Time limit for the right to work
Access to the labour market for asylum applicants has been subject to various legislative changes in recent years. In 2019, two closely related Acts were passed together as part of a broader migration package: the Skilled Workers’ Immigration Act (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz, in force 1 March 2020), which primarily targets the immigration of qualified workers from third countries, and the Act on Toleration for the Purpose of Training and Employment (Gesetz über Duldung bei Ausbildung und Beschäftigung, in force 1 January 2020), which directly affects persons in and after the asylum procedure. Together, these Acts introduced two forms of extended toleration: a Beschäftigungsduldung (employment toleration, granting a 30-month secure status for those in employment) and an Ausbildungsduldung (vocational training toleration, covering the duration of training plus potential pathways to a residence permit). Both are subject to a range of requirements, including prior identity clarification and the absence of imminent removal measures.[1]
Prior to March 2020, asylum applicants were barred from access to employment as long as they were under an obligation to stay in an initial reception centre. Outside these centres, they could be permitted to take up employment after having stayed in the federal territory for 3 months.
In March 2024, the Act on Improving Deportation Procedures (Rückführungsverbesserungsgesetz) came into force, modifying the rules on labour market access for asylum applicants and persons with a Duldung.[2] Although the legislation was officially justified by relieving the burden on public budgets, these changes were preceded by a prominent debate about the national lack of skilled labour. Various stakeholders and media reports criticised that Germany seeks skilled labour abroad while a lot of asylum applicants are trained and willing to work but forbidden to do so by law.[3]
Since March 2024, asylum seekers are not allowed to take up employment in the first three months after their arrival in Germany.[4] Asylum applicants inside reception centres are entitled to work after six months (reduced from the previous nine-month waiting period). Those outside reception centres are entitled to work after three months. Asylum seekers with a Duldung should be able to work after six months, the only exception being if they face concrete measures of removal.[5] Persons from so-called safe countries of origin (e.g., some Western Balkan countries) and those whose asylum applications have been rejected as manifestly unfounded or inadmissible (without suspensive effect of the appeal) are generally completely excluded from the labour market.[6]
In July 2025, the government introduced a draft law on designating safe countries of origin by statutory order and abolishing mandatory legal representation in detention pending deportation, which would allow the government to unilaterally expand the list of “safe countries of origin”.[7] Civil society organisations criticize this law, as they expect the list of countries determined “safe” to grow considerably, in turn increasing the situations of asylum seekers being blocked from integration and residence prospects due to the employment ban.[8] Further, the 2026 CEAS Adaptation Act is set to sharply tighten labour market access by banning work after a negative BAMF decision even during appeals and by enabling additional work bans for alleged cooperation failures.[9] Human rights organisations warn that these measures would deprive thousands of legally resident asylum seekers of their right to work.[10] At the same time, the CEAS Adaptation Act shortened the waiting period for the access to employment for some of the asylum applicants in Germany: people with a tolerated status whose identity has been clarified, as well as persons in ongoing asylum procedures, will be able to work after three months of residence instead of the previous rule of typically six months.[11] Those from safe countries of origin or those in accelerated procedures remain excluded from this, however.
Access to employment for asylum applicants in reception centres
In 2025, asylum applicants who are required to reside in a reception facility were not permitted to take up employment:[12]
- Within the first three months of their stay;
- if the six-month period mentioned above under point 1) has not yet expired;
- if their asylum procedure has been rejected as manifestly unfounded or inadmissible and no suspensive effect has been granted to their appeal;
- if they come from safe countries of origin and filed an asylum application after 31 August 2015;
- or if they are tolerated persons (“Geduldete”) who are themselves responsible for the obstacle preventing deportation, have failed to cooperate in removing this obstacle, or are facing concrete measures to terminate their residence.
Access to employment for asylum applicants staying outside of reception centres
Outside of reception centres, asylum applicants with a permission to stay (Aufenthaltsgestattung) were not allowed to take up employment during the first 3 months of their stay on the territory, after which they could be permitted to do so on a discretionary basis.[13]
- Restrictions on access to the labour market
Before the 2020 amendment of the Asylum Act, asylum applicants were not allowed to work on a self-employed basis for the whole duration of their asylum procedure, since the permission to pursue self-employment requires a regular residence permit. The asylum applicant’s permission to stay (Aufenthaltsgestattung) does not qualify as such.[14] However, the new Section 4a(4) Residence Act now provides that it is at the discretion of the responsible authorities to permit any economic activity including self-employment for those with a permission to stay (Aufenthaltsgestattung) or tolerated stay (Duldung). This only applies to those living outside of initial reception centres, though.[15]
On top of the restrictions mentioned above, there are additional limitations to the access to the labour market in practice. Firstly, asylum applicants have to apply for an employment permit each time they want to take up employment. To that end, they have to prove that there is a ‘concrete’ job offer, i.e. an employer has to declare that the asylum applicant will be employed in case the employment permit is granted, and a detailed job description must be shared with the authorities.
