Persons with refugee status and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection have unrestricted access to the labour market, including self-employment, under the same conditions as German citizens.[1] They are entitled to all supportive measures offered by the labour agency. This includes qualification offers and training programmes but also costs which may result from the need to have professional qualifications recognised. There are some specialised training and qualification programmes for migrants from which refugees also benefit, like vocational language courses[2] or integration courses (see below Access to education).
On the Federal level, the BAMF is responsible for ‘Migration counselling for adult immigrants’ (Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zuwanderer (MBE)) which are then executed by welfare associations and the Federation of Expellees.[3] In 2024, 549,000 people benefitted from the programme.[4] In individual and group counselling sessions the programme supports them in their linguistic, professional and social integration. It should enable them to act independently in all matters of daily life. The counselling is in many cases provided in the mother tongue of the beneficiary or in a language the person can understand. The counselling service is solely addressing adult immigrants. However, the MBE refers young adult immigrants under 27 on their website (Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zugewanderte, available at: https://tinyurl.com/38kf4dkj) to a counselling service by the Youth Migration Service (JMD). The JMD is administered by the BMBFSFJ (Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Woman and Youth) and offers similar services that are tailored to the needs of young adults, e.g. career planning and youth issues. Since 2019 the service is also provided online through an application which is available in German, English, Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian and Farsi.
The counselling measures are available for foreigners in general but can be adapted to the needs of beneficiaries of international protection.[5] For 2023 the Federal government decided to spend in total 81,5 million € for the ‘Migration counselling for adult immigrants’.[6] For 2024, the Federal government initially announced severe cuts and wanted to limit the funding to EUR 57 million. Social welfare associations heavily criticised that the cuts in funding stand in contrast to the rising need due to the increased numbers of immigrants in the last years.[7] Following political pressure from the opposition and the welfare associations, the funding was raised to EUR 77,5 million for 2024 and 2025. From the German government’s perspective the MBE should refocus its efforts on the core target group during the first three years of residence. To this end, the BAMF has launched a reform and refocusing process. Referring to integration courses in general, the European Commission reported that Germany increased the budget for integration courses to approximately EUR 1.066 billion in 2025, described as an increase of EUR 302.8 million compared to the initial plan. This upward adjustment illustrates that integration courses remain a central, politically prioritised support instrument for labour-market access, alongside vocational language training.[8]
A 2024 evaluation of the Migration Counselling for Adult Immigrants (MBE) by the DeZIM Institute analysed the program’s resources, client composition, work processes, and overall impact.[9] According to the study, the MBE has proven to be an effective short- to medium-term support system, significantly contributing to the resolution of immediate integration challenges and improving the living conditions of migrants. Clients report high satisfaction with the counselling, which promotes self-reliance and access to integration services, though full integration into regular services is not consistently achieved. Key challenges include limited resources, increasing workloads, and structural barriers, particularly in cooperation with authorities and regular service providers. The report recommends securing sustainable personnel and financial resources, clarifying the scope of MBE tasks, strengthening intercultural opening in regular services, and improving access to language mediation and specialised training for counsellors.
Policy discussions in 2025 continued to emphasise faster labour market integration and better coordination of integration governance, including debates about responsibilities and the role of BAMF tasks such as integration courses. In this context, the SVR’s 2025 annual report summary discusses measures such as the federal “Job Turbo” as a push towards earlier entry into work, while stressing that this should not mean abandoning language learning as a foundation for sustainable integration.[10]
Some Federal States set up additional integration programmes or fund projects of private initiatives which aim at the integration of migrants. North Rhine-Westphalia reformed in 2021 the ‘Act to Support Social Participation and Integration in North Rhine-Westphalia’ (Gesetz zur Förderung der gesellschaftlichen Teilhabe und Integration in Nordrhein-Westfalen) by which the state’s government commits itself to invest at least EUR 130,000 per year on integration programmes.[11] For the implementation, the state reconceptualised ‘municipal centres of integration’ (Kommunale Integrationszentren) which shall coordinate and conceptualise integration programmes tailored to the needs and existing private initiatives in the municipalities. As for the Federal programmes, the services are open to migrants in general, but some programmes are specifically tailored to beneficiaries of international protection and people with a ‘tolerated stay’ (Duldung).[12] Berlin already introduced a similar Act in 2010 which was though completely revised in 2021. The ‘Act to Support Participation in the Migration Society’ (Gesetz zur Förderung der Partizipation in der Migrationsgesellschaft) foresees likewise to support integration programmes but additionally focuses on the diversification of the administration in Berlin.[13] According to a study from 2022, five states (Berlin, Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, North-Rhine Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein) implemented regional laws on integration and participation.[14] The study concludes that these regional laws have been successful if they see integration as a task for the whole society and not only the individual migrant. The advantage of these laws is that processes and actors are streamlined and that the laws have a symbolic function in advocating integration and participation. However, the success depends a lot on the political will in the different states according to the study.
