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Information portal: links & addresses
A lot of things will be new to you at first in Germany. To help you quickly find your feet, we have collected together some points of contact and useful links for you. You will find information on subjects such as the asylum process, help with integration, housing, working and much more.
General links
- The Federal Government
- Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)
- Federal Employment Agency
- Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Integration (StMI)
Asylum process
Anyone seeking asylum in Germany is required to report to the police or go directly to an arrival centre immediately after crossing the border. But what happens after that? Here is some guidance about the asylum process.
- How does the asylum process work? The individual stages of the asylum process are described here – with everything also available in various languages:
- This film explains the stages that need to be completed during the asylum process in Germany and is split into three chapters. A narrator describes the processes and provides background information:
- Here you will find information on the asylum process and can prepare for your interview with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, e.g. using the list of questions or information sheets containing tips and guidance (in various languages):
Help with integration
A new language, new culture and new customs – there are lots of services available to help you get to know Bavaria better. They include language courses, information brochures and apps. These services make it easier for you in the beginning!
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The most important application forms for integration courses can be found on the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) website:
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The state-funded refugee and integration counselling provides guidance for newly immigrated people with a migration background who are entitled to stay, as well as for asylum seekers, regardless of their prospects of staying. The counselling takes place in a target group-specific and needs-based manner. Topics include: initial orientation, learning the German language, education and work, welfare benefits, etc.
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In addition, there are the federally funded migration counselling centres for adult immigrants run by Freie Wohlfahrtspflege Bayern:
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The Integreat mobile app provides newly arrived immigrants with information and services tailored to their needs by local communities to help them find their way around and settle in. The information can be found in multiple languages:
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The City of Munich has produced guides to make life easier in the beginning – from language courses and advice about work and education through to help for refugees who have experienced violence:
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The “Media Library for Asylum and Integration” (Mediathek für Asyl und Integration) provides support to refugees, e.g. with learning German. Further links can also be found here:
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Advise, support and educate – youth migration organisations provide help to young people with a migrant background aged from 12 to 27 years old across Germany:
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The TV stations ARD and WDR provide refugees with the latest news in English and Arabic.
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The series of videos “Marhaba – Ankommen in Deutschland” (Marhaba – Arriving in Germany) has been specially produced for refugees and migrants from the Middle East. The programme explains life in Germany. It deals with the subjects of religion, food and drink, carnival, pets and laws:
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“Arrive” app: an intuitive app for refugees to learn their first language skills and get to grips with life in Germany – available in five languages. The app can also be used offline:
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Further information on the “Arrive” app:
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The iconary app (a mobile lexicon) helps refugees to learn the most important basic words – with pictures and a speech function in five languages:
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The Goethe-Institut offers various language courses, including some online – such as a word or vocabulary app:
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The “germanroadsafety” app describes the most important traffic regulations and informs refugees about the subject of mobility. The features: “Local transport”, “On foot”, “By bike” and “Cars and motorcycles”:
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This brochure provides information and tips on public life, the environment and formalities, as well as food and drink. Simply download the guide in your language or read it online:
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Here you will find addresses covering a variety of different subjects, e.g. agencies and administrations, leisure or shopping & dining:
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Culture makes us strong – the Federal Ministry of Education and Research has developed a funding programme for children and young people.
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Literature, art, travel and music – this website focuses on culture in Germany. Select from the various languages in the menu at the top right of the page:
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Integration aids as well as voluntary groups and projects throughout Bavaria that are open to all migrants are presented here:
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Start with a Friend was founded as a voluntary initiative in 2014. The aim was to support refugees when they arrived and to enable personal encounters. The non-profit association is now active at over 25 locations nationwide and creates personal encounters between people with and without refugee and/or immigration experience - in 1:1 tandems and communities. Qualified commitment and spaces for education, participation and empowerment are supported.
Health & medicine
If you are feeling sick, you can visit a doctor to receive help. Important information on the subject of medical care can be found in the following list.
- Further information on health and medicine for asylum seekers can also be found in the section “Frequently asked questions”:
- Here you will find a list of the five nearest chemists in Bavaria providing after-hours emergency service, updated on a daily basis. Simply enter your town and start the search:
- Doctor’s surgeries, physiotherapists, hospitals or dentists – you can find the right address with this simple search function. In addition, you can also see which chemists are currently providing after-hours emergency service:
- A map showing the location of those doctor’s surgeries in Bavaria providing after-hours emergency medical service. You can receive outpatient care from these doctors even outside of normal consultation hours:
- The “Specialist Unit for Migration and Health” at the Department of Health and Environment of the City of Munich provides links to psychosocial advice centres, interpreter services and other points of contact for health issues:
- Do you want to find a hospital near to you or a specific hospital? Or do you already know your medical condition and are looking for suitable treatment? This search function can help you:
- What medical services are available to asylum seekers in Germany? You will find answers in English and Arabic here:
- Here you will find information about medicines in Arabic:
- The “Physiological Services” brochure of Arbeiterwohlfahrt München (AWO) provides information on the available services, consultation hours and accessibility. It is available for download in various languages:
- Important telephone numbers in the event of an emergency. You can always call these numbers, even at night or at weekends. Click here for the list:
- The health project “With migrants for migrants: intercultural health in Bavaria” (MiMi-Bayern) focuses on the intercultural promotion of health and the prevention of illness. The goal is to provide better access to the services and assistance offered by the health care system.
