Language and integration at the workplace in Berlin
If your German is enough for everyday life but not for technical terms, meetings, or customer contact at work, there is a dedicated funding program for this: job-related German language promotion under the Deutschsprachförderverordnung (DeuFöV, German Language Promotion Ordinance). The legal basis is § 45a Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act); it is organized nationwide by the Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees).
The courses are open not only to people in the asylum procedure. Eligible are, among others, persons registered as seeking work or training or receiving Bürgergeld (citizen's income)/Arbeitslosengeld (unemployment benefit), trainees, persons in a recognition procedure for a foreign vocational qualification – and expressly also labor migrants who are already employed whose German is not sufficient for their workplace. Anyone still living abroad who already has an employment contract in Germany with a term of at least one year can even apply to the BAMF for eligibility before entry.
The courses themselves are attended at approved private and public providers, several of them in Berlin – for example at the Berlin Volkshochschulen (adult education centers), at IIK Berlin, or at inlingua Berlin.
- Classify your own situationCheck which group of persons you belong to: seeking work/training or receiving benefits under SGB II/III, in training, in a recognition procedure for a foreign qualification, already employed with insufficient job-related German, or still abroad with an employment contract in Germany of at least one year. This determines who decides on your eligibility.
- Apply for eligibilityPersons registered as seeking work/training and persons receiving Bürgergeld/Arbeitslosengeld apply for eligibility at the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency) or Jobcenter at their place of residence. Employees, trainees, persons in a recognition procedure, and persons living abroad with an employment contract apply centrally to the BAMF.
- Find a course place at an approved providerAccording to the BAMF, job-related language courses are published around four weeks before the course starts on the nationwide portal KURSNET. In Berlin, the Berlin Volkshochschulen, IIK Berlin, and inlingua Berlin, among others, offer DeuFöV courses; also ask providers near you directly about free places.
- Have your language level and documents readyFor a course with a higher target level (e.g. B2), you usually have to prove the respective lower level already. When registering with the course provider, bring your approval notice/eligibility certificate, an identity document, and any language certificates you have.
- Complete the course, apply for reimbursement if applicableAnyone who has paid a cost contribution as an employee can get 50 % of it refunded after passing the final examination (§ 4 Abs. 6 DeuFöV). Ask the course provider or the BAMF about the exact procedure.
- The DeuFöV was comprehensively amended as of 30 April 2026 by the Dritte Verordnung zur Änderung der Deutschsprachförderverordnung (Third Ordinance amending the German Language Promotion Ordinance; promulgated on 27 April 2026, BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 118) – affected are, among others, §§ 2, 4 to 10, 12 to 15, 17, 18, 18a and 20 to 23a DeuFöV. Older descriptions of modules or eligibility requirements on the internet may still refer to the legal situation before this cut-off date; this page reflects the ordinance text in force since 30.04.2026.
- A residence title for employment purposes alone – such as the Blaue Karte EU (EU Blue Card) or a residence permit under § 18a/§ 18b AufenthG – does not give automatic access to DeuFöV funding. What matters is the specific life situation under § 4 DeuFöV (seeking work, employed with insufficient job-related German, in a recognition procedure, or living abroad with an employment contract of at least one year).
- On the income threshold for exempting employees from costs, the sources contradict each other in wording: the ordinance text (§ 4 Abs. 4 DeuFöV) gives as threshold 33 % of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the general pension insurance; an older short description on bamf.de instead gave a flat annual gross income of 20,000 euros and a cost contribution of 2.56 euros per teaching unit. Both figures are given here; the current ordinance text is authoritative.
- A complete, current, and publicly accessible BAMF list of providers specifically for Berlin could not be found – the BAMF page on providers of job-related language courses lists only contact persons by main BAMF location, not a searchable provider database. The Berlin providers named here (Volkshochschulen Berlin, IIK Berlin, inlingua Berlin) were confirmed individually via their own websites; this is not an exhaustive list. For an up-to-date overview, the BAMF refers to the KURSNET course portal.
- The IQ Netzwerk Berlin (IQ Network Berlin; see topic page "Recognition of foreign qualifications in Berlin") does not itself offer DeuFöV language courses, but free counseling on the recognition procedure. Anyone in a recognition procedure can, however, additionally gain access to a recognition job-related language course via § 4 DeuFöV – the two offers are organizationally separate.
- For the exact responsibility of the Agentur für Arbeit or the Jobcenter (Berlin has 12 Jobcenters for Bürgergeld benefits, one per district), no address-specific source is available here – allocation depends on the place of residence; use the location search of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency).
