Integrationskurs: What Germany's Integration Course Actually Involves

The Integrationskurs is Germany's structured integration course, run under the authority of the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees), combining language instruction with an orientation course on German society, history, and legal system. It's built around 700 total hours: 600 hours of German language teaching aimed at reaching the B1 level of the CEFR, plus 100 hours of civics-focused Orientierungskurs.

Eligibility runs through Section 44 of the Residence Act (AufenthG), and as of the priorities in effect since late July 2026, admission is weighted toward specific groups: holders of a residence permit under Section 24 of the Residence Act get priority, as do German nationals and EU citizens whose German isn't yet sufficient for employment, along with their family members. Asylum seekers with pending cases and people on a Tolerance permit (Duldung) currently have reduced priority for enrollment compared to those groups.

The cost is heavily subsidized rather than free by default: participants who don't qualify for a full fee waiver pay €1.95 per lesson unit as of 2026, which works out to a maximum of roughly €2,296 if you attend the full 700-hour course — though many participants, particularly those on certain benefit programs, qualify for a full or partial fee exemption and pay significantly less or nothing.

The course ends with two separate exams: the "Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer" (DTZ) assessing your German at B1 (or, for some participants, A2) level, and a separate civics test for the Orientierungskurs portion. Passing both generally earns you the official Integrationskurs certificate, which can matter for later applications like Niederlassungserlaubnis (permanent settlement permit) or naturalization.

You apply for admission either through your local Ausländerbehörde (immigration office), which can obligate certain visa holders to attend, or voluntarily by submitting an application directly to BAMF if you want to take the course but haven't been required to — courses run through a wide network of approved providers (Volkshochschulen and private language schools among them), so availability and start dates vary considerably by city.

Missing a course you were legally obligated to attend isn't a purely academic problem: for some visa categories, failing to complete a required Integrationskurs can affect visa renewal or extension decisions, so if you've received an obligation notice (Verpflichtung) from the Ausländerbehörde, treat the deadline as a real one rather than an optional suggestion.