Residence permit - beneficiaries of subsidiary protection
If you have been recognised by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees as a person entitled to subsidiary protection, you will receive a residence permit.
Description
The residence permit is issued for three years and can be extended for three years.
The residence permit is issued on a replacement identity document if no valid national passport is available.
It is not possible to travel abroad with the replacement passport. A valid national passport is generally required for travelling abroad.
The residence permit gives you unrestricted access to the German labour market, i.e. you are permitted to work both as an employee and as a self-employed person.
The residence permit entitles you to participate in an integration course. You are obliged to live in the federal state in which the asylum procedure was carried out if the notice of recognition from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees was issued from 1 January 2016 and you receive benefits in accordance with the German Social Security Code II.
There is no restriction on residence if your spouse, registered partner or underage child
- is taking up or has taken up employment subject to social insurance contributions for at least 15 hours per week, through which this person has at least an income equivalent to the average monthly requirement for a single person in accordance with §§ 20, 22 SGB II, or
- is taking up or has taken up vocational training or
- is in a study or training relationship.
As the employment must be subject to social security contributions, mini-jobs and marginal employment are not sufficient to justify an exemption from residence restrictions.
If there is a restriction on residence, this can be lifted on application. The requirements of Section 12a (5) AufenthG must be met for this. The application must be submitted to the Service Centre for Immigration and Naturalisation responsible for your current place of residence.
Requirements
The notice of recognition issued by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees must contain the wording "Subsidiary protection status is recognised.
Required documents
- Letter of recognition from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees
- Confirmation of residence in Munich when moving to Munich
- valid national passport
- current biometric passport photo, which is sent digitally by a certified photo studio or drugstore. Alternatively, you can use one of the photo terminals at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service Office for a fee.
- Fully completed application form (application for a residence permit)
- Proof of salary for the last three months or notification of receipt of benefits in accordance with SGB II or AsylbLG
Note
- The documents submitted (such as proof of identity and language certificates) will be checked for authenticity. We will report any forgeries to the police.
- Further documents may be required in individual cases.
Questions & Answers
Family members of persons entitled to protection who have been granted subsidiary protection may be granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds under Section 36a of the Residence Act (AufenthG).
However, only members of the nuclear family are eligible for family reunification, i.e. spouses, parents of foreign nationals who are minors, and foreign nationals who are minors and unmarried. The aforementioned group of persons does not have a right to family reunification.
Under the Act on the Suspension of Family Reunification for Persons Entitled to Subsidiary Protection, which came into force on 24 July 2025 (Federal Law Gazette 2025 I No. 173), family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection is now suspended for two years up to and including 23 July 2027, although cases of hardship remain unaffected.
The provision of Section 104(14) of the Residence Act does not apply to persons who are already in Germany on the basis of a residence permit under Section 36a of the Residence Act (or with a corresponding visa). The processing of applications for the extension of a residence permit under Section 36a of the Residence Act may therefore continue as normal.
Legal basis
§ Section 25 para. 2 sentence 1 alt. 2 AufenthG, § 104 Para. 13 AufenthG, § 12a AufenthG, § 44 AufenthG, § 44a AufenthG, § 4 AsylG, §§ 29 ff AufenthG
Contact
Servicestelle für Zuwanderung und Einbürgerung (Asyl)
Website
Telephone
Postal address
Servicestelle für Zuwanderung und Einbürgerung (Asyl)
Ruppertstraße 19
80466 München
Address
Ruppertstraße 19
80337 München
Lagehinweis: Eingang A
Room: 2. Obergeschoss, Bereiche 21 bis 24
Monday 7.30 a.m. - 12 p.m
Tuesday 8.30 am - 12 noon and 2 pm - 6 pm
Wednesday by appointment only
Thursday 8.30 a.m. - 3 p.m
Friday 7.30 a.m. - 12 noon