Germany / Tolerated stay and residence
Duldung and Residence Options in Germany After an Asylum Refusal
Understand what a Duldung does, respond to passport and identity requirements, and check residence options based on impossibility of departure, integration or family.
Official rules checked: 4 September 2026 · General information, not individual legal advice
Read the name and conditions on your current German document
Start with the document you hold now. An Aufenthaltsgestattung records permission to remain while an asylum procedure is pending. A Duldung records a temporary suspension of deportation after the person is required to leave. An Aufenthaltserlaubnis is a residence permit. These documents are not interchangeable, even when the person is allowed to remain in Germany for the moment.
Photograph or scan every page and both sides of the current document. Record its issue date, expiry date, issuing Ausländerbehörde, residence restriction and any wording about employment. Add the BAMF decision, court papers and every earlier status document. A lawyer needs the sequence, not only the newest card.
If the document will expire soon, ask the issuing Ausländerbehörde which appointment or application is required and what proof it gives while the office is deciding. An appointment booking does not by itself extend every status. Keep the registered application receipt or written interim certificate.
If you have a Duldung, understand what it does and what it does not give you
Section 60a of the Residence Act requires deportation to be suspended while it is impossible for a factual or legal reason and no residence permit is granted. The Ausländerbehörde issues a certificate recording the Duldung. The person’s duty to leave remains in force.
A Duldung is therefore not an ordinary residence permit. It can be renewed while the obstacle remains, but it can also be revoked when the obstacle ends. Leaving Germany normally ends it. Read the validity period and attend any required appointment before the date shown.
The reason matters. It may concern identity or travel documents, health, family or another legal obstacle. Ask the Ausländerbehörde to identify the reason recorded in your case. If health prevents travel, sections 60a(2c) and (2d) require a qualified medical certificate with specific clinical information and prompt submission. A routine appointment card or short sick note may not answer that statutory test.
Employment with an ordinary Duldung is not automatic. Section 60a provides that work should be permitted in defined cases where the Federal Employment Agency has agreed or its agreement is not required. The wording on your document and the decision of the Ausländerbehörde control whether you may start the named employment.
| Status or option | What the person receives | Main qualifying idea | Major caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Duldung under section 60a | Certificate that deportation is temporarily suspended | A factual, legal, humanitarian or personal reason prevents removal for the time being | The duty to leave remains and the Duldung can end when the obstacle ends |
| Duldung for persons with unclear identity under section 60b | Duldung certificate carrying the identity wording | The authority attributes the obstacle to deception, false information or failure to take reasonable passport steps | Employment is prohibited and the period does not count as prior Duldung time |
| Residence under section 25(5) | An Aufenthaltserlaubnis, which is a residence permit | Departure is impossible and the obstacle is not expected to end soon, without fault by the applicant | Eighteen months of suspended deportation is not automatic approval where fault or another condition is disputed |
| Residence under sections 25a or 25b | An integration-based residence permit | Young-person or sustained-integration conditions are met | Residence history, identity conduct, school, language, livelihood and exclusions must be checked |
If the Ausländerbehörde asks for your passport, check the exact identity cooperation required
Section 60b applies to a person who is already enforceably required to leave where deportation cannot take place for a reason the authority attributes to that person. The provision covers deliberate deception about identity or nationality, false information and failure to take reasonable steps under the special passport-procurement duty.
The Ausländerbehörde must identify the cooperation it expects. Section 60b lists actions that can include applying for or renewing a passport, appearing before the authorities of the country of origin, attending an interview, providing photographs or fingerprints, making required statements and paying the generally prescribed fee where reasonable. The authority must tell the person about the duties.
Do not rely on a verbal request that you cannot later prove. Ask for the requirement, deadline and acceptable evidence in writing. Keep appointment confirmations, Nigerian passport application records, payment receipts, correspondence and proof of any appearance. If the Nigerian mission says it cannot issue the document, request written confirmation where possible and give it to the lawyer and Ausländerbehörde.
The special passport-procurement duty in section 60b does not apply from the asylum request or application until the protection claim has been finally rejected. It also contains exceptions for certain deportation-ban situations. This protects the logic of a pending protection case. Do not contact Nigerian authorities about identity or protection details during a pending claim without advice from a German protection lawyer.