Secondly, employment is only granted upon approval of the Federal Employment Agency.[16] There are a few exceptions to this rule, e.g., for internships and vocational training.[17] Such approval depends inter alia on a ‘review of labour conditions’, i.e. an examination of whether labour rights are complied with and whether wages correspond to regional standards.
The so called ‘priority review’ which was previously applied in practice, and which consisted in checking whether another jobseeker would be more suited for the position (i.e. German citizens or foreigners with a more secured residence permit) has been abandoned following the 2020 reform.
The available statistic from the Employment Agency concerning asylum applicants only encompasses data concerning so-called “persons in the context of refugee migration” (Personen im Kontext von Fluchtmigration). These are people from third countries (Drittstaatsangehörige) with either a permission to stay (Aufenthaltsgestattung), a permit of residence due to refugee or subsidiary status or a tolerated stay (Duldung). Not included in those numbers are those within family reunification with asylum applicants or those that originally came as asylum applicants but now have a settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis).[18] In November 2025, 424,752 persons in the context of refugee migration were registered as unemployed which represents a share of 14.72% of all unemployed people in Germany.[19] Out of these, 212,000 were people originating from Ukraine.[20]
Another statistic of the Employment Agency only differentiates between those that have, inter alia, German citizenship (Deutsche) and those that do not (Ausländer). Accordingly, 14.1% of all people without German citizenship were unemployed in November 2025.[21] This is a slight decrease from 14.6% in November 2025. However, it has to be kept in mind that the data encompasses also people that are born and raised in Germany but kept the citizenship of their parents or people that migrated for other reasons to Germany besides asylum.
While searching for employment, asylum applicants are regularly confronted with diverse hurdles in addition to legal restrictions. Insecurity about the residence status, lack of language skills or prejudices and discrimination are just some of them.[22] Especially qualification recognition is a significant issue. The recognition procedure is regulated by every Federal State itself and is thus not uniform and difficult to understand. In addition, the recognition procedures are only possible for those degrees that lead to a regulated profession such as professors or lawyers. Degrees that do not lead to a certain profession, such as Mathematics, Economics or others, need to be evaluated at the Central Office for Foreign Education at the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs.[23]
Support during this process can be sought at the ESF programme “Integration through qualification”. However, this is a project dependent on EU funding and the current funding period is only running until 2027.[24] Other European funds, like the AMIF, funds diverse and regional projects that help asylum applicants through the different stages of their arrival, inter alia with finding employment. The Employment Agency has established in 2022 the ‘Service Centre for Professional Recognition’ that counsels jobseekers and supports them in the recognition process. However, the process remains lengthy and expensive.[25] In order to further simplify access to the labour market, the Federal Government once again approved measures for labour market integration in November.[26] The so-called “Job-Turbo” is divided into three phases. In the first phase, basic German language skills are to be taught and workers who could work in their profession even without German language skills are to be placed directly by the job centre. In phase two, asylum applicants are to be placed in cooperation with the job centre. Companies and associations are specifically approached for this purpose. At this point, the Federal Government also deliberately reduces benefits if the refugees do not cooperate as desired. Phase three is also intended to stabilise employment through further training.
The assessment of these new instruments, although so far only preliminary, are mixed. The Federal Court of Auditors criticised the measures of the “Job-Turbo” for its lack of adequate counselling and poor job placement outcomes.[27] The Special Commissioner for the Labour Market Integration of Refugees describes the measures as a promising step in the right direction: despite economic challenges, more refugees have found employment since the beginning of 2024 compared to the previous year.[28] Yet, there is room for improvement, such as enhanced data transparency, more language programs, improved childcare availability to support working parents, and better integration support through organisations.
[1] Transatlantic Council on Migration, Integrating Refugees and Asylum Seekers into the German Economy and Society: Empirical Evidence and Policy Objectives (December 2019), available here.
