If you are residing in Germany under a “Duldung” (certificate of suspension of deportation), you are only permitted to work if this is expressly stated in your Duldung. If you wish to work, you must therefore apply for a work permit at the Foreigners’ Registration Office. This also applies to participating in vocational training or an internship.

You may be granted a work permit if you have been residing in Germany for three months with a valid residence permit, a “geduld” status, or a temporary residence permit, and you have found an employer who is willing to hire you.

Persons with “tolerated status” who are required to live in a reception center are not granted access to the labor market until after six months.

To process your application, the Foreigners’ Registration Office typically involves the Federal Employment Agency, which reviews the working conditions. After an uninterrupted stay in Germany of more than four years, the Federal Employment Agency no longer needs to be involved.

If you wish to complete vocational training through a company (dual training), you must apply individually for a work permit for the specific training position. Vocational training programs at schools do not require a permit.

The work permit is issued for a maximum duration equal to that of your current temporary residence permit. If the requirements are met, it can be extended accordingly when your temporary residence permit is renewed.

Engaging in gainful employment is generally prohibited if

• you have come to Germany to receive benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act,
• your removal cannot be enforced for reasons for which you are personally responsible, or you have violated your obligation to cooperate in removing the obstacle to removal (for example, insufficient cooperation in obtaining a passport or proof of identity, misrepresentation of your identity or nationality),
• the temporary stay permit was granted with the notation “Temporary stay permit for persons with unclarified identity,” or

you are from a so-called “safe country of origin,” that is, a member state of the European Union, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ghana, Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (North Macedonia), Montenegro, Senegal, or Serbia, and who submitted an asylum application after August 31, 2015, which was rejected or withdrawn—unless the withdrawal was made following a consultation with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Even without an asylum application, individuals from safe countries of origin cannot obtain a work permit.

• You hold a valid temporary residence permit and have been residing in Germany for at least three months.
• If you are required to live in a reception center, you have been residing in Germany for at least six months.
• You do not come from a safe country of origin.
• An employer has offered you a specific job and has filled out the “Declaration of Employment” form.
• The conditions under which you will work in the future are comparable to those of German employees.
• Your wages are equivalent to those of German workers.

• Find out whether your immigration office allows you to submit your application online or provides a specific application form.
• If applications can only be submitted in person, send the “Declaration of Employment” form—completed in full by your employer—to the Foreigners’ Registration Office in advance and schedule an appointment there. If you submit your application online, the Foreigners’ Registration Office will contact you after receiving your application to schedule an appointment.
• During the appointment, your identity and documents will be verified (please bring your documents to the appointment, preferably the originals).
• As a rule, the Foreigners’ Registration Office will request approval from the Federal Employment Agency.
• If the work permit is granted, a corresponding entry is usually made on the temporary residence permit (under “Additional Provisions”) or on a supplementary sheet.

• The certificate of suspension of deportation (toleration) is not a residence permit. It is issued when a foreign national is required to leave the country but their deportation is impossible for factual or legal reasons, or when urgent humanitarian or personal reasons, or significant public interests, require the foreign national to remain in the federal territory temporarily. The foreign national’s stay is therefore not legal; rather, enforcement of the obligation to leave the country is temporarily not an option.
• The work permit may be revoked if the foreign national is employed under less favorable working conditions than comparable domestic workers.

• Appeal against the decision of the Immigration Office
• Lawsuit before the court specified in the notice of decision on the appeal, if the appeal is denied

An application for a work permit should be submitted before an employment contract is signed.

The work permit is granted for a period not exceeding the duration of the current temporary residence permit. If the requirements are met, it will be extended accordingly when the temporary residence permit is renewed.

The immigration office responsible for the applicant's place of residence is responsible for this.

• Valid certificate of suspension of deportation (toleration)
• Identification document (e.g., passport or passport substitute), if available
• Declaration regarding the employment relationship (to be completed in full by the employer)

In individual cases, the Immigration Office may require fewer or additional documents.

The issuance of the work permit is free of charge.

Forms available: Yes

Written form required: Yes

Informal application possible: No

Personal appearance required: Yes