Unemployment

Even if you lose your employment, you are still entitled to reside in Germany. Your employment status is determined by the duration of your previous employment.

The duration of your employment and your personal circumstances determine whether you are entitled to benefits. This entitlement is also affected by whether the employment relationship was terminated by you or your employer.

While you are receiving benefits, you are constantly obliged to look for new employment. You must provide evidence of your application efforts and may be obliged to apply for specific jobs and take part in application training or certain qualification measures.

Even if the working hours are unfavorable or you would rather have a different job due to your training, you may not turn down the jobs offered without further ado. If you refuse a job without a valid reason, your benefits may be reduced or even canceled altogether.

Work opportunities and qualification measures

You may be obliged to take part in work opportunities in order to integrate into the labor market.

This is non-profit work for which you receive a small hourly wage of around 1 to 2 euros in addition to your social benefits. However, this is not regular work and you are not covered by social insurance.

The authority from which you receive social benefits can also oblige you to undergo training to improve your chances on the job market. This could be job application training, a language course or further vocational training.

Your social benefits may be reduced if you do not want to take part in a work opportunity. If there are important reasons for refusal, you should discuss these with your responsible caseworker.