Questions and Answers about General Assistance for Refugees with Disabilities
Refugees with disabilities belong to the group of particularly vulnerable people. Therefore, they are protected in Germany by rights. Here are answers to the most common questions about assistance to which refugees with disabilities in Germany are entitled, and we provide information on how these rights can be effectively enforced.
No, a disability alone is not a reason for asylum in Germany. However, there are exceptions. One exception is if people are forced to flee from their homeland because they have been persecuted on account of their disability. Another exception is if the necessary medical care is not guaranteed in their homeland. More information can be found in the Handbook Germany.
However, refugees with disabilities have special protection in Germany due to their disability. They must be appropriately cared for, and this is also associated with legal claims. This is stated in the EU Reception Conditions Directive of the European Parliament. The Directive sets out the rights of people seeking international protection. Refugees with disabilities do not have the right to asylum due to their disability. However, they receive special protection measures due to their disability if they are forced to flee. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge - BAMF) explains who is entitled to asylum in German, English, French and Arabic. Asylum is not the only form of protection for refugees. There are four different types of protection: asylum, refugee protection, subsidiary protection, and prohibition of deportation.
The special protection for refugees with disabilities applies not only to recognised refugees, but also to asylum applicants. This means that protection applies not only when an asylum application has been approved, but also when an asylum application has been submitted and is still being processed.
In practice, however, the care of refugees with disabilities often does not meet the legally anchored protection rights or does so only poorly despite the legal situation, partly because refugees with disabilities stand between two systems with different laws: the system for people with disabilities and the system for refugees. Caritas explains this problem in detail on their website. In case of doubt, it is always advisable to seek advice from counselling centres and, if necessary, to demand protection rights with the support of counselling centres. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.
Yes, there are various residence titles in Germany. All foreigners need a residence title if they enter and stay in Germany. Refugees from countries outside the European Union are referred to as third-country nationals. Third-country nationals are people from countries that are not members of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA). They are not entitled to freedom of movement. This means that third-country nationals are not allowed to move freely between different EU countries like citizens of the European Union. However, various residence papers can be issued to them. These include the settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis), the residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis), the fictional certificate (Fiktionsbescheinigung), the arrival certificate (Ankunftsnachweis), the residence permission (Aufenthaltsgestattung) and the toleration (Duldung). Different rights are linked to the different residence papers.
The legal situation regarding the different residence papers is complicated. If you need advice, you can contact a counselling centre. The website www.asyl.net offers various counselling services. The search can be filtered by counselling topics: the asylum process, residence law, social law, access to education and work, family reunification, return and onward migration, psychosocial support, medical care and general migration law. The website is available in German and English.
Asylum seekers (Asylsuchende) are people who come to Germany in order to be recognised as refugees so they can live in safety. Once an asylum application has been submitted to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), they are considered asylum applicants. The official asylum process begins with the filing of the application. A recognised refugee is a person who has already gone through the asylum process and whose asylum application has been approved. This person has the status of a recognised refugee according to the Geneva Refugee Convention. The Handbook Germany describes how to register as an asylum applicant.
Refugees may be granted a residence permit in Germany under specific conditions. Only specific reasons are accepted for this. The German Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz - AufenthG) states which reasons apply. These are persecution as well as humanitarian or political reasons. This mainly includes political persecution in the country of origin, for example due to political convictions or sexual orientation. If a refugee faces potential human rights violations in their homeland, they have the right to asylum. This means they have the right to live in a safe country and not be deported back to their homeland. The stay may also be permitted for family reasons, which is decided on a case-by-case basis.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) decides on the asylum application. If an asylum application is rejected, there is a duty to leave the country. However, this duty to leave can be suspended if there is a so-called reason for tolerance. A reason for tolerance is, for example, an illness. If an asylum application is rejected, asylum seekers should first turn to a counselling centre. A rejected asylum application does not mean that there are no prospects for staying. The Handbook Germany describes the different steps in the asylum process and also the alternatives to leaving or deportation if an asylum application is rejected. The organisation Pro Asyl offers individual counselling and lists counselling centres for refugees in the different federal states.