In depth · Legal basis, figures and practice – for counsellors and professionals
Federal law: the Deutschsprachförderverordnung (DeuFöV)
The legal basis of job-related German language promotion is § 45a Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act) in conjunction with the federal Deutschsprachförderverordnung (DeuFöV, German Language Promotion Ordinance). Responsible nationwide for approving course providers and for part of the eligibility decisions is the Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees); the Bundesministerium des Innern (BMI, Federal Ministry of the Interior) is responsible for general language promotion up to B1, the Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs) for the job-related courses. The DeuFöV was comprehensively revised as of 30 April 2026 by the Dritte Verordnung zur Änderung der Deutschsprachförderverordnung (Third Amending Ordinance; BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 118 of 27 April 2026); according to the announcements on the amendment, funding was to become more flexible, more work-accompanying, and more digital.
Who is eligible
Under § 2 DeuFöV, the ordinance is aimed at foreigners within the meaning of § 2 Absatz 1 AufenthG, persons whose legal status is governed by the Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU (EU Freedom of Movement Act), and Germans whose first language is not German. Eligibility under § 4 DeuFöV is granted in particular to persons registered as seeking training, seeking work, or unemployed, or receiving benefits under SGB II or SGB III; trainees and persons preparing for training who have already signed a training contract; persons in a recognition procedure for a professional qualification acquired abroad; and persons already employed whose German is not sufficient for the requirements of their workplace. Expressly relevant for labor migrants: anyone whose residence is still abroad can obtain eligibility before entry if an employment contract in Germany with a minimum term of one year already exists.
Who grants eligibility
Depending on the situation, a different body decides: for persons registered as seeking work/training and for recipients of Bürgergeld or Arbeitslosengeld, the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency) or the Jobcenter at the place of residence decides. For persons already employed, trainees, persons in a recognition procedure, and persons living abroad with an employment contract, the BAMF decides centrally.
Course structure: basic and special courses
According to §§ 12 f. DeuFöV, the courses are divided into basic job-related language courses (Basisberufssprachkurse) with target level B2, C1, or C2, and special job-related language courses (Spezialberufssprachkurse), which either cover lower target levels (A2/B1) or are tailored to specific occupational fields or target groups – for example workplace-related short courses (Job-BSK), training-accompanying courses (Azubi-BSK), courses for early childhood education (Frühpädagogik-BSK), or courses for persons in a recognition procedure (Anerkennungs-BSK). A course usually comprises 400 to 500 teaching units.
Costs
In principle, participants who receive benefits under SGB II/SGB III, are registered as seeking work, are in training, or whose gross pay does not exceed 33 % of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the general pension insurance (§ 4 Abs. 4 DeuFöV) pay no cost contribution of their own. Other employees pay a cost contribution of 50 % of the reimbursement rate under § 25 Abs. 1 Satz 1 DeuFöV, which is payable via the course provider at the start of the course; on passing the final examination, 50 % of this cost contribution is refunded (§ 4 Abs. 6 DeuFöV). An older short description by the BAMF gave, instead of the 33 % formula, a fixed threshold of 20,000 euros annual gross income and a cost contribution of 2.56 euros per teaching unit – these two formulations contradict each other systematically, even if they may lead to similar amounts in result; the current ordinance text is authoritative.
Berlin implementation: local course providers
The BAMF approves course providers nationwide; a separate, publicly accessible list of providers specifically for Berlin could not be determined. According to the BAMF, courses are published around four weeks before the course starts on the nationwide portal KURSNET. In Berlin, the following providers, each confirmed individually via their own websites, offer DeuFöV courses, among others: the Berlin Volkshochschulen (adult education centers; e.g. VHS Mitte with locations at Antonstraße 37, Linienstraße 162, and Turmstraße 75, target levels B2, C1, C2), IIK Berlin (Oudenarder Straße 16, Aufgang C, 13347 Berlin-Wedding, target levels B1 to C1), and inlingua Sprachcenter Berlin (Kleiststraße 23–26, 10787 Berlin). Further private providers exist in Berlin; those named are examples, not an exhaustive list.
Relationship to the IQ Netzwerk Berlin and recognition counseling
The IQ Netzwerk Berlin (see topic page "Recognition of foreign qualifications in Berlin") provides free counseling on the recognition procedure for foreign professional qualifications, but does not itself offer DeuFöV language courses. Anyone in a recognition procedure can additionally gain access to a recognition job-related language course via § 4 DeuFöV; the two offers complement each other, but are organizationally separate and run via different bodies.
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