This page is for people who arrived from Ukraine after 24 February 2022 or are helping relatives get legal status in Germany. It covers the steps from entry to the permit, the rights that protection gives, how long the permit is valid and what changed in 2026.
Who can get temporary protection?
Protection is granted to people who left Ukraine because of the war from 24 February 2022 onward. Under the EU decision, they are:
- Ukrainian citizens who lived in Ukraine before that date;
- stateless persons and citizens of other countries who had international or equivalent national protection in Ukraine;
- family members of people in the two previous groups: a husband, wife or partner, minor unmarried children and other close relatives who depended on them, if the family existed in Ukraine before 24 February 2022.
Citizens of other countries with a permanent residence permit in Ukraine who cannot safely return to their home country receive temporary protection or other adequate protection. For citizens of other countries and stateless persons who had neither a permanent permit nor protection in Ukraine, the automatic validity of German § 24 permits ended as of 5 March 2025.
In Germany you can stay without a residence permit for 90 days from your first entry if you enter by 4 December 2027 and:
- were in Ukraine on 24 February 2022;
- or were temporarily abroad on that day but, as a Ukrainian citizen, lived in Ukraine at the time, or had refugee status or international or equivalent protection in Ukraine.
The exception is people who have already received temporary protection in another EU country. Re-entering after you leave does not restart these 90 days. The ordinance on stay without a residence permit (UkraineAufenthÜV) is in force until 4 March 2028.
New requirement on military obligations
From 5 August 2026, temporary protection is granted only to people who meet their military obligations in Ukraine or are exempt from them. The requirement does not apply to people who already had temporary protection in a given EU country on 4 August 2026 and keep it in that same country without a break. What matters is whether the person had protection on that date, not the date of the application, so the requirement also covers people who applied earlier but had not received protection by 4 August. The EU decision notes separately that such obligations may also apply to people who are not subject to conscription, regardless of age or sex. It is up to the applicant to prove this.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) words the rule differently: it applies to people who “enter the EU for the first time from 5 August 2026”. According to the ministry, it does not extend to people who already lived in the EU, even if new obligations arose later, for example on reaching conscription age or receiving a call-up notice.
Separately, Germany changed its entry rules. From 9 October 2026, the 90 days without a permit under the UkraineAufenthÜV ordinance do not apply to people who have military obligations under Ukrainian law and do not prove that they meet them or are exempt. What counts is the date the person actually crossed the German border, so the rule does not affect people who entered earlier. 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. But to enter without proof and stay long-term in order to get a § 24 permit, you need a national visa: the government’s explanatory memorandum calls this the ordinary visa procedure.
What you can use to prove that you meet your obligations:
- a legal crossing of the Ukrainian border or an exit stamp in your passport;
- valid documents on exemption from military service or on deferment;
- an official document that is easy to verify, on paper or electronic, for example from the Reserve+ app.
How do you apply?
You apply for a § 24 permit to the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) within 90 days of your first entry, online or at an appointment. The federal portal germany4ukraine.de describes four steps, in this exact order:
- Initial registration.
- Allocation to a place of residence, if you need social benefits.
- Address registration (Anmeldung) in the place you were assigned to or where you live. How to do it is explained on the page Address registration (Anmeldung) in Germany.
- Application for a permit to the Ausländerbehörde.
The portal stresses that the arrival certificate (Ankunftsnachweis) is not yet a residence permit. It also links to the online application and warns about fake websites and demands to pay online. Before issuing a permit or a temporary certificate, the office carries out an identity check procedure (erkennungsdienstliche Behandlung).
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 with it. As long as you have neither a permit nor such a certificate, you cannot work: the portal explicitly states that people staying in Germany without a visa are banned from working. More about both documents on the page Residence permit card (eAT) and Fiktionsbescheinigung.
Where will you be sent to live?
People under temporary protection who receive social benefits and have not found private permanent housing are usually distributed among the federal states, and they have no right to choose the state or the city. You must have your housing and permanent residence where you were assigned. People who support themselves, for example by living with friends or relatives, are usually not subject to allocation and choose their own housing, according to the federal portal.
Anyone who received a § 24 permit for the first time must live for three years in the state they were assigned to. This obligation does not apply, among other cases, if the person has a job with social insurance of at least 15 hours a week and sufficient earnings, or is in vocational training or at university.
What does a § 24 permit give you?
A § 24 permit gives you the right to live in Germany, to work, to travel in the Schengen area and to apply for social benefits on general terms.
- Work. You can work and take vocational training: as an employee, self-employed, part-time or in a Minijob (a job with earnings of up to €603 a month). Recognition of a foreign diploma is needed only for professions whose access is regulated by law, for example doctor, architect or teacher.
- Travel in the Schengen area. With the permit you can stay in other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; the federal portal says this applies even without a biometric passport. The permit does not give you the right to work or live there.
- Integration course. You have no right to a course, but you may be admitted if places are available.