The rights and protection of refugees are enshrined in various documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Refugee Convention, and German Basic Law. Refugees with a disability have special protection rights because they belong to the group of particularly vulnerable people, as stated in the EU Reception Conditions Directive.
In Germany, the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz) applies to people who file an application for asylum and stay in Germany. Being entitled to benefits means that these people have the right to receive financial or material assistance under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz). For example, there is a right to basic benefits, which include food, accommodation, heating, clothing, healthcare and household goods. Healthcare includes hygiene products used in the bathroom, such as toothpaste, shampoo and shower gel. Household goods are things needed in the household, such as cutlery, crockery and cleaning products.
The Asylum Seekers Benefits Act applies to asylum applicants, not to recognised refugees. Recognised refugees have more rights than asylum applicants. For example, recognised refugees have health insurance. Asylum applicants only have the right to all benefits of statutory health insurance after 36 months of residence in Germany. The United Nations Refugee Agency offers a brief summary of the rights of a recognised refugee.
No, because all refugees from Ukraine, with and without disabilities, have been granted temporary protection that applies immediately and collectively after fleeing. Refugees from Ukraine do not have to apply for asylum. The Federal Interior Ministry (Bundesinnenministerium - BMI) has decided that this is the case for the time being. Refugees from countries other than Ukraine must apply for asylum, even if there is war in those countries.
However, refugees from countries other than Ukraine do have rights. In Germany, refugees with disabilities always have special protection rights, regardless of the country they had to flee from.
A disability card is a document that certifies a person’s severe disability and enables access to assistance. First, a decision is made regarding the degree of disability. After that, a disability card can be issued. People are considered severely disabled if they have a degree of disability of at least 50%. The degree of disability is stated in the disability card.
You do not always need a disability card to receive certain benefits. However, it is still recommended that you get a disability card. Whether the decision on disability alone is accepted as proof depends on the respective social security providers and states. In some German federal states, you need a disability card to receive certain benefits. Therefore, it is better to have this card.
There is no uniform application for a disability card throughout Germany. Applications differ from state to state. On the website Simply take part (einfach teilhaben) of the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales - BMAS), you can find the correct application by filtering for the corresponding state in section 3 “Choose the right application”.
The application forms for the initial application, the new determination application and the information sheet on the application for disability are not barrier-free in all federal states. On the website Simply take part (einfach teilhaben), it is indicated whether the respective files are barrier-free or not. The website Simply take part (einfach teilhaben) is available in easy language and offers videos in sign language and a text-to-speech function. The application forms are usually in German. In some cases, there is also information for filling out in easy language.
The Family Advisor recommends getting support from the beginning when applying and lists various contact points in the section “Tip: Consultation before the application”. The Family Advisor also explains step by step how appeals can be filed if you disagree with the degree of disability that has been certified or if you do not receive the benefit that you have applied for.
Interpretation services are among the services for social participation and are described in more detail in the Social Security Code (Sozialgesetzbuch). According to the Social Security Code, people with disabilities have a right to services that promote communication with other people. This includes, in particular, assistance from German sign language interpreters and other suitable communication aids.
The right to sign language interpretation applies not only to recognised refugees, but also to all asylum applicants. If necessary services are not approved, you should contact a counselling centre and lodge an objection. This is because the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has stipulated that sign language interpretation must be available throughout the asylum process, if needed. You can rely on this and demand this help. Simply take part (einfach teilhaben) sheds light on the background of the legal entitlement to sign language and written interpreters; the content is not available as a sign language video. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”. If there is a major problem with the financing of sign language interpreters, the nationwide network DeafRefugees can help. This network provides a list of sign language interpreters who work on a voluntary basis on its website. They offer interpretation in German, Ukrainian and Russian.
A request for coverage of language interpretation costs can be made. The type of residence title determines who will cover the costs. In practice, refugees with disabilities are often disadvantaged by language learning barriers. Not all asylum applicants are allowed to participate in German language courses. In addition, the financing options for interpretation services are insufficient. Communication with doctors is particularly important in a medical context in order to exercise the right to health. Therefore, Handicap International, together with other organizations, has published a joint position paper of the nationwide network Flucht, Migration und Behinderung (Flight, Migration and Disability) calling for the funding of interpreting services. Good tips can be found in the Guide to Refinancing Interpretation Services published by the organization SPuK.
