Entitlement to benefits

Without habitual residence in Germany, you are not entitled to benefits under SGB II.

You can receive one-off bridging benefits in accordance with SGB XII and, if necessary, a loan to cover reasonable return travel costs.

In principle, you are not entitled to benefits under the AsylbLG.

In principle, you are not entitled to SGB II benefits within the first 3 months of your stay and also if you are staying in Germany for the purpose of looking for work.

You may then be entitled to SGB II benefits if you are able to work and are permitted to take up employment. The same applies to family members in your community of need. However, reasons for exclusion may arise from the purpose of your stay.

You could be entitled to benefits under SGB XII after a longer stay if you have exceeded the age limit for those capable of work, are generally not capable of work or if you are not permitted to work.

Otherwise, you can receive one-off bridging benefits in accordance with SGB XII and, if necessary, a loan to cover reasonable return travel costs.

In principle, you cannot claim benefits under the AsylbLG unless you apply for asylum. In this case, the entitlement to benefits under the AsylbLG takes precedence over any entitlements under SGB II or XII.

Example: Entitlement with a residence permit for the purpose of training

Even if you could in principle be entitled to SGB II benefits, you are excluded from receiving them as a trainee or student. The same applies if you are staying in Germany to look for work after completing your training or studies.

Under the above conditions, you could be entitled to SGB XII benefits.

Example: Entitlement with a residence permit for the purpose of work

You may be entitled to benefits under SGB II under the above conditions. Your residence permit must be used exclusively for gainful employment, not for looking for work.

As your residence permit entitles you to gainful employment, you may be entitled to benefits under SGB II and XII. This only applies as long as the residence permit is not converted to another purpose that excludes the receipt of social benefits (e.g. studies).

If you are able to work, you and your family members living with you are generally entitled to SGB II benefits.

If, on the other hand, you are not able to work or have exceeded the relevant age limit, you can generally receive benefits under SGB XII.

Depending on the type of fictitious certificate, there are different entitlements to benefits.

1. With a fictitious permit, which bridges the time from the timely application to the residence title, you are entitled to SGB XII benefits if you are not entitled to benefits under SGB II. You could receive SGB II benefits if you are permitted to take up gainful employment. You may be entitled to benefits as a member of a benefit community.
2. With a fiction of continued validity, which bridges the time until an existing or new residence title is extended, you have the same entitlement as with the previous residence title.
3. With a fiction of toleration, you cannot receive benefits under SGB II or SGB XII, but only under AsylbLG.

Entitlement to maternity benefit and parental benefit is assessed on a case-by-case basis. In principle, you will receive these benefits if you have a residence permit that entitles or has entitled you to gainful employment.

If you are in Germany solely for the purpose of training or further education, you are not entitled to maternity benefit and parental allowance.

Child benefit

Special rules apply to the receipt of child benefit. You can only receive child benefit if you are not receiving a comparable benefit abroad.

The receipt of child benefit is generally linked to a residence permit that entitles you to gainful employment and indicates that you will be staying in Germany for a longer period of time.

You cannot receive child benefit if you are only expected to stay in Germany temporarily. This does not change even if you are gainfully employed and pay unemployment insurance contributions. For example, you are not entitled to child benefit if you are staying in Germany for the purpose of training/studying or company training or as a seasonal worker or au pair.

Exceptions

Intergovernmental agreements apply for some countries of origin. If you come from Turkey, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Morocco or Tunisia, you may be entitled to child benefit if you

• are in gainful employment subject to compulsory insurance or
• receive maternity benefit, sickness benefit or similar benefits in Germany or
• look after a child under the age of 3 or
• receive unemployment insurance benefits.

Important: As a Turkish national, you are not entitled to child benefit for children who live with the other parent in Turkey.