An integration course consists of:

• a language course. There, you’ll learn the vocabulary you need for speaking and writing in everyday life.
• an orientation course. It provides information about Germany’s legal system, culture, and recent history.

Under the Residence Act, some people have a legal right to participate in the integration course. If you are not among them, you may still be able to participate under certain conditions. To do so, you must apply to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) for admission to the integration course.

The law specifies who is given priority for admission when there are open spots in the course. Priority is given to:

• Foreign nationals with a residence permit for temporary protection
• German nationals and other citizens of the European Union (EU) whose German language skills are insufficient for work or vocational training, as well as their family members. Individuals from these groups are given priority if they
  • are exempt from the course fee for the integration course,
  • are eligible for unemployment benefits, or
  • have already worked in Germany without having acquired entitlement to unemployment benefits.

There are different types of integration courses:

• General integration course: This course consists of 600 class hours of language instruction and 100 class hours of orientation instruction.
• Special integration courses: These courses consist of 900 class hours of language instruction and 100 class hours of orientation instruction. They are available for
  • immigrants who need literacy instruction (literacy course)
  • people with no knowledge of the Latin alphabet (second-script learning course)
  • people with low literacy levels
  • People with severe visual or hearing impairments or other disabilities
• Intensive courses: These courses are suitable if you find language learning easy and want to—and are able to—achieve the course goal particularly quickly. An intensive course consists of 400 class hours in the language course and 30 class hours in the orientation course.

Integration courses are offered on a full-time and part-time basis.

If, as a late repatriate, you have already attended a language course offered by the Federal Employment Agency but would still like to take an integration course, you must submit an application to the BAMF for admission to the integration course.