For acute interpreting needs in a medical context, the free TRIA:PHON interpreting emergency service is available. The staff speaks Arabic, Bulgarian, Farsi, Dari, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish and Vietnamese. The Medical Phrasebook for Refugees contains the most important phrases for a doctor’s visit in various languages. There is also an emergency kit from the Take Care Project with the most important phrases for a medical examination. It can be downloaded in the following languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, English, Greek, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian. Apotheken-Umschau has created a picture dictionary with pictograms and emergency numbers in three language versions. The dictionary is available in Arabic, German, English, French, Urdu, Farsi, Ukrainian and Russian.
There are various counselling centres for refugees with disabilities. The nationwide EUTB counselling centres can be filtered by federal state and type of disability. There are also counselling services for people with disabilities provided by organizations such as Lebenshilfe, Diakonie and Caritas. Specialised counselling services for refugees with disabilities organised by the nationwide network Flucht, Migration und Behinderung (Flight, Migration and Disability) can also be found in the Crossroads Roadbox map provided by Handicap International.
On the website of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), locations of migration counselling centres can be searched by using the BAMF-NAVI search engine.
1. What psychological counselling services are available?
All people in Germany have the right to free psychological counselling, regardless of their residence title and regardless of the country they had to flee from. The Federal Association of Psychosocial Centres for Refugees and Victims of Torture (BAfF) provides a map of Germany with nationwide contact data for the psychosocial and therapeutic care of refugees. The One World Medical Network created the platform Refugee Talk where refugees can talk to doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists in Arabic, English, German, Russian, Turkish and Ukrainian (and other languages on request) and get professional help.
Integration assistance is a social benefit regulated in the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch). In part, this involves the rehabilitation and participation of people with disabilities. The benefits of integration assistance include benefits for medical rehabilitation, benefits for participation in working life, benefits for participation in education and benefits for social participation. The Family Advisor of Aktion Mensch lists the offices responsible for applying to receive integration assistance in the different federal states.
Recognised refugees for whom the asylum process has thus been completed are entitled to integration assistance. However, refugees with disabilities have no basic entitlement to integration assistance during the first 36 months of their stay. The entitlement depends on their residence status. They may nevertheless receive integration assistance benefits via the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, insofar as this is justified in an individual case. These are then so-called discretionary benefits (see the chapter “Enforcing rights”). After 36 months, there is a basic entitlement to integration assistance, even if you have not received recognition.
People with disabilities have, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and German Basic Law, a right to social benefits. In practice, however, their access to these services is often blocked. Especially when it comes to discretionary benefits. Discretionary benefit means that there is no legal entitlement to a certain benefit, but the respective authority may decide whether or not a certain benefit is granted. In these cases, benefits often have to be fought for. If in doubt, seek advice. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.
People are considered to be in need of care if they need help from other people in everyday life due to an illness or disability. There are five levels of care in Germany (also called degrees of care). The care levels range from slight impairment of independence to most severe impairment of independence with special care requirements. The higher the care level, the higher the scope of benefits. This means that you get more cash and benefits in kind the more help you need. A care benefit in kind is the support provided by a care service. An example of a care benefit in kind is assistance by a person who comes to the person in need of care at home and helps with cooking and washing. At the Consumer Advice Centre, you can read up on which care services there are exactly.
The application for a care level is submitted to the long-term care insurer. The Medical Service (Medizinische Dienst - MD) then checks the need for care. Relevant documents such as specialist reports should be provided for the assessment appointment. The Medical Service examines six areas of life: mobility, behaviour and psychological problems, cognitive and communicative abilities, self-care, coping with and independently dealing with illness- and therapy-related demands and stresses, as well as shaping everyday life and social contacts.