If section 60b is applied, the Duldung certificate carries the additional wording for persons with unclear identity. Employment may not be permitted, the period does not count as prior Duldung time, and a residence obligation applies. The person can later perform the omitted reasonable acts and have the breach treated as cured, but the earlier section 60b period remains excluded from the prior-time calculation.
Disagreement about what was reasonable, what was done and whether the person caused the obstacle can affect work and later residence applications. Give a lawyer the written request and every item submitted. Do not create a false identity record or buy an unofficial passport appointment.
Use Nigerian identity and civil records only for the requirement the German office names
The Nigerian passport is the main travel and identity document where the German authority requires a valid passport. A birth certificate, Birth Attestation Certificate, marriage certificate or other civil record may help prove identity or a family relationship, but it does not automatically replace a passport.
Germany does not use a universal chain of Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication followed by German embassy legalization. The German Missions in Nigeria state that legalization of Nigerian public documents was discontinued. Where a German authority needs verification, the German authority initiates the verification procedure. A private applicant cannot commission German embassy verification directly.
Ask the Ausländerbehörde, Standesamt, court or other receiving German office whether it needs the Nigerian original, a certified copy, a sworn German translation or authority-initiated verification. Obtain the written checklist before paying for preparation. The existing Antarch Consulting document guide explains this Germany-specific distinction.
Check names, dates, places of birth and passport numbers across the records. If two genuine documents differ, disclose the difference and obtain advice on the proper correction or explanation. A translator must translate what the original says and cannot repair a conflicting identity by silently changing the text.
If departure has remained impossible, ask whether section 25(5) should be assessed
Section 25(5) permits a residence permit for a person who is enforceably required to leave where departure is impossible for legal or factual reasons and the obstacle is not expected to disappear soon. The law says the permit should be granted where deportation has been suspended for 18 months, but only if the person is prevented from leaving through no fault of their own.
Eighteen months with a Duldung is not an automatic conversion. The Ausländerbehörde examines why departure is impossible, whether voluntary departure is also possible, whether the obstacle is temporary and whether false information, identity deception or failure to take reasonable steps caused the problem.
Prepare every Duldung showing the period, the authority’s written explanation of the obstacle, passport-cooperation evidence, medical or family records where relevant and any correspondence about possible travel. Ask the lawyer to identify what fact shows that the obstacle will not end soon and how the lack of fault will be proved.
If you have lived in Germany for years, compare sections 25a and 25b using your actual history
Section 25a concerns well-integrated adolescents and young adults. The current law normally requires at least 12 months with a Duldung or a relevant section 104c permit, three years of continuous permitted, tolerated or asylum-procedure residence, and three years of successful school attendance or a recognised school or vocational qualification. The application must be made before the person turns 27. The authority also assesses likely integration and commitment to Germany’s democratic constitutional order.
While the young person remains in school, vocational training or university, reliance on public support for their own livelihood does not by itself prevent the permit. The route is nevertheless refused where deportation is suspended because of the young person’s own false information or identity deception.
Section 25b concerns sustained integration. The current ordinary residence period is six years, reduced to four years where the person lives in one household with a minor unmarried child. The periods can include tolerated stay, asylum-procedure permission and residence permission. The applicant normally needs basic knowledge of Germany’s legal and social order, oral German at A2 level, actual school attendance for school-age children, and a livelihood mainly secured through employment or a credible expectation that it will be secured.
The statute recognises limited situations where temporary public support does not defeat the livelihood assessment, including certain students, trainees, families with minor children, single parents and people caring for close relatives. It also allows disability, illness or age to affect language and livelihood conditions. Do not assume that receiving any public support automatically ends the application or that employment alone satisfies the full test.
Section 25b is refused where deliberate false information, identity deception or failure to meet reasonable cooperation requirements prevents or delays departure, or where specified expulsion interests apply. Prepare the complete residence history, all status documents, language evidence, school records, employment contracts, payslips, social-insurance history, benefit decisions and passport-cooperation records.
Section 104c is now transitional. It is not an open new application route. A person who already holds a section 104c permit must check the move into section 25a or 25b before that permit ends.