- The Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL) has published various information sheets for asylum seekers to inform them among others about hepatitis B or tuberculosis:
- General medical care, vaccinations, pregnancy or children and young people – all of these subjects are explained in the “Health Guide for Asylum Seekers” that is published in various languages:
- Here you will find brochures in various languages on different health care issues – such as diabetes, vaccinations, maternal health or palliative care:
Refugees who have experienced violence
Everyone can get help - here those affected can find help and places to go. In particular, many refugees are scared or feel unsafe due to their experiences of war and escaping their homeland. However, the situation is completely different in Germany.
- What is violence? What forms of violence are there? Who helps if you (or others) are affected by violence? Here you will find help and advice, information, up-to-date knowledge and soon also insights into research and practice
- Counsellors provide round the clock support free of charge in 17 languages on the support hotline “Violence against women”. It is also possible to receive counselling via chat, email and in sign language (video):
- The flyer “Improved Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence” has been produced in 11 languages for victims of domestic violence. It can be ordered or downloaded free of charge using the search term “Gewaltschutz”:
- In Bavaria, the following state-funded advice centres specialise in counselling women and children who are victims of sexual or physical violence and provide help and support on all issues affecting the victims. An overview of all state-funded advice centres/emergency hotlines for women in Bavaria can be found here:
- The advice centre “Wildwasser München e. V.” also advises, assists and supports all women who experienced sexualised violence as a child or young person:
- The following specialists in Bavaria provide advice and support to victims of trafficking, forced prostitution and forced marriage:
- The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs has various information sheets available to download. The topics covered include protection against domestic violence, help for people in conflict situations and pregnancy advice:
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people can receive help here if they have faced discrimination due to their sexual orientation or have been the victims of violence:
Laws & regulations
Those people who come to Germany must obey the laws. Alongside the rules valid for all people in the Basic Law and the Bavarian Constitution, there are also special rules and obligations that apply to asylum seekers as well as to immigrants. You will find information and guidance here.
- The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany:
- The Asylum Law:
- The Geneva Convention on Refugees. The convention on the rights of refugees from 28 July 1951:
- The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR):
- Law on the residency, employment and integration of foreigners in the Federal Republic of Germany:
- What benefits do asylum seekers receive?
- You can find all paragraphs of the Asylum-Seekers’ Benefits Act here:
- Here is a catalogue of articles from the Basic Law (Articles 1–19 plus Article 20) in German-Arabic and German-English as PDF downloads:
- The Bavarian State Ministry of Justice provides films and other information on the German legal system in various languages:
- The Lesbian and Gay Association (LSVD) provides information in various languages on the right of asylum for lesbian and gay people with legislative texts, points of contact and links:
Family, children & young people
Good living conditions for families, support for parents while raising and educating children and young people and the protection of children are very important in Germany. There is thus a wide range of information, advice, services and support for parents, children and young people.
CHILD AND YOUTH WELFARE
Child and youth welfare provides support and real help to children, young people and parents. It is involved in educational projects and opens up different experiences and fields of learning. This includes childcare services, help raising children or youth work. The services and assistance provided by child and youth welfare are generally open to all children and young people, also to children of asylum seekers.
- Further information on all areas of child and youth welfare can be found here:
CHILD DAY CARE FACILITIES
Child day care facilities (nurseries, kindergartens, etc.) can help your child to adapt well to their new social environment. They are an ideal location for learning German in a fun way with other children and qualified teaching staff. Child day care facilities are part of the educational system in Bavaria and prepare your child for visiting school later on. Child day care providers (childminders, etc.) offer another form of childcare provision consisting of small and stable groups of children looked after by a day care provider who is a stable person in the child’s life. This option is a particularly suitable form of childcare for younger children.
- These eight short films in German, English, French, Arabic and Farsi provide information on the services and advantages offered by child day care facilities and child day care providers:
- The brochure “Children in child day care facilities – information for parents in the context of the asylum procedure” published by the State Government provides parents with information about the child day care system in Bavaria, how it works and how to visit a child day care facility. The brochure is available in German, English, French, Dari, Arabic and Somalian. Enter the search term “Kinder in Tageseinrichtungen” (children in day care facilities):
German as second language
With the educational rabbit “Klexi”, the Nürnberger Versicherung Foundation has initiated the coherent project “Hello Klexi”, which has been helping children of kindergarten and primary school age to learn German as a second language for several years. The starting signal for the digital expansion of “Hallo Klexi” was given on November 17, 2023. With the digital expansion, the project is moving with the times and will hopefully support even more foreign children in the future to learn the complex German language and practice what they have learned. “Hello Klexi” makes an extremely valuable contribution to integration in Bavaria.