Recognition of professional qualifications has been often described as a major practical obstacle to access to the labour market. This does not only affect refugees but other immigrants as well. The main reasons identified are the administrative hurdles since the procedure is highly formalised. The first barrier is that depending on which qualification should be recognised foreigners need to approach different authorities. Secondly, foreigners need to understand whether the recognition of their qualifications is mandatory. The recognition is mandatory for third-country nationals and independently from the nationality for so-called ‘reglemented labour’ (reglementierte Berufe) e.g., teachers, engineers, and health practitioners.[15] Moreover, the recognition usually requires certificates and additional documents. In case foreigners cannot provide these documents, they need to undergo additional tests and contact a counselling person.[16]
In addition to the bureaucratic barriers, the recognitions scheme works largely to the disadvantage of refugee women as their qualifications from the country of origin often do not match the formal requirements for recognitions under German Law.[17] If recognitions take place there is a highly positive effect on the income and the formal level of the labour market involvement of migrants in general and persons granted a protection status in particular.[18] Studies show a significant gender gap in access to the labour market, employment levels as well as remuneration that is far greater than the ‘usual’ gender pay gap in Germany.[19] The German government therefore has set up an information portal offering advice on the necessary procedures (‘Recognition in Germany‘). However, the recognition of qualifications remains challenging despite its clear positive effects on integration into the labour market as well as integration more generally.[20]
Beyond the legal baseline, recent evidence points to measurable progress in outcomes over time: a “ten years on” IAB-based reporting notes that around 64% of refugees who arrived in 2015 were employed by the end of 2024 (compared to about 70% in the overall population). At the same time, the same coverage indicates that full-time workers from this cohort earned about EUR 1,600 gross per month (May 2025), supporting the view that integration advances substantially, but earnings gaps remain.[21] Available official statistics on unemployment only distinguish between nationalities, but not between residence statuses of persons concerned. Therefore, it is not possible to determine how many beneficiaries of international protection have successfully integrated into the labour market. Some sources provide selected indicators for beneficiaries of international protection: for example, the European Commission’s Germany overview (August 2025) reports an employment rate of 42% among Afghans who are refugees (as of November 2024).[22]Research on labour market integration of refugees over the last decade highlights both significant progress and persistent challenges. Refugees face unique hurdles compared to other migrant groups, as forced displacement often leaves them unprepared for life in the host country, particularly in terms of language acquisition and professional qualifications. Despite these challenges, long-term trends indicate that their labour market integration improves considerably over time.
A BAMF brief analysis published in 2025 (“Ten Years in Germany”) underlines the central role of language support and especially the integration course system for the 2015/2016 cohorts, noting that participation patterns help explain differences in language acquisition across arrival cohorts. This supports the link between programme-based language support (integration and related language courses) and improved conditions for labour market integration, even if language support alone does not remove structural barriers such as recognition bottlenecks or gendered care responsibilities.[23]
An OECD study published in July 2024 emphasises that, while refugees initially have low employment rates — only 34% of refugees are employed upon arrival — these figures improve significantly with time. After five years in Germany, employment rates nearly double, and refugees who have lived in the country for over 20 years show employment rates comparable to the general population. This demonstrates that, while integration takes time, structured support measures yield positive outcomes. However, the study also highlights that Germany has one of the highest overqualification rates among refugees, with less than a third of highly qualified refugees working in roles that match their education. Furthermore, female refugees remain at a particular disadvantage, as they are often affected by multiple intersecting barriers, including their migration status, gender, and limited access to childcare and education opportunities. In Germany, fewer than one-third of refugee women are employed, a rate significantly lower than in other OECD countries.
