Residence Rights for Ukrainian Nationals in Germany: What’s Next?

The beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine marks its third anniversary today, February 24, 2025. Since then, more than 10 million people of Ukrainian descent have been displaced, with over one million seeking refuge in Germany. Images of overcrowded corridors at Berlin Central Station spread around the world, as did countless acts of solidarity and support for those fleeing Ukraine. The German legislator also responded to this exceptional situation in an unusually swift and flexible manner. The issuance of residence permits was intended to be as smooth as possible for both immigration authorities and refugees. The continuation of previously granted residence permits is regulated by the Ukraine Residence Continuation Ordinance, which has now been extended. This article aims to provide a brief overview of the ordinance, its key provisions, and potential challenges.

I. Background of the Ukraine Residence Continuation Ordinance

The admission of refugees by the member states of the European Union was facilitated as early as March 4, 2022, through the recognition of a so-called mass influx of displaced persons (Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382) in accordance with Article 4 of Council Directive 2001/55/EC on minimum standards for granting temporary protection.

This temporary protection applies to the following groups:

– Ukrainian nationals who were residing in Ukraine before February 24, 2022, and their family members, as well as

– Stateless persons or nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who had been granted international protection or an equivalent national protection status in Ukraine before February 24, 2022, and their family members.

While the recognition of the mass influx of displaced persons was initially limited to one year, it has since been extended annually. Given the ongoing war, it is expected that the duration of this protection will continue to be extended accordingly.

As a result, German immigration authorities have been able to grant Ukrainian refugees a residence permit for temporary protection under Sec. 24 (1) of the German Residence Act (AufenthG), instead of requiring them to go through a complex asylum procedure.

By now, many of those who fled Ukraine have been living in Germany for almost three years, attending kindergarten, school, or engaging in employment. As of December 2024, German immigration authorities have issued approximately 1.02 million residence permits to Ukrainian refugees.

II. Provisions of the Ukraine Residence Continuation Ordinance

In principle, all holders of a temporary residence permit must apply for an extension or a different residence permit before their current one expires in order to ensure continued legal residence in Germany. This process typically requires an in-person appointment at the immigration office, which must be handled by caseworkers.

Due to severe staffing shortages in immigration offices, this process already led to months-long waiting times for appointments before February 24, 2022. In response to these challenges, the German federal government took action to reduce bureaucratic hurdles as much as possible.

At the end of 2023, the government introduced the Ukraine Residence Continuation Ordinance (Ukraine-Aufenthalts-Fortgeltungsverordnung) on December 4, 2023 – a measure quite unusual for German immigration law. Initially, its validity was aligned with the EU Council Decision and set to expire on March 4, 2025. Now, the federal government has extended its validity until March 4, 2026.

The core regulatory content of this ordinance is found in Section 2. According to this provision, residence permits issued to Ukrainian nationals under Sec. 24 (1) AufenthG that are still valid as of February 1, 2025, will automatically remain valid, along with their conditions and restrictions, until March 4, 2026, without requiring an individual extension.

For stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine, residence permit continuation applies only if they:

– Had international protection or an equivalent national protection status in Ukraine as of February 24, 2022,

– Are family members of Ukrainian nationals, stateless persons, or third-country nationals who had international protection in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, or

– Were legally residing in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, based on a valid permanent residence permit issued under Ukrainian law.

The continuation of residence permits automatically ends when an individual extension is granted or when the residence permit is reissued due to changes in conditions or restrictions.

At first glance, this regulation may seem minor, but upon closer inspection, it represents a significant legislative innovation. The automatic continuation of residence permits without requiring individual extensions means that affected individuals will no longer need to schedule and attend renewal appointments. Furthermore, immigration authorities will no longer need to reassess eligibility for renewal in individual cases.

Given that 1.02 million residence permits fall under this ordinance, this results in a massive reduction in bureaucratic workload for both applicants and immigration authorities.

The German Federal Council document 503/24 (dated October 11, 2024) also stipulates that all relevant German authorities, such as police departments, social welfare offices, and school administrations, must be informed of the automatic continuation of these residence permits.

However, for traveling abroad, especially to non-EU countries, it is still recommended that individuals seek an official renewal of their residence permit at the local immigration office. This will help avoid any border control issues due to an expiration date on documents that appears to have already passed.

III. Implications for Employers

Employers are generally advised to carefully verify residence permits and work authorization before employing third-country nationals. As a rule, they should suspend employment once a residence permit expires until the employee pro-vides valid proof of timely and proper renewal or a new residence permit.

However, due to the automatic continuation of residence permits under this ordinance, employers should specifically check the following:

– Does the employee hold a residence permit under Sec. 24 (1) AufenthG?

– Was the permit still valid on February 1, 2025, and does it meet the requirements of Sec. 2 of the Ukraine Residence Continuation Ordinance?

To fulfill documentation obligations under Sec. 4a (5) Sentence 3 No. 2 AufenthG, employers should retain a copy of the employee’s residence permit in their personnel records. Additionally, keeping a copy of the Ukraine Residence Continu-ation Ordinance may serve as further legal protection.

Overall, this new ordinance significantly reduces the risk of illegal employment for employers. Since the continuation of residence permits is now legally mandated, employers no longer must rely on their employees to individually apply for timely extensions.