If you are an asylum seeker and are looking for a stable and successful future in Germany, an apprenticeship may be the best option for you. The Immigration Act allows asylum seekers to start an apprenticeship and thus regulate their stay in Germany by obtaining a residence permit or a tolerated stay permit.
If you are an asylum seeker and are looking for a stable and successful future in Germany, an apprenticeship may be the best option for you. The Immigration Act allows asylum seekers to start an apprenticeship and thus regulate their stay in Germany by obtaining a residence permit or tolerated stay. Taking up an apprenticeship is known as the golden bridge to permanent settlement in Germany. Training is aimed at people with a school-leaving certificate, but also at people with a technical or vocational qualification.
The legal possibility to start an apprenticeship is a German political strategy to counteract the shortage of labor and to attract skilled workers. Asylum seekers then have the chance and the opportunity to become skilled workers in order to remedy the labor shortage in Germany.
An apprenticeship is vocational training in which you learn the skills, knowledge and abilities for a specific profession. An apprenticeship can take place in a company as well as in a vocational school or university. During the training period, you spend most of your time working in a company, firm, clinic, etc., while you usually spend one or two days a week at school. The apprenticeship is also known as a dual course of study because you have to learn both in the company and at school. There are currently more than 326 different apprenticeships.
Under certain conditions, a training place is a sufficient reason to obtain a permanent residence permit in Germany. If you get a training place, you have the right to stay in Germany at least until the end of your training, even if you lose the asylum procedure, i.e. even if the court does not grant you asylum. When you start your training, you are entitled to a tolerated stay permit or a residence permit for the duration of your training. This means that you change your legal status in Germany and switch from asylum seeker to trainee. When you complete your training, you will receive a residence permit as a skilled worker.
It takes between two and three years to complete and obtain an exemption from training.
It should be borne in mind that vocational training must be started before the asylum procedure is completed. In this sense, the asylum procedure only ends when no further appeal is possible, which is usually the case after the first or second instance judgment has become final.
The training must be completed before the person's deportation is ordered or decided. In other words, you should not wait until the proceedings have been completed before applying for training.
Asylum seekers have the opportunity to use the time during the asylum procedure to look for and find a training place. Getting a training place is basically the same as getting a job. You have to find out what companies are offering and then apply for them. Here are the most important requirements:
Proof of the required prior qualification is generally provided by the school-leaving certificate that the applicant has obtained in their home country. In cases where the person has obtained their school-leaving certificate in Germany, the diploma or at least the successful completion of the ninth grade is required. If you have already completed a technical or university degree, you can submit the certificates of these studies. The foreign school-leaving certificate must be recognized or approved.
The majority of training participants are between 15 and 19 years old. This is followed by people aged between 25 and 29. People over the age of 30 are also accepted and committed to training. Statistics show that students (apprentices) over 30 are more experienced, motivated and disciplined than their younger counterparts. In this sense, statistics say that students over 30 are among the best in class. Ultimately, it is the employer who decides whether or not to hire over-30s.
Although the law does not stipulate any specific knowledge of German for vocational training, “sufficient knowledge” of the German language must generally be demonstrated, which corresponds to level B1.
The language test must be submitted to the relevant immigration authority, unless there is confirmation from the training company or the institution where the theoretical training takes place that the applicant has sufficient knowledge to complete the training, or the training includes a language preparation course if necessary.
Proof of language skills must be provided in the form of a valid language certificate or confirmation from the training company or theoretical training institution that the applicant's German language skills are sufficient for the relevant training.
In many cases, the person can take or attend a German course to prepare for the training.
The person must be able to follow and understand lessons in German. However, not only language skills but also the applicant's previous education (intellectual abilities) play an important role in the assessment of objective training ability.
The applicant must appear suitable and capable of taking up, starting and completing the vocational training. There must be a minimum degree of certainty that the person can successfully complete the vocational training.
The opportunity to start training is subject to approval by the Federal Employment Agency (BA). In an admission procedure, the BA checks whether the training meets the legal requirements for such an activity. The Foreigners' Registration Office, on the other hand, only assesses or checks whether the general requirements for residence in Germany are met.
Training documents are obtained in two steps. First, you apply for a training permit and then for a residence permit. If you have a temporary residence permit, i.e. you do not yet have a tolerated stay permit, you will first receive the training permit, but you will only receive the residence permit once your proceedings have been concluded by the court. People who only have a tolerated stay permit can receive a residence permit or a tolerated stay permit for training before their asylum procedure is completed.
Trainees receive a bonus or compensation for their work. Anyone undergoing recognized vocational training in a company or business receives financial compensation, i.e. trainees receive a bonus or compensation for their work. This also applies to care professions such as nursing and geriatric care.
The financial compensation can vary from company to company and from state to state. If the financial compensation is not sufficient to cover their own living expenses, the applicant will receive a tolerated stay permit instead of a residence permit.
During the training, the person can do another paid job for up to 10 hours per week.
Germany provides social and financial support to promote and support the completion of various vocational training courses. Under certain conditions, citizens from third countries, e.g. from Latin America, can also receive these grants.
Finally, it should be noted that foreigners who undertake training and/or specialize are not covered by German state social benefits (SGB II).
The final rejection of an asylum application does not usually lead to the termination or interruption of the training that was started before the rejection. The immigration authority must therefore suspend your deportation and grant you permission to successfully complete your training.
The residence permit “Duldung” or “Ausbildung” is issued to persons obliged to leave the country who are undergoing vocational training. This residence permit is issued for the duration of the training. With this type of tolerated stay permit, Germany aims to provide legal certainty for people and companies who employ asylum seekers.
Asylum seekers do not automatically receive a vocational training permit for the duration of their training, but retain their residence permit for the duration of the asylum procedure (Aufenthaltsgestattung). The tolerated stay permit is only issued once the asylum procedure has been concluded with a negative decision, but the person continues to complete vocational training.
Foreign nationals who have successfully completed training have every chance of finding a permanent job in Germany as a qualified specialist. If the company in which the person has completed the training offers a job after successfully completing the training or if the person finds a job elsewhere after completing the training, the foreigner can be granted a residence permit as a qualified skilled worker.
If the company does not offer a job after successful completion of the training, the residence title “tolerated stay” or “training” can be exchanged for a job-seeking visa for up to six months. In the event of a change of vocational training before completion, a six-month tolerated stay permit can also be issued to look for a new apprenticeship.
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