[2] Deutscher Bundestag, Recommendation for a resolution and report of the Committee on Home Affairs and Community (4th Committee) on the Federal Government’s draft bill of the Act to Improve Removals (Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Verbesserung der Rückführung (Rückführungsverbesserungsgesetz)), available in German at: https://bit.ly/49CaKMs.
[3] WDR.de, Fachkräfte-Mangel: Bloß keine Flüchtlinge?, 8 June 2023, available in German at: https://tinyurl.com/3ak7sv67; SWR.de, Fachkräftemangel in RLP – sind Flüchtlinge die Lösung?, 16 November 2023, available in German at: https://tinyurl.com/ynxn83s7; Spiegel, Das große Rätsel der offenen Stellen, 17 March 2024, available in German at: https://tinyurl.com/2rcekmwr.
[4] Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS), ‘Arbeitsmarktzugang für Geflüchtete’ (accessed 28 November 2025), available here.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Section 61(1) Asylum Act.
[7] Deutscher Bundestag, Neuregelung bei Bestimmung sicherer Herkunftsstaaten geplant (10 July 2025), available here.
[8] Hessischer Flüchtlingsrat (HFR), ‘Positionspapier: Beschäftigungsverbote für Personen aus sog. sicheren Herkunftsländern’ (07 August 2025), available here; Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte, ‘Zum Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Bestimmung sicherer Herkunftsstaaten durch Rechtsverordnung und Abschaffung des anwaltlichen Vertreters bei Abschiebungshaft und Ausreisegewahrsam’ (September 2025), available here.
[9] AZG – Arbeitsmarktzugang für Geflüchtete (WIR-Netzwerke), ‘Stellungnahme zu GEAS-Anpassungsgesetz aus den WIR-Netzwerken’ (1 October 2025), available here.
[10] Flüchtlingsrat Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, ‘Geplante Änderungen beim Arbeitsmarktzugang von Asylsuchenden: Rückschritt mit weitreichenden Folgen’, available here.
[11] Sachverständigenrat für Integration und Migration (SVR), ‘Erweitertes GEAS-Umsetzungspaket: SVR ordnet Maßnahmen ein (27 February 2026), available here.
[12] Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS), ‘Arbeitsmarktzugang für Geflüchtete’ (accessed 28 November 2025), available here.
[13] Section 61(2) 1st Sentence Asylum Act and Section 61(2) 5th Sentence Asylum Act.
[14] Section 21(6) Residence Act.
[15] Section 61(1) 1st Sentence Asylum Act.
[16] Section 61(1) 2nd Sentence Number 2 and Section 61(2) 1st Sentence Asylum Act.
[17] Section 32(2) Employment Regulation (Beschäftigungsverordnung).
[18] Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Monatsbericht zum Arbeits- und Ausbildungsmarkt, November 2025, available here.
[19] Own calculation based on Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Monatsbericht zum Arbeits- und Ausbildungsmarkt, November 2025, available here.
[20] Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Auswirkungen der Fluchtmigration aus der Ukraine auf den Arbeitsmarkt und die Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende, 28 February 2025, available in German here.
[21] Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Monatsbericht zum Arbeits- und Ausbildungsmarkt, November 2025, available in German here.
[22] Informationsverbund Asyl & Migration, Themenschwerpunkt Integration in den Arbeitsmarkt, Teil II, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3uNuoGa, 10.
[23] Informationsverbund Asyl & Migration, Themenschwerpunkt Integration in den Arbeitsmarkt, Teil II, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3uNuoGa, 16.
[24] Netzwerk Integration durch Qualifizierung, available in German at: https://bit.ly/48gFFN6.
[25] Informationsverbund Asyl & Migration, Themenschwerpunkt Integration in den Arbeitsmarkt, Teil II, available in German at: https://bit.ly/3uNuoGa, 16.
[26] BMAS, Job-Turbo zur Arbeitsmarktintegration von Geflüchteten, available in German: https://bit.ly/3I1E4js.
[27] Miriam Holstein, Bundesrechnungshof: Vernichtendes Urteil über Heils „Job-Turbo“ (Capital, 31 October 2024) available in German here.
[28] SGB II, ‚Der Job-Turbo, Erfahrungsbericht des Sonderbeauftragten der Bundesregierung für die Integration von geflüchteten Menschen in den Arbeitsmarkt‘, 19 December 2024, available in German here.