Benefit answers for Germany
Each program has a short description. The link opens the full card, then the official page.
What is Keep or extend your permit in Germany?
If you already hold a residence title in Germany, the Ausländerbehörde publishes how to extend or change it.
What is Kindergeld in Germany?
Monthly child benefit from the Familienkasse.
What is Niederlassungserlaubnis in Germany?
Permanent settlement permit rules published for people who already hold qualifying residence in Germany.
What is German citizenship in Germany?
Published naturalisation steps for people who already hold qualifying residence. Never a grant of citizenship.
What is Elterngeld in Germany?
Money after a birth or adoption, paid by your Elterngeldstelle.
What is Mutterschaftsgeld in Germany?
A payment during maternity leave protection, when the page's rules on your job and your health insurance fit.
What is Mutterschutz in Germany?
Mutterschutz protects women in a job who are pregnant or breastfeeding. The page names health protection at work, special protection against dismissal, a ban on work in the weeks before and after birth, and pay protection during that ban. The protection period starts six weeks before the calculated due date and normally ends eight weeks after birth.
What is Kinderkrankengeld in Germany?
You claim Kinderkrankengeld from your health insurer when you stay off work because a child is ill.
What is Elternzeit in Germany?
You do not apply for Elternzeit. You register it with your employer in text form, at latest seven weeks before it starts. Text form means a letter without a signature or an email is enough.
What is Arbeitslosengeld in Germany?
Unemployment pay from employment insurance, under published rules.
What is Krankengeld in Germany?
Your health insurer pays Krankengeld after your employer has usually kept paying wages for six weeks.
What is Zuzahlungsbefreiung in Germany?
When your co-payments in the calendar year reach the limit on the page, you can ask your health insurer for an exemption for the rest of the year.
What is Hilfsmittel in Germany?
Statutory health insurers pay for Hilfsmittel that are needed in the individual case to secure treatment, to prevent a threatened disability, or to offset a disability.
What is Grundsicherungsgeld in Germany?
Basic income support via your Jobcenter. This name replaces Bürgergeld from 1 July 2026.
What is Hochschulstart in Germany?
An application for human medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy in Germany always goes through Hochschulstart, and Hochschulstart checks those papers.
What is Rente in Germany?
Statutory pension from Deutsche Rentenversicherung.
What is Wohngeld in Germany?
Housing benefit for rent or housing costs, decided by your local Wohngeldbehörde.
What is Kinderzuschlag in Germany?
Extra child money on top of Kindergeld when family income is low, under published Familienkasse rules.
What is BAföG in Germany?
State student finance for school or university under published BAföG rules.
What is Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe in Germany?
A monthly grant during a training contract, when the conditions on the page fit. You can apply online with the employment agency. Include the training contract and the family income proof.
What is Antrag auf Pflegeleistungen in Germany?
Long-term care insurance benefits start only after a request to the care fund. The care fund sits with the health insurer. You can also make the request by phone.
What is Pflegegeld in Germany?
Cash benefit for home care under published Pflegeversicherung rules after a care grade is established.
What is Kurzzeitpflege in Germany?
Kurzzeitpflege is a short stay in a care home when care at home is not enough for a while.
What is Pflegehilfsmittel in Germany?
You apply for Pflegehilfsmittel at the long-term care insurer. It usually decides within three weeks, or five weeks if the medical service is involved. If it does not write in time that it will miss the deadline, the page treats the benefit as approved when the time runs out.
What is Zuschuss zur Wohnungsanpassung in Germany?
The long-term care insurer can pay a grant, on application, for changes to the home that make care at home possible or easier.
What is Entlastungsbetrag in Germany?
People cared for at home can use the relief amount for recognised everyday support. The page includes care grade 1. For a refund, send receipts and the refund form to the long-term care insurer or the private insurer.
What is Unterhaltsvorschuss in Germany?
Advance maintenance for children when the other parent does not pay, under published Bundesamt rules.
What is Verhinderungspflege in Germany?
Verhinderungspflege covers proven costs of replacement care when the private caregiver is on holiday, ill, or otherwise unable to care for a while.
