General information

We would like to thank all citizens of Münster for their solidarity and willingness to help!

The information presented here may change daily, so please check them regularly.

All people, both Ukrainians and third-country nationals, who have habitually resided in Ukraine on 24.02.2022 can still enter Germany without a visa until 04.03.2024 and stay here for 90 days. Registration as a local citizen is not required during this period. As far as people from Ukraine want / need to stay longer, it is necessary to contact the Foreigners' Registration Office in order to get a permission for a longer period.

If people are unable to support themselves, they should contact the social welfare office. Alternatively, the livelihood can also be ensured by someone from the family or friends giving a so-called "declaration of commitment", or by already taking up gainful employment with the approval of the foreigners authority.

The most important documents are the biometric national identity passport or the ID-card, or if relevant, the residence permission issued by Ukrainian authorities. Those who do not have a valid national passport to prove their identity, please report to the Foreigners' Registration Office so that the personal data can be recorded.

Within the first 90 days they do not need any documents from the foreigners registration office for the stay. If they want to pursue gainful employment during this period and beyond, however, they do. For this purpose, a permit from the Foreigners' Registration Office is required.

For a stay longer than 90 days, all persons concerned require a residence permit from the Foreigners' Registration Office, regardless of whether they wish to pursue gainful employment or not.

This requires notification of a residential address in the municipal area of the city of Münster. This must be done at the Office for Citizen and Council Services.

ATTENTION: The Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia has informed us that reports of missing women and children are increasing. The exploitation of the emergency situation by criminal individuals cannot be ruled out. We therefore promote the use of the nora emergency call app. Please inform your Ukrainian relatives who are on the run about this offer, which we have linked below. With the app, an emergency call can be made quietly with just a few "clicks" and the GPS location is transmitted to the police. The app is free of charge.

News on the regognition of ukrainian driver's licenses:

By general decree of the district government of Münster it has been regulated that holders of a residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG and a Ukrainian driver's license, who have taken up residence in NRW, may initially drive a motor vehicle in road traffic with this driver's license and a printed version of the general decree until February 23, 2023. Their driving authorization is valid throughout the Federal Republic of Germany. This regulation is effective immediately. Please print out the general ruling via this link. It has to be presented at a traffic control together with your residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG and your driver's license.
general decree for your drivers license  (PDF, 17.0 KB)

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Residence in Münster

The so-called "Massenzustromrichtlinie" (mass influx directive) RL 2001/55/EG was put into force by decision of the Council of the European Union on 04.03.2022 and is now implemented by the Federal Republic of Germany in national law.

Due to the entry into force of RL 2001/55/EG, it is possible to apply for a residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG.

The condition for this is that the people have left Ukraine since 24.02.2022 as a result of the Russian invasion, are Ukrainian citizens or family members of Ukrainian citizens or other third-country nationals with permanent residence/ordinary residence and residence permit/permanent residence in Ukraine and that they can justify as a third-country national why a safe return to their region of origin is not possible for them.

In addition, you must have a registered address in the city of Münster.

Care in the event of illness will be evidenced by a valid health insurance policy or transfer benefits from the social welfare office.

One of the advantages of the residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG is that you can quickly take up employment without the approval of the so called "Bundesagentur für Arbeit" (Federal Employment Agency). However, the foreigners authority must have issued a document beforehand (e.g. a so-called fictitious certificate according to § 81 III 1, V a AufenthG)

The residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG is issued for a limited period until the 4th of march 2025. Residence permits in accordance with Section 24 of the Residence Act that are valid until at least February 1, 2024 will automatically continue to be valid until then.

In contrast to the asylum procedure, accommodation in a reception institution is not provided for in the case of a residence permit under Section 24 of the Residence Act. However, it can be assumed that it will be possible to distribute them among the federal states and assign them to a specific place of residence. It is currently planned to take into account social ties to relatives living in Germany and to keep all those who can be accommodated privately there. Should there be any changes to these plans, we will inform you again on this side.

Please take note: Other third-country nationals with a Ukrainian residence title who can safely return to their home country must leave the country after the first 90 days of stay if they do not fulfil the requirements for a residence permit. They are not eligible for a residence permit under § 24 of the Residence Act (AufenthG). They must therefore be able to prove that they meet the more specific (higher) requirements, such as those required for a residence permission for study or employment.

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Residence permit for the purpose of training, study, qualified employment and others

In principle, it is also possible to apply for another, more specific residence permit in Germany, if the relevant conditions for granting it are met. The following residence permits are particularly worth mentioning here:

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Application for asylum

There is also the possibility to apply for asylum.

