Registration as an asylum seeker

You can report to a border authority, the police, an arrival centre or an initial reception centre for refugees. If you say the word ‘asylum’, this is already considered an asylum application. Then, you would be considered an asylum seeker. Then you would be taken to an initial accommodation centre for refugees to register. Or, you may receive a document and a ticket for the train or bus to go to such facility on your own. The document mentioned above is called "Anlaufbescheinigung", and contains the address you need to go to. You must present this document at the initial reception centre.

Please note: Even if you say ‘asyl’ (asylum) at the border, the federal police may turn you away. Such rejections are illegal. Under EU law, you cannot be turned away without going through the Dublin procedure. You have the right to appeal against the rejection. A counselling centre can give you more information.

The registration takes place in an initial reception centre. That means a photo of you will be taken and recorded along with your fingerprints. You will also be asked for your name, date of birth, country of origin and maybe even your flight route. All these information is stored. After the registration, you will receive a so-called proof of arrival or "Ankunftsnachweis". This document was formerly called "Certificate of notification as an asylum seeker" (BüMA).

The proof of arrival is the first official document that proves that you are allowed to stay in Germany. With this document, you are entitled to receive state benefits such as accommodation, medical care and meals. So you need to always carry the proof of arrival with you. When you submit your application for asylum, you will be issued a temporary residence permit ("Aufenthaltsgestattung").

All the individuals who have fled to Europe have to have their fingerprints checked and recorded. 

Your fingerprints will be stored in Germany in the Central Register of Foreigners (AZR) and in the Europe-wide EURODAC system. 

Your fingerprints will be checked against the Central Register of Foreigners and the Federal Criminal Police Office. Among other things, they will check whether your asylum application is a first application or a follow-up application, or whether you have already submitted several applications.

In addition, your fingerprints must be taken in order to carry out the Dublin procedure. For this purpose, your fingerprints will be checked against EURODAC. According to the Dublin Regulation, the EU Member State or Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland is responsible for your asylum application if you first provided your fingerprints there. 

So if you have given your fingerprints in another European country first, Germany can send you back to that country. In principle, you must then submit your asylum application there. You can learn more under “Dublin Procedure”. 

If you deliberately tamper with your fingertips, your asylum procedure may be discontinued. If you have provided fingerprints in another EU country and are scheduled for transfer, it may be helpful to contact an advice centre or a solicitor specialising in asylum law. In certain cases, there are legal reasons that speak against a transfer. 

You can find lawyers and advice centres in your area Life Initiative. On the website, you can enter the city where you live and search for asylum, residence rights or legal advice. You can also search for an advice centre in your federal state at proasyl.de. Pro Asyl also offers individual advice by email in German and English. In addition, a refugee council can offer you support. You can find the refugee council responsible for you at fluechtlingsrat.de.

Whether you can reside at the initial reception facility where you registered is not clear beforehand. You may stay there, in case there is a spot available. Otherwise, you will be sent to another initial reception facility in another German city. But it is not the staff who decide where each asylum seeker should be sent- this decision is made by a computer system called EASY ("Erstverteilung der Asylbegehrenden" or First Distribution of Asylum Seekers).

You will be assigned to an initial reception centre in a federal state with available places using a distribution key. If you have family members in a specific location, please indicate it when registering. This applies in particular to minor children or spouses.

Once you arrive at your designated initial reception centre, you will be given a place to sleep. In principle, only the refugees who have recently arrived in Germany live in initial reception centres. After a few weeks or months, asylum seekers are usually transferred to another place of residence and assigned to a district. The new accommodation may be shared accommodation (a hostel) or a flat. This accommodation may also be in another town nearby. All local authorities (Immigration Office, Social Welfare Office, etc.) will then be responsible for you. 

It is very difficult to oppose and change the decisions made regarding your place of residence.

You can learn more under temporary residence permit ("Aufenthaltsgestattung").

In addition, you are subject to residence restrictions: this means that during the first few months (and possibly longer), you are only allowed to stay in the area that has been assigned to you. If you want to travel to another city or federal state, you must obtain permission from the Immigration Office in advance.

If you register as a refugee in Germany, you are entitled to support from the state. This support is called asylum seeker benefits (“Asylbewerberleistungen”).

As long as you have not yet applied for asylum, you will receive benefits in kind, but no cash benefits. Food, drink, accommodation, heating, clothing, etc. are provided directly at the initial reception centre. If benefits for ‘necessary personal needs’ (“notwendiger persönlicher Bedarf”) cannot be provided in kind, you can receive vouchers or a payment card. ‘Necessary personal needs’ include, for example, bus tickets, SIM cards and hygiene items. You will also receive ‘emergency medical care’. 

You can find out more about asylum seeker benefits under “Temporaray Stay Permit” (“Aufenthaltsgestattung ”). The difference is that once you have applied for asylum and received an “Aufenthaltsgestattung”, you can also receive cash benefits in the form of ‘pocket money’, a payment card or cash.

In some cases, you can immediately apply for asylum. But sometimes you have to wait for an appointment to do so. You will receive an invitation for this appointment either during the registration or later per post. Your asylum procedure starts as soon as you submit your asylum application. Learn more in our chapter Asylum procedure.