- Health insurance. If you receive the basic income support Grundsicherungsgeld from the Jobcenter (the employment office that grants it), you are covered by statutory health insurance through it. If you do not need support, you can voluntarily join statutory health insurance within six months of settling in Germany.
- Social benefits. Protection itself does not entitle you to every benefit: each benefit has its own conditions. We cover them on the page Aid for Ukrainians in Germany.
Until what date is the permit valid?
Under the UkraineAufenthFGV ordinance, § 24 permits of Ukrainian citizens that were valid on 1 February 2026 remain valid without extension until 4 March 2027. You do not need to go to the office for this; the conditions and entries in the permit stay the same. Permits first issued after 1 February 2026 are not covered by the ordinance: for them, the date on the card applies. The ordinance itself expires after 4 March 2027.
Official sources disagree here. The work page of the federal portal germany4ukraine.de says that the § 24 permit is valid until 4 March 2028 on the basis of a separate ordinance. As of 12 October 2026 there is no such ordinance in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl), and the same portal’s page on the residence permit gives 4 March 2027. We rely on the text of the ordinance in force. We will update this page as soon as a decision on a further extension is published.
What to do now: if there is no new ordinance, apply to the Ausländerbehörde for an extension by 4 March 2027, or by the date on your card if that is earlier. An application filed in time keeps the permit valid until the office decides.
The EU itself has extended temporary protection until 4 March 2028. By law, a § 24 permit is issued for the period of protection set by the EU.
Can you travel to Ukraine?
Yes. The germany4ukraine.de portal says that with a § 24 permit you can travel to Ukraine and return to Germany at any time, but the trip must be temporary; otherwise the permit may be revoked.
The law names two cases in which the permit lapses by itself:
- the person left for a reason that by its nature is not temporary;
- the person left and did not return within six months or a longer period set by the office.
If you receive Grundsicherungsgeld, you need the Jobcenter’s prior consent for an absence; without an important reason it is, as a rule, given for no more than three weeks per calendar year. The portal explains: if a trip lasts from three to six weeks, the benefit is paid only for three weeks, and if it lasts more than six weeks, payment is usually stopped and you have to apply again after you return.
According to the federal portal, Germany recognizes the 2015-model Ukrainian ID card instead of a passport for crossing the border and staying until 23 February 2027. We have not seen the legal act this is based on, so check the information on the portal before you travel.
Can you move to another EU country?
You cannot also get temporary protection in another EU country: it is granted in only one country. There is not yet a European procedure for distributing people who want to get protection.
To move officially, a § 24 permit holder applies to their immigration office. The office forwards the application to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which notifies the other country, the European Commission and the UN Refugee Agency and, once consent is given, issues a certificate of transfer.
In our reading of Art. 2 of EU Decision 2026/1912, after a move to another EU country the exemption from the military obligations requirement is lost: it applies only to people who keep protection in the same country without a break.
What about your family?
Family members of people who left Ukraine are themselves entitled to temporary protection if the family existed in Ukraine before 24 February 2022. If the flight separated the family, the husband, wife and minor unmarried children of a § 24 holder receive a permit on simplified terms. For this, the relative must be transferred to Germany from another EU country, or be outside the EU and need protection. Admitted relatives receive § 24 status.
The EU decision applies the military obligations requirement to each person individually.
Can you apply for asylum while you hold temporary protection?
You can apply, but the federal portal advises Ukrainians not to. The right to apply for asylum later remains. The Ministry of the Interior notes separately that military obligations in Ukraine are not grounds for asylum.
By law, the asylum procedure is suspended while the person has temporary protection. After the § 24 permit ends, you must tell BAMF within one month that you want to continue the procedure; otherwise the application is treated as withdrawn.
Here, too, official sources disagree. The germany4ukraine.de page on benefits for families says that the § 24 permit ends after an asylum application. The Asylum Act speaks only of suspending the procedure. Before applying for asylum, it is a good idea to consult a lawyer.
We compare temporary protection with other grounds for staying in Germany on the page Legal status in Germany.
What has not yet been officially clarified?
As of 12 October 2026, we have not found official clarification on five questions:
- the full list of documents that can prove you meet your military obligations;
- how Germany applies the EU requirement to people who arrived between 5 August and 8 October 2026;
- which date the authorities enter in new § 24 permits issued after 5 August 2026;
- how applications are handled for families in which one member cannot confirm that they meet their obligations;
- how the Asylum Act fits with the portal’s statement that the § 24 permit ends.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Treating the arrival certificate (Ankunftsnachweis) as a residence permit.
- Starting work before you have received a permit or a Fiktionsbescheinigung with the entry “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt”.
- Missing the 90 days for applying after your first entry.
- Paying for the application on third-party websites: the germany4ukraine.de portal warns about fake sites.
- Counting on your current permit being valid automatically until 2028: under the ordinance in force, it is valid only until 4 March 2027.
- Leaving Germany for a long time without agreeing it with the office and, if you receive Grundsicherungsgeld, without the Jobcenter’s consent.
- Asking for protection in another EU country while you have it in Germany.