After arrival in Berlin

Address registration, residence permit at the LEA, advice centres, school and childcare.

On 31 December 2025, 75,867 Ukrainian citizens were registered in Berlin (Statistical Office Berlin-Brandenburg). You are not alone, and there is a lot of free help.

1. Register your address (Anmeldung)

Within 2 weeks of moving into a flat (§ 17 BMG), at a Bürgeramt, with your passport and the landlord's confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). Book appointments via service.berlin.de. Registration is free. No official source says a late Anmeldung caused by a lack of appointments is excused; keep proof that you tried.

2. Residence permit at the LEA

• The Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) issues and extends residence permits. Electronic residence card: €100, extension €93. Reductions or exemptions for people receiving benefits were not checked.
• Apply before your permit expires. Then your current status continues while the LEA decides (§ 81 (4) AufenthG), and you receive a certificate (Fiktionsbescheinigung).
• The residence rule (§ 12a) may tie you to a place for 3 years; it always ends if you start an Ausbildung or study, or work at least 15 hours a week with an income at least at the level of basic income support for a single person. Language and integration courses lift it only if they are not available at your assigned place without delay. See Temporary protection.

3. Advice (free)

• MBE (Migrationsberatung für erwachsene Zuwanderer): personal advice for adults; find a centre with the BAMF search.
• Willkommenszentrum Berlin: orientation and advice for new arrivals.
• Recognition advice: see Recognition.
• Which Berlin advice centres offer Ukrainian or Russian was not checked one by one.

4. School and childcare

Children in Berlin must attend school. Children without enough German usually start in a welcome class (Willkommensklasse). Children from age one have a legal right to a place in childcare (Kita). Current waiting times and the application route through the district were not checked.

Money: Social benefits. Fees overview: Costs.