Apply for benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act

  • Service description

    The Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz) provides, upon application, the necessary requirements for food, accommodation, heating, clothing, health care, household utensils and consumables, as well as requirements to cover personal needs of daily life, provided that the person entitled to apply is not able to meet these needs from his or her own resources.

    Furthermore, necessary services are provided in the event of illness, pregnancy and birth. If the municipality has not joined the framework agreement of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, it issues its own treatment certificates for medical or dental treatment and also settles these directly with the service provider.

  • Process flow

    Benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act must be applied for.

  • Requirements

    Eligible for benefits under the AsylbLG are foreigners who are actually residing in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and who are

    • have a residence permit in accordance with the Asylum Act,
    • want to enter via an airport and who are not or not yet allowed to enter,
    • have a residence permit
      • because of the war in their home country (granting of residence for temporary protection)
      • due to urgent humanitarian or personal reasons or if there is a considerable public interest in a temporary continued presence in the federal territory
      • provided that the decision to suspend their deportation has not been made 18 months ago,
    • have a Duldung in accordance with the Residence Act,
    • are subject to an enforceable obligation to leave the country, even if a threat of deportation is not yet or no longer enforceable,
    • are spouses, life partners or minor children of the aforementioned persons without themselves fulfilling the requirements specified therein, or
    • submit a follow-up application or a confirmatory application.

    Eligibility for benefits ends upon departure or at the end of the month in which

    • the performance requirement no longer applies, or
    • the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has recognized the foreigner as entitled to asylum or a court has obliged the Federal Office to recognize the foreigner.

  • What documents are needed?

    • Request for benefits
    • Valid residence document (such as passport, residence permit, toleration, etc.)
    • Proof of income and assets
    • If necessary, further documents supporting the application, e.g. medical certificates or similar.

    The scope of the required documents is determined by the competent benefit authority based on the specifics of the individual case.

  • What are the fees?

    None - Applying for benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act is free of charge.

  • What deadlines do I have to observe?

    Benefits can only be provided from the date of application.

  • Processing time

    The processing time depends on the specifics of the individual case.

  • Legal basis

  • Applications / Forms

    Applications/forms can be obtained from the local benefits office. An informal application is sufficient to meet the deadline.

  • What else should I know?

    In Rhineland-Palatinate, the implementation of the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act is assigned to the district administrations and, in independent cities, to the municipal administrations as a mandatory task of self-government.

    Application instructions for the AsylbLG of the Ministry for Family, Women, Youth, Integration and Consumer Protection Rhineland-Palatinate are available at the following link:


Responsible departments