Integration course in Germany: who can join and what it costs

2 min read · 7 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

The integration course is the state-funded way to learn German. It ends with two tests that you can use later for a settlement permit and for citizenship, so it is worth doing even if nobody obliges you.

Rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the official source named at the end before you act, and ask the office in your city, because procedures differ from town to town.

Step by step

1. Check whether you may attend

   People with a residence permit for work, family reunification or humanitarian reasons are usually entitled to a place. EU citizens and Germans with little German can be admitted when places are free. Some people with a tolerated stay for training or employment can also take part.

   Done

2. Check whether you must attend

   The immigration office or the Jobcentre can oblige you to take the course, for example if you cannot make yourself understood in simple German or receive benefits. Schoolchildren, apprentices and people in full-time work are normally exempt.

   Done

3. Get the certificate of eligibility

   The Berechtigungsschein comes from the immigration office, the Jobcentre, or on application from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). It names the date by which you must start.

   Done

4. Choose a course provider

   Search on the BAMF website (BAMF-NAvI) or the employment agency's KURSNET for schools near you. Adult education centres (Volkshochschule) offer most courses. Register directly with the school.

   Done

5. Take the placement test

   The school tests your level and puts you in the right module. With good German you skip the early modules. People who cannot read or write the Latin alphabet take a literacy course with up to 1,000 lessons.

   Done

6. Know the cost

   Your share is 2.29 euros per lesson, about 1,600 euros for the full 700 lessons, paid module by module. If you receive citizen's income, social assistance or unemployment benefit, or your income is low, apply to BAMF to be released from the fee.

   Done

7. Finish with both tests

   The language part ends with the German Test for Immigrants (DTZ). The orientation part ends with the test Leben in Deutschland. Pass both and you receive the Zertifikat Integrationskurs.

   Done

Good to know

If you pass within two years of the date on your certificate of eligibility, you can ask BAMF for half of your payments back. For literacy courses the limit is three years.

There are courses for women, parents, young adults under 27, and evening or part-time courses for people who work.

After B1, the job-related language courses (Berufssprachkurse) go on to B2 and C1 and are free for many participants.

Which level you need for which permit: which German level do you need.

In short: 600 plus 100 lessons, 2.29 euros each or free, certificate of eligibility, pick a school, placement test, DTZ and Leben in Deutschland, half back if you pass in two years.