EDUCATION
0–3 years old:
- The brochure and fold-out guide “Stark durch Bindung - Tipps zur elterlichen Feinfühligkeit in den ersten Lebensjahren” (A strong bond – tips for attentive parenting in the first years of a baby’s life) explain what babies need in their first years of life. The fold-out guide “Stark durch Bindung” (A strong bond) is available in German and 17 other languages (Albanian, Arabic, English, Farsi, French, Italian, Croatian, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Somalian, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish). Enter the search term “Stark durch Bindung” (a strong bond):
3–6 years old:
- The campaign “Stark durch Erziehung” (Giving education more power) and the brochure with the same name convey eight key messages (e.g. education means giving love) that contribute to a successful education. It is designed to support parents in their daily work bringing up children. The brochure is available in basic German and another 16 languages (Albanian, Arabic, German, English, Farsi, French, Italian, Croatian, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Somalian, Tamil, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish). It is possible to download the brochures as PDF documents. Some language versions are also available in printed form. Enter the search term “Stark durch Erziehung” (giving education more power):
- Alongside the brochures and the enclosed postcards, there is also a website, TV advertisements, posters and diverse advertising material for the campaign:
- ELTERNTALK (PARENTS’ TALK): parents discuss parental issues relating to media, consumption and preventative health in moderated discussion groups. The discussions are also held in Turkish, Russian and other languages.
Youth Work
- Youth work with young refugees is highly diverse and carried out across Bavaria. Young refugees are now actively involved in associations or organise themselves. With the campaign "Mitanand - youth work in the migration society", the Bavarian Youth Council (BJR) advocates for a solidary, fair and inclusive coexistence in the migration society. Youth councils, associations and clubs are encouraged to remove hurdles and access barriers for young people with migration and refugee biographies. At the same time, young activists are supported in organizing themselves and representing their own interests.
Unaccompanied Minors
- Children and young people that come to Germany without parents or other family or legal guardians are housed and provided for under the umbrella of child and youth welfare.
Living
If you have received a residence permit, you are allowed to move into an apartment. You can seek help if you have questions about forms or applications. Here you will find information, points of contact and portals that help you find private accommodation.
- What should I keep in mind when looking for an apartment and moving? How does a rental contract work? In the brochure “Welcome to Germany” you will find more information.
- The Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport provides information on the subject of housing benefit – what are the conditions, what application forms and proof are required?
- This online directory supports homeless people in Bavaria:
- Here is the housing allocation service of the City of Munich:
- Alongside information on subsidised housing (social housing), you will also find information and various application forms to download here:
- You can find the list of housing offices in Bavaria at
- You can register on this portal (various languages) and you will then be contacted if somebody has a room free in a shared apartment:
Education & work
Do you want to work but don’t know if you are allowed? Do you require certain forms or information? Or are you searching for a job? These links will provide you with additional help.
- The website of the Bavarian Office of the Federal Employment Agency provides addresses for the relevant agency buildings, tips about events and information on the job market:
- The Bavarian Office of the Federal Employment Agency also follows the principle of “integration through education and work” with additional job market and integration programmes:
- Information on searching for a job, training, qualifications and financial support is available in three languages:
- Certain rules apply to asylum seekers and those people who are permitted to remain in Germany. This brochure from the Federal Employment Agency provides information on “internships” and company activities.
- The online portal "komm weiter in B@yern" [“making progress in B@varia”] offers employees and companies an overview of the wide range of qualification opportunities in the Free State. A guide provides them with tailored advice, training and funding opportunities.
- Young people with a migrant background have joined together to explain the German school system and the importance of education to parents and pupils:
- How can refugees access the job market? It all depends on their residence status. Relevant information is available here:
- Welcome2Work supports refugees in the application process – from creating an applicant profile and information workshops through to job placements.
- The goal of this website is to make it easier for refugees to enter the job market. The service includes job offers and an integration plan:
- Ensuring that integration into the job market succeeds – MigraNet, the IQ Network for the State of Bavaria, is part of the funding programme “Integration through Qualification (IQ)”:
- Refugees can search for jobs, placements or apprenticeships in their region in a targeted manner via this job portal:
- This portal also offers a job exchange for refugees:
- Work-related youth welfare supports young people who have particular difficulties finding their place on the job market. The services offered include integrated training projects such as youth workshops:
Help with extremism
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You can find more information on the subject of extremism here:
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You can find more information on the subject of Salafism here:
Disclaimer
Our own content should be distinguished from links to websites operated by other providers. By providing these links, we merely provide you with access to the use of third-party content in accordance with Article 8 of the German Telemedia Act. When first linking to these websites, we checked whether any potential civil or criminal responsibility may arise from this third-party content. However, we cannot continuously check this third-party content for changes and thus we cannot assume any responsibility in this respect. In the case of illegal, incorrect or incomplete content and particularly for damages that arise from the use or non-use of this information, the provider of the website is solely liable.