If you have a German spouse or child, prove the relationship and check the status rules together
Section 28 of the Residence Act can support residence for a spouse of a German citizen, the minor unmarried child of a German citizen, or a parent exercising care and custody of a minor German child. The German nationality and family relationship must be proved. A wedding plan, pregnancy or informal parenting arrangement is not the same as the civil and custody evidence the Ausländerbehörde needs.
Bring the German passport or identity card, marriage certificate or child’s birth certificate, custody records, address evidence and documents showing the genuine family life. If a Nigerian certificate is involved, ask the German office whether it requires a sworn translation or authority-initiated verification.
Marriage does not automatically cancel a BAMF refusal, Duldung or removal measure. Sections 5 and 10 and the visa requirement can affect whether the permit may be issued inside Germany. A lawyer should assess the protection, residence and family provisions together before the couple assumes that the marriage certificate changes the current document.
Give the lawyer and Ausländerbehörde one dated record of your status
Prepare a timeline listing arrival, asylum application, BAMF decision, court case, each Aufenthaltsgestattung, each Duldung, passport request, employment permission, training and family change. Attach the supporting document to every date. Mark a date as uncertain where necessary instead of inventing precision.
Ask the lawyer to name the exact application, legal section, responsible Ausländerbehörde, form, supporting documents and legal effect while the application is pending. Ask what receipt the authority will issue and who will receive later correspondence.
Antarch Consulting can help identify and organise Nigerian records for an agreed German residence or family application. We can explain Germany’s verification system and coordinate appropriate translation or Nigeria-side document work where the receiving German office has named the requirement. We do not issue German residence permits, advise a person to conceal identity or replace a German lawyer.
What to check next
Put every German status document, BAMF and court decision, passport request, work permission, employment record, school record and family certificate in date order. Ask a German immigration lawyer to identify whether the immediate task is renewing a Duldung, answering an identity request, applying under section 25(5), checking sections 25a or 25b, or protecting against enforcement.
If the German office names a Nigerian passport or civil record, give Antarch Consulting the written requirement before arranging authentication, translation or verification. Germany does not use one universal legalization chain for Nigerian documents.
Training and employment options while holding a Duldung
Read your current document before starting training or employment
A job offer or vocational training contract does not by itself create permission to work or remain in Germany. Check whether you hold an Aufenthaltsgestattung, an ordinary Duldung, a Duldung for persons with unclear identity, an Ausbildungsduldung or a residence permit. Read the wording about employment on the document.
Ask the Ausländerbehörde whether the named job or training requires its permission and whether the Federal Employment Agency must agree. Give the office the employer, job, hours, pay, workplace and proposed start date. Do not start because the employer says that a contract is enough.
Section 60b prohibits employment while the Duldung carries the wording for persons with unclear identity. If identity cooperation is disputed, address the written request and evidence with a lawyer before relying on a training or employment route.
If you have an Ausbildung place or a job, compare the legal documents before applying
| Option | What the person receives | Main qualifying idea | Major caution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Duldung with work permission | A temporary suspension of deportation plus permission for the named work where granted | The current Duldung remains valid and the Ausländerbehörde permits the employment or training | It does not provide the protection or residence status of the special routes |
| Ausbildungsduldung under section 60c | A Duldung for the duration of qualifying vocational training | The person continues or starts specified recognised training and meets identity, timing and exclusion rules | It is still a Duldung, not a residence permit |
| Training residence permit under section 16g | An Aufenthaltserlaubnis for the duration of qualifying vocational training | Similar training circumstances are met together with the section 16g residence conditions | Livelihood and other residence-permit questions must be checked, although the statute contains exceptions |
| Beschäftigungsduldung under section 60d | A 30-month Duldung for the worker and qualifying family members | Arrival by the cut-off date, prior Duldung, sustained insured employment, livelihood, language, identity and integration conditions | The current cut-off and evidence rules exclude many recent arrivals or incomplete histories |
The Ausbildungsduldung under section 60c and the residence permit under section 16g cover closely related training situations. They are not the same status. Section 60c produces a Duldung certificate. Section 16g produces an Aufenthaltserlaubnis, which is a residence permit.
If you need an Ausbildungsduldung, prove the recognised training and the timing
Section 60c covers a person who began qualifying vocational training as an asylum applicant and wants to continue after refusal, or a person with an ordinary section 60a Duldung who starts qualifying training. The training can be a qualified vocational programme in a state-recognised or comparably regulated occupation. Certain recognised assistant or helper programmes can qualify where they lead into a shortage-occupation vocational programme and the person has the required place for that later programme.
