Residence titles - Refugee status

You have obtained your higher education entrance qualification (HZB) abroad and

• an initial decision on your asylum application has been made by the BAMF or
• you have been admitted for temporary protection or on humanitarian grounds or
• you have been admitted from abroad and there is no enforceable obligation to leave the country and no permanent settlement permit.

You have entered Germany no more than five years ago.

^{The following rule applies to the NRWege ins Studium program (grants, preparatory German courses):
The deadline can be extended once by a maximum of two years if you have looked after or cared for at least one child under the age of 18 or a family member or if you have had periods of illness.
The deadline does not apply if funding has already been provided by the NRWege or the federal Integra program.}

Accepted documents:

• residence permit according to §§ 22, 23, 23a, 24, 25 AufenthG,
• residence permit according to §§ 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 para. 1 and 2, 36 AufenthG (family reunion for refugees),
• permission to remain pending the asylum decision ("Aufenthaltsgestattung") (after a BAMF decision), as long as there is no request to leave the country,
• temporary suspension of deportation ("Duldung"),
• provisional residence document ("Fiktionsbescheinigung") in combination with one of the proofs mentioned here.

Excluded from program participation:

• persons granted a permanent settlement permit (§ 26 AufenthG),
• persons who are under an immediate obligation to leave the federal territory (§ 50 AufenthG),
• persons who have a German educational qualification,
• German citizens,
• persons staying in Germany in the context of family reunion with German citizens (§ 28 AufenthG): However, these persons can apply as international applicants for the preparatory German language courses.

(last updated: April 17, 2025)