Integration courses / language courses

Integration courses – what are they?

Here is a diagram to illustrate

In Germany, immigrants are given language lessons in integration courses, which are organised and funded by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. This knowledge acquired in these courses and good German-language skills are the key to integration and success in the new home.

Each integration course consists of a language course and a guidance course to convey knowledge about life in Germany. The integration course normally ends with an examination after a total of 645 teaching units.

But everyone is different – also when it comes to learning!

So that integration courses can accommodate different kinds of needs, special integration courses are available for different groups of persons: young persons, women, parents and person with reading or writing problems or who have other special needs, but also for those able to learn quickly. Special integration courses can last for up to 945 teaching units.

Who can attend an integration course?

The Residency Act (Sections 44 and 44a Aufenthaltsgesetz) states who can take part in an integration course or, if appropriate, who can be obliged to attend one.

The Act distinguishes between

  • citizens of the European Union
  • immigrants of German origin from Eastern Europe,
  • German nationals,
  • foreign persons who received a right of residency before or after 1 January 2005,
  • foreign persons from non-European states with long-term rights of residence and
  • foreign persons who have been granted temporary leave over a period of many years.

You will find more detailed information here

on the pages of the Federal Ministry for Immigration and Refugees (BAMF) at http://www.integration-in-deutschland.de

Further information on integration courses – also about the costs and the conditions for exemption from the costs or getting costs paid for you – can be obtained from the local course providers or relevant contact persons of the towns in the Mettmann district.

Providers of integration courses in the towns
Persons to contact in the towns of the Mettmann district