Work/training permit

Tolerated persons require a work permit from the Foreigners' Registration Office for employment. It is subject to an employer commitment. A concrete job offer is therefore required in advance. As a rule, approval for employment must also be obtained from the employment agency.

Tolerated persons who are obliged to live in a reception center should be allowed to work after six months. Otherwise, work should be permitted after just three months. However, this only applies if no specific measures have been initiated to end the stay. The immigration authorities have discretionary powers.

If you want to do a company-based apprenticeship, you need a work permit. The same rules apply as for taking up employment.

However, no work permit is required for school-based vocational training. You do not need to obtain permission from the Aliens Department.

A tolerated person from a so-called safe country of origin is prohibited from working if they have not applied for asylum or if their asylum application has been rejected or withdrawn, unless the withdrawal took place after consultation with the BAMF. Safe countries of origin currently include Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Ghana, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Senegal and Serbia, in addition to the countries of the European Union. The states are listed in Annex II of the Asylum Act. They are considered safe because, in the opinion of the German state, there is neither political persecution nor inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.

NOTE: The work ban does not apply to persons from the Republic of Moldova and Georgia who were tolerated in Germany before September 1, 2023.

In addition, work bans apply to

• Tolerated persons with an unclear identity.

• Tolerated persons whose deportation is not possible for reasons for which they are responsible, e.g. because they are not trying to obtain a valid passport.

• Tolerated persons who have only entered the country to receive social benefits.

The work permit is applied for at the Foreigners' Registration Office . An offer of a specific position must already exist, be it a training place, an internship or a job. It can be applied for by the tolerated person themselves or by the employer with a power of attorney. The employer must submit a completed declaration of employment is required from the employer. In the case of an internship, the internship contract is sufficient.

The foreigners authority will then check whether there are any grounds for a work ban. If so, employment cannot be permitted.

If not, it will obtain the approval of the Federal Employment Agency. This agency checks whether the working conditions are the same as those for German nationals. If it approves the employment, the foreigners authority issues the work permit. This is entered in the toleration certificate.

From the 49th month of residence in Germany, the approval of the Federal Employment Agency is no longer required.

Tolerated persons whose identity has not been clarified and who cannot reasonably be expected to contribute to clarification are subject to a residence requirement and a work ban. Their status can be remedied at any time by clarifying their identity.

Anyone who does not have a passport or has an expired passport is obliged to obtain a new passport or a replacement passport. If there are reasons why the obligation to cooperate in obtaining a passport cannot be fulfilled, these must be made credible to the immigration authority. It can then waive the passport requirement.

Identity does not necessarily have to be clarified by means of a passport. Official documents from the country of origin that contain biometric features and personal details can also be presented as proof. These can be, for example, a driving license, service card or a civil status certificate with a photograph. If these cannot be obtained, suitable official documents from the country of origin without biometric features may also be considered as proof, such as a birth certificate, marriage certificate, registration certificate, school reports or school certificates, if they are suitable for obtaining passport or passport replacement documents on their basis.