When protection ends

What the end of temporary protection would mean, the EU plan for a coordinated transition, and your options now.

Temporary protection lasts as long as the EU decides. It ends when the period runs out (currently 4 March 2028) or earlier by a Council decision (Art. 6 of Directive 2001/55/EC). Your § 24 permit is granted for the duration of the protection, so it ends with it.

The EU plan: a coordinated transition

In a Council Recommendation of 16 September 2025 the EU states agreed to prepare a coordinated end of protection. They should make it easier to move into other national residence permits (work, training, study, family), provide information early, and support voluntary return to Ukraine. A recommendation is not a law: it does not give you a right to a particular permit. Which special transition rules Germany will adopt is not known as of October 2026.

What you can do now

1. Switch early. If you work, train or study, check whether you meet the requirements of a regular permit: Switching to a work permit, Ausbildung, Study. You can apply in Germany (§ 39 No. 1 AufenthV).
2. Apply before your permit expires. Then it is deemed to continue until the LEA decides (§ 81 (4) AufenthG).
3. Look at long-term options: Staying long-term.
4. Family: spouses and children of Germans, EU citizens or people with a residence permit may have their own family-based route. This depends on the individual case.
5. Collect proof: employment contracts, pay slips, pension insurance record, language certificates, school and training certificates.

If the LEA refuses

In Berlin you challenge a refusal at the Administrative Court Berlin (Verwaltungsgericht) within one month of service (§ 74 VwGO). If the decision has no correct information on legal remedies, the period is one year (§ 58 (2) VwGO). Get advice immediately.