Recognised refugees are covered by health and long-term care insurance. To apply for a care level, they can contact the long-term care insurer. The long-term care insurer is affiliated with the health insurer. According to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, asylum applicants are also entitled to so-called analogue benefits, i.e. a care service, after 36 months of residence in Germany.
Further information and advice on the process of establishing a need for long-term care can be found on the websites of the Federal Ministry of Health (Bundesgesundheitsministerium), of Action Human (Aktion Mensch) and the Consumer Advice Centre (Verbraucherzentrale). The Consumer Advice Centre also provides a sample letter on how to apply for a care level in writing.
The application for a care level is submitted to the long-term care insurer. The Medical Service (Medizinische Dienst - MD) then checks the need for care. Relevant documents such as specialist reports should be provided for the assessment appointment. The Medical Service examines six areas of life: mobility, behaviour and psychological problems, cognitive and communicative abilities, self-care, coping with and independently dealing with illness- and therapy-related demands and stresses, as well as shaping everyday life and social contacts.
Recognised refugees are covered by health and long-term care insurance. To apply for a care level, they can contact the long-term care insurer. The long-term care insurer is affiliated with the health insurer. According to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, asylum applicants are also entitled to so-called analogue benefits, i.e. a care service, after 18 months of residence in Germany.
Further information and advice on the process of establishing a need for long-term care can be found on the websites of the Federal Ministry of Health (Bundesgesundheitsministerium), of Action Human (Aktion Mensch) and the Consumer Advice Centre (Verbraucherzentrale). The Consumer Advice Centre also provides a sample letter on how to apply for a care level in writing
No, not all refugees are automatically covered by health insurance in Germany. But all refugees have the right to basic health care.
Recognised refugees have regular health insurance and are thus entitled to all benefits of statutory health insurance. With a residence permit comes the obligation to have health insurance, then the electronic health card will also be issued. How to register with a health insurer and what to look out for is explained in the Handbook Germany.
Asylum seekers and asylum applicants are initially not covered by health insurance, but are nevertheless entitled to certain medical services. In these cases, state agencies such as the Social Welfare Office (Sozialamt) or the Health Office (Gesundheitsamt) provide health care. The Federal Ministry of Health has published a guidebook called Basic Information on medical care for refugees in the languages Farsi, Dari, Pashto, Kurdish, Arabic, English and German. For example, medical health care is only limited to acute ailments and diseases, although preventive health care (such as screening and early detection examinations) is crucial for avoiding disease. This legal situation is therefore problematic and also contradicts so-called higher-ranking law. Handicap International and other organisations, in a joint position paper adopted by the nationwide network Flucht, Migration und Behinderung (Flight, Migration and Disability), have therefore declared: “The same human rights apply to all people with disabilities living in Germany. They must therefore be realised irrespective of the history of origin and the residence title.” (p. 3) If social benefit agencies do not grant needed medical services, it is always advisable to visit an independent counselling centre in order to enforce the right to these services anyway. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.
People without residence papers are also entitled to medical care in Germany. However, this only applies to acute diseases. There are organisations that treat undocumented people anonymously and free of charge; contact points can be found, for example, via the website gesundheit-ein-menschenrecht.de.
In an emergency, always call the emergency room or go to hospital immediately. Hospitals are not allowed to pass on data to authorities. In Germany, the rescue service can be reached by dialling 112. Emergency numbers can also be dialled without credits to make calls. The Medical Phrasebook for Refugees contains the most important phrases for a doctor’s visit in various languages. There is also an emergency kit from the Take Care Project with the most important phrases for a medical examination. It can be downloaded in the following languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, English, Greek, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian. Apotheken-Umschau has created a picture dictionary with pictograms and emergency numbers in three language versions. The dictionary is available in Arabic, German, English, French, Urdu, Farsi, Ukrainian and Russian.
Long-term care insurance and health insurance are not the same thing. However, people who have health insurance must also have long-term care insurance. This also applies to people with disabilities who have a job. An exception are people who receive assistance for living or basic security from the Social Welfare Office; they are not subject to compulsory insurance in the statutory long-term care insurance.