Where a person with a Duldung is starting training, the current law normally requires at least three months with a Duldung before the application. The application can be filed no earlier than seven months before training starts, and the Ausbildungsduldung is issued no earlier than six months before that start.
The Ausländerbehörde needs the vocational training contract and evidence that registration in the responsible vocational-training register has been requested or completed. Where registration is not required, the contract or approval from the state or state-recognised educational institution is needed.
Identity must be clarified within the statutory period linked to the person’s date of entry, or the person must have taken every required and reasonable step within that period. Section 60c also excludes cases involving section 60a(6), specified criminal or security grounds, an expulsion order or an order under section 58a. For a person starting training after Duldung, concrete removal preparations can also prevent the grant.
The Ausbildungsduldung is issued for the training period recorded in the contract. Employment permission for the training is granted with it. If the training ends early, the institution must inform the Ausländerbehörde, and the special Duldung ends. The law provides one six-month Duldung to find another qualifying training place.
After successful completion, section 19d(1a) provides a two-year residence permit for employment matching the qualification where the remaining conditions are met. If the training company does not retain the person, section 60c provides a six-month job-search Duldung. Do not assume that graduation alone issues the later permit. Submit the employment contract and completion certificate to the Ausländerbehörde and obtain the written decision.
If section 16g may apply, confirm that the Ausländerbehörde will issue a residence permit
Section 16g covers the same main training situations but grants an Aufenthaltserlaubnis rather than a Duldung. The applicant may have started the qualifying training while seeking asylum and want to continue after refusal, or may hold a section 60a Duldung and start the recognised training.
The three-month prior-Duldung rule, identity timing, exclusion grounds, removal-preparation restriction and contract-registration evidence broadly mirror section 60c. The lawyer should compare the two provisions line by line instead of assuming that a qualifying Ausbildung automatically produces the stronger residence document.
The residence permit lasts for the training period. Section 16g allows unrelated employment of up to 20 hours a week during the training. Ask the Ausländerbehörde to record the permitted employment accurately. Do not treat the limit as permission to abandon the vocational programme for a separate job.
The ordinary livelihood requirement for section 16g uses the statutory vocational-training support benchmark. Do not copy an old monthly amount from another article. Ask the authority which current calculation and evidence it accepts. The statute also protects specified training-support benefits and contains exceptions relevant to identity and livelihood in defined cases.
If the training ends early, the institution must notify the Ausländerbehörde. The permit can be extended once for six months to find another training place. After successful completion, section 16g(8) provides a two-year residence permit for employment matching the qualification where the listed section 19d conditions and Federal Employment Agency agreement are satisfied.
If you already have sustained employment, check every current section 60d condition
Beschäftigungsduldung under section 60d is not a general route for anyone who has found a job. The enforceably required worker and qualifying spouse or partner must have entered Germany by 31 December 2022. The identity deadlines depend on the date of entry, with a specific rule for applications filed by the end of 2024. A later arrival does not satisfy the statutory cut-off.
The worker must normally have held a Duldung for at least 12 months and have completed at least 12 months of social-insurance employment at a regular minimum of 20 hours a week. Employment must have secured the person’s livelihood during the 12 months before the application and must continue to secure it.
The worker needs sufficient spoken German. The worker and spouse or partner must meet the criminal, security and integration-course conditions. School attendance must be proved for school-age minor children living in the family household. An expulsion order or section 58a deportation order prevents the grant.
Prepare every Duldung, passport and identity-cooperation record, employment contract, employer confirmation, payslip, social-insurance statement, bank statement, rent evidence, language evidence, integration-course record and school certificate. Ask the lawyer to check short employment interruptions and whether the statute permits them to be disregarded.
Where all conditions are met, the Beschäftigungsduldung is normally issued for 30 months. The employer must notify the Ausländerbehörde within two weeks after learning that the employment has ended. The Duldung can be revoked if the conditions cease to be met.
Section 25b(6) creates a later residence possibility after 30 months with section 60d where the conditions remain satisfied and the required German language standard is met. It is not an automatic card conversion. Apply to the Ausländerbehörde with the updated evidence before relying on that provision.