Germany’s National Implementation Plan (NIP) for the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), published in December 2024, confirms that the existing integration course system under § 44 AufenthG broadly meets the requirements of Article 35 of the new EU Qualification Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1347) – an EU-level regulation that, once applicable, will set binding standards across all Member States on the rights granted to beneficiaries of international protection, including early access to integration measures. The NIP acknowledges, however, that further steps are needed to extend early integration access to applicants still within the asylum procedure, and commits to reviewing and further developing the existing framework accordingly. The NIP also highlights the Job-Turbo programme (introduced in late 2023) and job-oriented language courses (Berufssprachkurse) as recent additions that strengthen early labour market integration for beneficiaries of international protection – both were operational throughout 2025. No legislative changes to core labour market access rights for recognised beneficiaries of international protection were introduced in the reporting period; these provisions remained stable under §§ 25(1), 25(2) AufenthG.
[1] Section 25(2) Residence Act.
[2] See BAMF, ‘German for professional purposes, 7 June 2021, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3rP6W6e.
[3] Federal Ministry of Interior, Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zuwanderer, available in German at: http://bit.ly/40h6DS5.
[4] BMI, Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zugewanderte, last access 8 June 2025, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3SZZ0xv.
[5] BAMF, Integrationsangebote im Überblick, available at: http://bit.ly/3HNkU1o.
[6] Filiz Polat, Budgeterhöhung für die Migrationsberatungen für erwachsene Einwanderinnen und Einwanderer, Newsletter Flucht, 28 September 2022.
[7] See, AWO, Jede dritte Migrationsberatung vor dem Aus, 13 September 2023, available in German at: https://bit.ly/49gNyDk.
[8] DG Home, Germany overview August 2025, 9 September 2025, available here.
[9] Sarah Berndt, Begüm Güngör, Niklas Harder and Alina Mocek, ‘Evaluation of the Migration Counselling for Adult Immigrants (MBE) 2024’ (DeZIM Institute, October 2024), available in German here.
[10] SVR,,Reforms that work? The implementation of current migration and integration laws, 2025, available in German here.
[11] North Rhine-Westphalia, Gesetz zur Förderung der gesellschaftlichen Teilhabe und Integration in Nordrhein-Westfalen (Teilhabe- und Integrationsgesetz – TIntG), 25 November 2021, lastly amended 1 January 2022, available in German at: http://bit.ly/3DwZpPO.
[12] See e.g. Kommunales Integrationszentrum Köln, Durchstarten in Ausbildung und Arbeit, available in German at: http://bit.ly/3YfFHjx.
[13] Gesetz zur Förderung der Partizipation in der Migrationsgesellschaft des Landes Berlin (Partizipationsgesetz – PartMigG) 5 July 2021, lastly amended 2 November 2022, available in German at: http://bit.ly/3kQGA3F.
[14] Sachverständigenrat für Integration und Migration (svr), Integrationsgesetze auf Länderebene: Eine aktualisierte Bestandsaufnahme – und was der Bund daraus lernen kann, 2022, available in Germant at: https://bit.ly/42FUgAi.
[15] All labour where the scope of practice is defined by law is counted as ‚reglemented labour‘.
[16] On the procedure of recognition of qualifications, see: Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Anerkennung von Abschluss und Zeugnis, available in German at: http://bit.ly/3l4l6jP.
[17] See Kosyakova, Yuliya; Gundacker, Lidwina; Salikutluk, Zerrin; Trübswetter, Parvati (2021): Arbeitsmarktintegration in Deutschland: Geflüchtete Frauen müssen viele Hindernisse überwinden. (IAB-Kurzbericht, 08/2021), Nuremberg.
[18] Brücker, Herbert; Glitz, Albrecht; Lerche, Adrian; Romiti, Agnese (2021): Occupational recognition and immigrant labor market outcomes. In: Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 39, No. 2, S. 1-15.
[19] See in particular: See Kosyakova, Yuliya; Gundacker, Lidwina; Salikutluk, Zerrin; Trübswetter, Parvati (2021): Arbeitsmarktintegration in Deutschland: Geflüchtete Frauen müssen viele Hindernisse überwinden. (IAB-Kurzbericht, 08/2021), Nuremberg.
[20] See on these effects: Brücker, Herbert; Glitz, Albrecht; Lerche, Adrian; Romiti, Agnese (2021): Occupational recognition and immigrant labor market outcomes. In: Journal of Labor Economics, Vol. 39, No. 2, S. 1-15.
[21] InfoMigrants, ‘Ten years on: Refugees near German employment levels’, (no date stated on page), available here.
[22] DG HOME, Germany overview August 2025, 9 September 2025, available here.
[23] Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Zehn Jahre in Deutschland: Spracherwerb und Sprachförderung der Geflüchteten von 2015 und 2016 (BAMF‑Kurzanalyse 06|2025), 17 December 2025, available in German here.