Do you need a work permit?

Some people need a work permit from the Foreigners' Registration Office and approval from the employment agency if they want to work in Germany. Some people are not allowed to work at all.

This depends on:

• residence status,
• country of origin,
• place of residence,
• and the duration of the stay in Germany.

Recognition of asylum, refugees, subsidiary protection:

If you have asylum status, are a recognised refugee or have subsidiary protection status, you do not need a work permit.

Temporary protection, Section 24 AufenthG (Residence Act)

If you have temporary protection status for refugees from Ukraine, the Foreigners' Registration Office must authorise you to work as an employee when issuing your residence permit. Your residence permit must include the words: “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt” (employment allowed). This work permit is not tied to an employer, but is issued generally.

Temporary residence permit (still in the asylum procedure)

If you are still in the asylum procedure and in possession of a temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltsgestattung), you will need a work permit. This then only applies to a specific employer, a specific activity and a specific number of hours. You can apply for a work permit 3 months after your arrival in Germany. If you are living in a reception centre, you can only apply for a work permit after 9 months.

People from safe countries of origin, such as the member states of the European Union, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ghana, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Senegal and Serbia, who have submitted their asylum application after 31 August 2015, must live in a reception centre for the entirety of the asylum procedure. They are still not allowed to work after 9 months.

Tolerated stay permit (Duldung)

If you have a tolerated stay permit, you also need a work permit from the Foreigners' Registration Office. This then only applies to a specific employer, a specific activity and a specific number of hours. If you are living in a reception centre, you can apply for a work permit after 6 months, otherwise after 3 months. Some people are banned from working, for example people who come from a safe country of origin and have submitted an application for asylum after 31 August 2015 that was rejected. Your residence papers will tell you whether you are banned from working.

If you have lived in Germany for more than 4 years, you no longer need approval from the employment agency. Some Foreigners' Registration Offices then enter "Beschäftigung erlaubt/gestattet" (employment permitted) in the residence papers. Then you can work without a work permit. However, the rule that some groups of people are not allowed to work remains in place.