The Federal Ministry of the Interior published a Q&A on its website on the latest changes for integration courses:
- Continuity and budget: Around EUR 1 billion are allocated for integration classes in the current financial year. About EUR 650 million are allocated for 2027. Everything else is subject to the upcoming budget negotiations. The budget for integration courses increased around 177% within 5 years: from EUR 482 million in 2021 to 1.3 billion in 2025.
- Changes: The group of people who are eligible to access integration courses will be reduced to the original scope that existed before the last legislative period. All persons with permanent prospects of remaining in Germany will continue to be eligible. This will limit both the number of courses and the costs so that they do not rise significantly above the budget estimate, as this has regularly been the case in recent years. At the same time, this also takes into consideration the overall decrease in the number of arrivals in Germany.
- Information to providers: Integration courses are financed on a multi-year basis, which means that some courses starting this year 2026 will not be paid for until 2027. Since the number of courses will be reduced in the future in accordance with the available financial resources, the providers should be informed in advance for their planning and preparation.
- Displaced persons from Ukraine: Ukrainians should be able to be employed as quickly as possible. If their language skills are not sufficient for integration into the labour market, they may be required to attend an integration course, which is free of charge for them if they cannot afford the costs themselves.