5 August 2026; the HTML text of the decision on EUR-Lex still shows the dates before the correction (accessed 12 October 2026)
  4. Corrigendum to Decision 2026/1912 (copy in Spain's official gazette BOE), Art. 2: 4 August 2026; Art. 3: Art. 2 applies from 5 August 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  5. UkraineAufenthÜV, ordinance on entry and stay without a residence permit, § 2 Abs. 1–3 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  6. Bundesrat printed paper 431/26 (explanatory memorandum to the 9th amendment of UkraineAufenthÜV), explanatory statement on Art. 1 No. 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  7. Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 on visa requirements (accessed 12 October 2026)
  8. UkraineAufenthFGV, ordinance on the automatic validity of § 24 permits, § 2 Abs. 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  9. UkraineAufenthFGV: period of validity of the ordinance, § 3 Abs. 2 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  10. Residence Act (AufenthG): validity of a permit while an application is processed, § 81 Abs. 4 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  11. Federal portal germany4ukraine.de: residence permit, automatic extension until 4 March 2027; Fiktionsbescheinigung (accessed 12 October 2026)
  12. Federal portal germany4ukraine.de: work for Ukrainians, right to work; the date 4 March 2028, which contradicts the ordinance in force (accessed 12 October 2026)
  13. Federal portal germany4ukraine.de: entry from Ukraine, four steps after entry, 90 days to apply, allocation; the page still shows the outdated date 4 December 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  14. Federal portal germany4ukraine.de: trips to Ukraine (accessed 12 October 2026)
  15. Residence Act (AufenthG), § 19f Abs. 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  16. Residence Act (AufenthG), § 51 Abs. 1 Nr. 6, 7 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  17. Federal Registration Act (BMG), § 17 Abs. 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  18. Fiscal Code (AO), § 139b Abs. 6 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  19. Social Code, Book II (SGB II): who receives Grundsicherungsgeld, § 7 Abs. 1, 4 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  20. SGB II: access with a Fiktionsbescheinigung under § 24, § 74 Abs. 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  21. SGB II: absence and reachability, § 7b Abs. 2, 3 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  22. Social Code, Book XII (SGB XII): access for § 24 holders, § 146 Abs. 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  23. Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (AsylbLG): who receives benefits, § 1 Abs. 1 Nr. 1b (accessed 12 October 2026)
  24. 13th act amending SGB II (Grundsicherungsgeld), BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 107, Art. 12: entry into force on 1 July 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  25. Bundestag, DIP documentation: the Leistungsrechtsanpassungsgesetz bill, status: referred to committee (accessed 12 October 2026)
  26. MiLoV5 ordinance on the minimum wage, § 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  27. Minijob-Zentrale: the new earnings limit in 2026 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  28. Income Tax Act (EStG), § 1 Abs. 1 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  29. Fiscal Code (AO), § 9 (accessed 12 October 2026)
  30. Bundestag printed paper 21/8245: bill on the new double taxation agreement with Ukraine (accessed 12 October 2026)
  31. Nationality Act: amendments of 27 October 2025, BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 256, Art. 1: repeal of § 10 Abs. 3 StAG (accessed 12 October 2026)

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