Administrative services A-Z

You are entitled to recognition as a person entitled to asylum if you are politically persecuted.

If you are granted asylum or refugee protection, you will receive a three-year residence permit. This residence permit can be converted into a settlement permit if the reasons for recognition still exist.

If you cannot be granted asylum or refugee protection, you may be protected by deportation bans under European law in accordance with Section 60 (2), (3) and (7) sentence 2 of the Residence Act and national bans on deportation in accordance with Section 60 (5) and (7) sentence 1 of the Residence Act. These deportation bans are also referred to as subsidiary protection. As a rule, you will then receive a residence permit from the competent immigration authority.

You are considered to be politically persecuted if you have been persecuted by the state or if you are directly threatened with state persecution due to

• of your race,
• your religion,
• your nationality,
• your affiliation to a particular social group, or
• your political convictions.

If you have identification documents, you must present them.

If you want to apply for asylum, you must first contact an initial reception centre. There, your personal data will be collected and you will receive a temporary residence permit.

You then submit your asylum application in person to the branch office of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees that is assigned to the initial reception centre. In the branch office, your personal data will first be recorded. Fingerprints are taken and photographs are taken. You will then receive a residence permit for the duration of the asylum procedure, which is also your identity card. This will be followed by a personal hearing at the Federal Office's branch office. You will be supported by an interpreter.

After the hearing, the Federal Office will examine whether the reasons you have described lead to asylum or refugee protection. You will receive a written decision on your asylum application from the Federal Office.

Branch offices of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees

• Locations of the Federal Office

• Residence Act (AufenthG)
• Asylum Act (AsylG)
• Basic Law (GG)

You can only submit your asylum application in writing in the following special cases:

• You have a residence permit with a total period of validity of more than six months,
• You are in custody or other public custody, in a hospital, a sanatorium or nursing home or in a youth welfare facility, or
• You have not yet reached the age of 18 and your legal representative is not obliged to live in a reception centre.

Send the asylum application to the headquarters of the Federal Office.

You cannot apply for asylum from abroad.

• Brochure on the German asylum procedure
• Flyer "Initial orientation for asylum seekers"
• Further information on the right to asylum and refugee protection
• Information on the written application and application form

Federal Office for Migration and Refugees