Where can I stay after domestic violence in Germany?
If you need to leave home because of violence, a Frauenhaus can take women and children. A place is not guaranteed. The helpline Gewalt gegen Frauen is 116 016, all day and night.
What is Tages- und Nachtpflege in Germany?
Part-time residential care is care during the day in a facility, as day care or as night care.
What is Bildung und Teilhabe in Germany?
Help with school trips, lunch, clubs, and tutoring for children on benefits, under published BuT rules.
What is Grundsicherung im Alter in Germany?
Top-up when pension and income are too low in old age, under published SGB XII rules via your Sozialamt.
What is Reduced earning capacity pension in Germany?
A pension from Deutsche Rentenversicherung if health stops you working and you have not reached the regular retirement age.
What is Help for a family caregiver in Germany?
Wege zur Pflege is the federal site for relatives who are caring. It says the situation can be hard, especially if you also work. The site points to offers that support and relieve you, and to people who will advise you.
What is Paying for a nursing home in Germany?
Care insurance pays a set monthly amount for a nursing home stay, based on the care grade.
How do I register to vote in Germany?
The federal returning officer says the municipality keeps the voter list for Bundestag and European elections from the population register.
How do I apply for a driving licence in Germany?
The federal administration portal says you get a driving licence by signing a contract with an officially recognized driving school, then passing a theory exam and a practical exam.
How do I prepare for the driving test in Germany?
The same portal says class B theory training is at least 14 hours. Your instructor has to be satisfied that you can sit the exam. You then take the theory exam and a practical exam with an authorized examiner.
What do I do after a car accident in Germany?
Section 34 of the road traffic rules says that anyone involved must stop at once, secure the traffic, and, if the damage is slight, move aside at once.
What do I do if my car breaks down in Germany?
Section 15 of the road traffic regulations says that if a vehicle with more than one track stops where it cannot be recognised in time as a standing obstacle, switch on the hazard lights at once.
When does a car need a Hauptuntersuchung in Germany?
Annex VIII to section 29 says the first Hauptuntersuchung for an ordinary car is 36 months after it first enters traffic.
What is Pflege-Pauschbetrag in Germany?
A lump sum for caring for someone, instead of the section 33 relief. No pay for the care. You do it yourself, at your home or theirs, in the EU or EEA.
What is Behinderten-Pauschbetrag in Germany?
A lump sum for daily help, care, and extra laundry, instead of the section 33 relief. It starts at a disability degree of 20. The statute publishes the amount.
What is Altersentlastungsbetrag in Germany?
For someone who had turned 64 before the year the income belongs to. A percentage of wages and some other income, up to the maximum in the statute. On a joint return, each spouse is figured alone.
How do I apply for a passport in Germany?
The Federal Foreign Office says you apply for a German passport in person, because fingerprints are taken, at your local passport authority or at a German mission if you live abroad.
When does vehicle tax start in Germany?
Customs says the tax duty starts when the vehicle is registered for the road. The registration office sends the data, and a tax notice usually goes out about two weeks later. That notice stays valid in later years.
What car insurance must I have in Germany?
BaFin says no vehicle may be registered in Germany without motor liability insurance. It is compulsory for every keeper of a vehicle or trailer that is normally based in Germany. It pays when people are injured or killed, property is damaged or destroyed, or a financial loss is caused by the insured vehicle.
What is the difference between fully comprehensive and third-party car insurance in Germany?
BaFin says motor liability insurance is compulsory and pays when other people are harmed by the insured vehicle.
Where can I get help with addiction or gambling in Germany?
The federal addiction commissioner lists the Sucht & Drogen Hotline at 01806 313031 for people with addiction problems and their families, at 0.20 euro a call, and a free gambling line at 0800 137 27 00.
Where can I get help in a mental health crisis in Germany?
Call 0800 111 0 111, 0800 111 0 222, or 116 123 if you are in a mental health crisis or thinking about suicide.
Where can I get help with postpartum depression in Germany?
gesund.bund.de says a low mood that lasts more than two weeks after birth can be a postpartum depression.
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Benefits
Published household benefit facts by country, with official links. Never “you qualify.”
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