Already in Berlin

Changing status, permanent residence, naturalisation, and free help – also in Vietnamese.

According to the Statistical Office for Berlin-Brandenburg, 30,830 people with Vietnamese citizenship were registered in Berlin on 31 December 2025, and 46,302 residents have a migration background from Vietnam. In the district of Lichtenberg alone there are 10,415 Vietnamese citizens and 14,251 residents with a migration background from Vietnam (tables 10 and 9).

If you are already here and things change

• Studies finished: § 20 AufenthG gives you up to 18 months to find a job that matches your degree. You may work without restriction during that time.
• Job lost: go to LEA Berlin before your permit runs out, not after.
• Training place lost through no fault of your own: up to 6 months to find a new one, see Ausbildung.
• Switching routes – for example from the Opportunity Card to a skilled-worker permit – is usually possible at LEA Berlin without leaving Germany. For a language-course visa, a change of purpose needs a new permit and is checked case by case, see Language course.

Staying for good

• Settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis): 5 years under § 9; for skilled workers (§§ 18a, 18b) after 3 years with German B1 and 36 months of pension contributions, or after 2 years and 24 months of contributions if you completed an Ausbildung or a degree in Germany (§ 18c (1)); for Blue Card holders after 27 months with basic German (A1), or 21 months with German B1 (§ 18c (2)).
• German citizenship: § 10 StAG, after 5 years. The 3-year fast track was abolished on 30 October 2025. Germany allows multiple citizenship; for Vietnam see Vietnamese rules.

Free help in Berlin, also in Vietnamese

• Reistrommel e.V., Coswiger Str. 5, 12681 Berlin: migration advice (MBE) in Vietnamese, English and German by appointment; social counselling in German and Vietnamese Mon, Tue, Thu 9–13; integration courses.
• BIM e.V., Neustrelitzer Str. 63, 13055 Berlin: social counselling in Vietnamese through integration guides (Lichtenberg district office).
• Kiezspinne FAS e.V., Schulze-Boysen-Str. 38, 10365 Berlin: multilingual social counselling, including Vietnamese (Lichtenberg district office).
• BEMA (Beratungsstelle für Migration und Gute Arbeit) – free labour-rights advice when wages are missing, overtime is unpaid or an employer keeps your passport.
• Willkommenszentrum Berlin – general advice in several languages.