After training or skilled work, ask whether section 19d provides the residence permit
Section 19d covers residence for qualified tolerated persons. It includes people who completed recognised German vocational training, certain nursing-assistant training or a German university programme. It also covers specified histories of employment matching a recognised foreign university qualification or sustained qualified employment.
The provision requires adequate accommodation, German language ability and the absence of specified deception, obstruction, extremist and criminal grounds. The employment must match the qualification where the route relies on training or a degree.
For a person who completed an Ausbildungsduldung, section 19d(1a) requires a two-year residence permit for matching qualified employment where the listed conditions are met. Take the completion certificate, training records, employment contract, job description, housing evidence and language evidence to the Ausländerbehörde. Ask whether Federal Employment Agency agreement or any additional employer form is needed.
If you only have an ordinary Duldung, obtain written employment permission before starting
An ordinary Duldung may permit employment when the Ausländerbehörde grants it and any required Federal Employment Agency agreement is in place. The authority considers the current document, time in Germany, residence setting, job and statutory exclusions.
Give the Ausländerbehörde the signed employment contract or binding offer, employer form, job description, weekly hours, pay and workplace. The employer may need to complete the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis or another current form. Keep the submitted form and the authority’s written permission.
Check whether permission is limited to one employer, job or location. If the job changes, apply before starting the new work. A tax number, social-insurance registration or payslip does not replace the immigration authority’s permission.
Prepare the training or employment evidence the German office will actually assess
For vocational training, obtain the signed Ausbildungsvertrag, programme title, recognised occupation, start and finish dates, training company or institution, vocational-school information and evidence that the contract registration has been requested or completed. If the programme is an assistant or helper course, obtain the evidence showing the qualifying follow-on training place where section 60c or 16g requires it.
For employment, collect the contract, employer form, job description, hours, gross pay, payslips, social-insurance history and evidence of livelihood and housing where the section requires them. For qualified work, include the German completion certificate or evidence of the recognised foreign qualification.
Use Nigerian academic or professional records only where the training institution, recognition office, employer or Ausländerbehörde requests them. Ask whether certified copies, a sworn German translation or formal recognition is required. Do not order embassy legalization because Germany does not legalize Nigerian public documents through the ordinary embassy chain.
Antarch Consulting can help obtain or organise Nigerian academic and civil records for an identified German procedure. We can also explain the German authority-initiated verification system. We do not sell Ausbildung places, employment contracts or work permission.
What to check next
Put your current German status document, every earlier Duldung, passport request, Ausbildung contract, contract-registration evidence, employment permission, job contract, payslips and social-insurance record together. Ask a German immigration lawyer to compare section 60c, section 16g, section 60d and section 19d against the same timeline.
Before starting a job or training programme, obtain the written permission and residence document that apply to that exact employer or programme. If a German office requests a Nigerian qualification or civil record, give Antarch Consulting the written checklist before arranging preparation.
Check the official German sources for your situation
These sources were checked on 4 September 2026. The current German statutory text controls. Use the decision, status document and instructions issued in your own case.
- Temporary suspension of deportationRead section 60a of the Residence ActWhat an ordinary Duldung means and when it can be issued.
- Unclear identity designationRead section 60b of the Residence ActCooperation duties, employment consequences and treatment of time under this status.
- Residence where departure is impossibleRead section 25 of the Residence ActThe residence-permit provision in subsection 5 and related humanitarian rules.
- Integrated young peopleRead section 25a of the Residence ActAge, residence, education and conduct conditions.
- Sustained integrationRead section 25b of the Residence ActResidence duration, language, livelihood and integration conditions.
- Family relationship with a German citizenRead section 28 of the Residence ActResidence for qualifying spouses, minor children and parents of German minors.
- AusbildungsduldungRead section 60c of the Residence ActQualifying training, identity, timing, duration and exclusions.
- Training residence permitRead section 16g of the Residence ActThe residence permit for qualifying vocational training.
- Employment DuldungRead section 60d of the Residence ActCurrent entry cut-off, employment history, hours, livelihood and identity conditions.
- Qualified employment after tolerated stayRead section 19d of the Residence ActResidence for qualifying skilled employment and post-training work.
- Access to work and supportRead the Federal Ministry of Labour guidanceOfficial orientation on labour-market access for refugees and tolerated persons.