This is particularly relevant for third-country nationals of non-Ukraine, without a Ukrainian residence permit, who have entered from Ukraine and for whom a safe return to their home region is not possible.

Third-country nationals of non-Ukraine-nationality without a permanent Ukrainian residence permit, who have fled Ukraine, are allowed to stay in Germany without a visa for 90 days beginning at the day of entry from the Ukraine and have to leave after this period or prove that they meet the requirements for a residence permit.

Anyone who is in NRW and wishes to apply for asylum must first go to the State Initial Reception Center (LEA) in Bochum.

Address:

LEA NRW
Gersteinring 52
44791 Bochum
Tel. 0 29 31/82 66 00

One of the consequences of filing an asylum application is that there is regularly an obligation to live in a reception center for the period of the asylum procedure. In addition, there is usually a regional restriction where it and securing a livelihood through gainful employment is initially not permitted at all. Benefits according to the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act can be applied for.

More detailed information on the asylum procedure can be obtained from the website of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF):

Homepage of the BAMF on asylum procedure
Homepage oft he Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)

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Special regulations for Jewish nationals

The Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home Affairs (BMI) has issued an order according to which Jewish nationals, with residence/habitual residence in Ukraine, who were forced to flee as a result of the attack by the Russian Federation, may receive a residence title according to § 23 II of the Residence Act ( AufenthG).

The order implementing the admission procedure aims to strengthen Jewish integration in Germany.

This regulation covers all Jewish immigrants as well as their spouses and minor, unmarried children from the former Soviet Union, with the exception of the Baltic states. The family members must have lived in a domestic community with the persons entitled to admission.

A residence permit or settlement permit pursuant to § 23 II Residence Act is an advantage, because these residence titles offer advantages over the residence permit in accordance with § 24 Residence Act.

A major advantage is, for example, that residence titles according to § 23 II AufenthG can be issued for a longer period of time than the residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG. Thus, a settlement permit, that is an unlimited right of residence, can also be considered in principle.

Applications for admission as Jewish immigrants must be submitted to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and can also be submitted to your local municipality.
The corresponding residence permits are afterwards given by the Foreigners' Registration Office (Ausländerbehörde).

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Access to integration and language courses

Anyone who receives a residence permit according to § 24 AufenthG has access to an integration course. If a residence permit cannot yet be presented, the presentation of a so-called "Fiktionsbescheinigung" fictitional certificate in accordance with § 81 Para. 3 S. 1, 5 AufenthG is also sufficient.

People who have fled Ukraine can be admitted to the integration course upon application to the BAMF. Please take note: There is no entitlement but the participation is free of charge.

Child supervision accompanying the integration course is funded on the basis of the federal program "Integration Course with Child" (Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of the Interior). In principle, all types of courses offered by the so called "BAMF" (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge =Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) are available.

Information on access to the integration or professional language course is now also available in Ukrainian and Russian. Information on entry, integration courses, residence and employment in Germany can be found on the BAMF website.
The BAMF provides an application form for the integration course.

All offers are linked below.

Which regional office of the BAMF is responsible and where integration courses are offered can also be found out quickly and easily via the BAMF page linked below.
In addition, all of these further offers of language support and counseling can be taken advantage of by persons who have fled from Ukraine with a AE according to § 24 AufenthG or applicants who have fled from Ukraine with a fiction according to § 81 Abs. 3 S.1 , 5 AufenthG:

•  migration counseling for adults (MBE)
•  "MiA courses" ("Migrantinnen einfach stark im Alltag"= Migrant women simply strong in everyday life), an offer especially for women
•  initial orientation courses
•  language courses for the job

The BAMF also offers so-called "second language courses", which are aimed at people who have not yet mastered the Latin alphabet (but only the Cyrillic alphabet, for example). The appropriate type of course is determined by the BAMF within the framework of a placement test.

Advice, for example on the registration of your children for school, attending a German course or looking for a job, contact a migration advice center for adult immigrants (MBE). The mbeon page is also available in ukrainian.

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Medical care for refugees

Refugees in need of help are entitled to health services in Germany. What these look like depends on the length of stay and status. The following list of links summarizes the most important information:

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Contact information for further questions:

Do you have further questions about foreigners law? Then do not hesitate to contact us via our general mail address or the hotline of the Foreigners' Registration Office.

For all other questions we refer to the general information page of the city of Münster about Ukraine and the municipal info hotline "Help for Ukrainians".

Municipal information hotline "Help for the Ukrainians" Tel. 02 51/4 92-55 60

We are overwhelmed by the solidarity and willingness to help shown by the citizens of the city of Münster!

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