The first point of contact is a general practitioner, colloquially known as a family doctor or primary care physician (Hausärztin or Hausartz). General practitioners can then refer patients to appropriate specialists depending on the patient’s ailment or illness. There is also the website called The Doctor’s Directory provided by the Health Foundation. The website contains filter functions with which doctors can be filtered by language and practices, accessibility or other criteria. The filters allow you to search for practices that are suitable for people with reduced mobility, people in wheelchairs, people with hearing impairments and people with visual impairments. In case of acute illness or acute complaints, all people have a right to the appropriate medical care, regardless of their residence status.
Statutory health and long-term care insurers or the Social Welfare Office are responsible for medical rehabilitation services. People with disabilities who have regular health insurance are entitled to medical rehabilitation services. This includes recognised refugees. Rehabilitation services include, for example, medical treatment and the administration of medication, but also forms of therapy such as physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy, as well as aids such as hearing aids, visual aids and prostheses.
For asylum applicants who receive benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, it is not the statutory health and long-term care insurer that is responsible, but the Social Welfare Office. Asylum applicants are not automatically covered for all medical rehabilitation services, as is the case for people with statutory health insurance. However, the Social Welfare Office can grant all required benefits at its discretion. Discretionary benefit means that there is no legal entitlement to a certain benefit, but the respective authority may decide whether or not a certain benefit is granted. In these cases, benefits often have to be fought for. If a needed benefit is denied, a counselling centre should be sought. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.
Blind people can receive various support benefits once they prove their blindness – determined on a state-by-state basis with the sign “Bl” on the disability card or a medical certificate: blind person’s allowance, blind person’s benefits, visually impaired person’s allowance, deaf-blind person’s allowance. The type of benefits and the amount of benefits vary in the different federal states. Detailed information is provided by the German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Deutsche Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband - DBSV). The blind person’s allowance is considered a social benefit to which people are entitled if they have a certain residence status. The German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired has published a Legal Guide for Blind and Visually Impaired People which is accessible online in German and contains detailed information on the question of who is entitled to receive the blind person’s allowance. If anything is unclear, a counselling centre should be consulted. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.
The nationwide network DeafRefugees has specialised in supporting deaf refugees and offers barrier-free information for deaf refugees with videos in sign language. All deaf refugees can contact the network, regardless of the residence title they have.
Simply take part (einfach teilhaben) sheds light on the background of the legal entitlement to sign language and written interpreters; the content is not available as a sign language video.
In some federal states, it is possible to apply for a deaf allowance to compensate for disadvantages. An overview of the possibilities in the different federal states is provided by the German Federation of the Deaf (Deutsche Gehörlosen-Bund).
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales) has set up a video telephone service (Gebärdentelefon), which is available from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Recognised refugees are covered by health insurance and can go directly to a specialist. For a hearing aid, you can ask your ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist. For orthopaedic aids such as a prosthesis or partial prosthesis, you go to an orthopaedist. The doctor will then prescribe the required aid and the health insurer will reimburse the amount. It is best to ask your health insurer beforehand whether they will reimburse the aid in full or only a share of it.
Asylum applicants are subject to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, which regulates benefits relating to illness and other benefits that are essential for health. Practice shows that especially aids such as glasses, hearing aids and prostheses are often not prescribed without further ado. It is possible that the Social Welfare Office will refuse aids. In such cases, the Social Welfare Office should first be asked to check such a decision in light of the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. It is stipulated by law that refugees with disabilities be provided with the necessary medical or other aids. Opinions from treating physicians are also helpful here. In cases of doubt, you can lodge an appeal against a refusal decision with the Social Welfare Office. You can contact free counselling centres for support in this case. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.
The initiative Ability4Refugees provides donated aids such as wheelchairs, walking aids or hearing aids. The website is available in German and English.
With the emergency call app nora, you can reach the police, fire brigade and rescue service throughout Germany. The app is suitable for people with limited speech and hearing abilities because you can send emergency calls via message without speaking or hearing. Via Tess, a free emergency call can be made by using the emergency numbers 110 (police) and 112 (ambulance). The telephone call is interpreted by sign language interpreters.
Refugees with disabilities who are housed in an accommodation that is not barrier-free for them or unsuitable for people with disabilities should take advantage of a counselling service and lodge a complaint. This is because there is a right to an accommodation that meets needs. The criteria for leaving a shared accommodation differ from state to state – there are no nationwide regulations. However, you can refer to the Asylum Act (Asylgesetz), which applies throughout Germany. It says that the obligation to live in a reception centre can be waived for reasons of public health. This is the case when a person’s health condition requires a different living situation.
The EU Reception Conditions Directive on the assessment of the special needs of vulnerable people upon reception stipulates that people with disabilities must receive specific support both during reception and throughout the asylum process. The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Bundesfamilienministerium - BMFSFJ) has formulated Minimum Standards for the Protection of Refugees in Refugee Accommodations and also specified Minimum Standards for Refugees with Disabilities.
The fact that refugees with disabilities sometimes live in a shared accommodation that is not barrier-free for them has to do with the fact that their support needs are neither systematically recorded nor taken into account. The monitoring body, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the German Institute for Human Rights, has confirmed this. Due to these structural problems connected with reception, refugees with disabilities are often not accommodated according to their needs. However, they have a right to a reasonable accommodation.
For underage refugees with and without disabilities, the Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) is responsible, not the Foreigners Authority (Ausländerbehörde). In Germany, the age of majority is 18. Refugee children and young people who are younger are called unaccompanied minors and need a guardian or a caregiver. The family court decides in the last instance who assumes guardianship.
In the asylum process, unaccompanied minors are looked after by special representatives who are trained to deal with refugee children and young people. Information on the exact procedure in the asylum process for unaccompanied minors is provided by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The non-profit Federal Association of Unaccompanied Minor Refugees (Bundesfachverband unbegleitete minderjährige Flüchtlinge) provides a welcome brochure on its website in various languages, which was developed together with young people. The brochure can be downloaded free of charge. The Federal Association also offers answers to frequently asked questions and case-by-case counselling.
Pregnant refugees have special protection needs according to the EU Reception Conditions Directive. The Workers Welfare Association (Arbeiterwohlfahrt - AWO) offers free counselling on pregnancy and abortion to all women, with and without disabilities, regardless of their residence status. Interpreting services during counselling are also free of charge. The website of the Workers Welfare Association has provided information material in various languages. Recognised refugees in Germany receive children’s sickness benefits for a child with a disability. This does not apply to asylum applicants.
All women can contact the help hotline to prevent violence against women. Victims of all nationalities, with and without disabilities, can get anonymous, barrier-free and toll-free advice and help around the clock in 17 languages. On the website of the hotline, sign language as well as easy language can be selected.
Refugees with disabilities have certain legal rights in Germany, also regardless of their residence status. Depending on their residence status, they are more or less entitled to certain social benefits. Because of the complex interplay of social law and residence law, the legal situation is sometimes not easy to understand. For this reason, in cases of doubt, you should always contact counselling centres that are also familiar with the legal situation.
There are some aspects to consider because they increase the chances of success with an application for the granting of a certain benefit. For example, an application should always be submitted in writing and preferably include proof of severe disability. A refusal decision by social benefit agencies must also meet certain requirements. For example, it must be in writing and include a statement of reasons. More detailed information can be found in the Guideline for Counselling People with a Disability in the Context of Migration and Flight in the section “How can the rights of those affected be enforced?” (p. 109 ff.) In these cases, it is always advisable to seek support from experienced counselling centres that help the affected person or persons with the process. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.
If an application for a certain benefit is not granted, the applicant can lodge an objection or file a lawsuit. If the need is urgent and must be met quickly, an urgent request should be made at the same time. To cover the costs of legal assistance, you can apply for counselling aid or legal aid. More detailed information can be found in the Guideline for Counselling People with a Disability in the Context of Migration and Flight in the section “What to do in the event of a refusal decision” (p. 112). It is advisable to consult a counselling centre that can guide and support you in the matter. You will find contacts for counselling centres in the section on “Free counselling services”.