Parental allowance for non-EU citizens: which residence permit qualifies?
By Felix Böhme, Dipl.-Finanzwirt (FH), graduate in public finance Updated
You are not a citizen of an EU or EEA country or of Switzerland? Then your entitlement to German parental allowance (Elterngeld) depends on your residence permit. Whether your employment contract is permanent does not matter. This page shows which permits qualify, which do not, and what to watch out for when your permit expires or is newly issued.
In short
- With a settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) or EU long-term residence permit (Daueraufenthalt-EU) you are entitled.
- With an EU Blue Card, ICT card or residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) you are entitled if the permit allows or allowed you to work for at least six months. There are exceptions for some purposes.
- Parental allowance is only paid from the month of your child’s life after the permit is issued.
- If your permit is about to expire, apply for the extension before it expires. Then parental allowance continues too.
Who needs a qualifying residence permit?
In principle, anyone who meets the general conditions is entitled to parental allowance – regardless of nationality. These include residence or habitual abode in Germany, the child in your own household, caring for the child yourself, working no more than 32 hours a week and the income limit.
An additional condition only applies to foreign nationals without freedom of movement. These are mainly nationals of countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland. For them, the residence permit decides (section 1(7) BEEG).
You generally do not need a qualifying permit
- if you are a citizen of an EU or EEA country or of Switzerland,
- if you live with an EU citizen as a family member and fall under the Freedom of Movement Act/EU – even if you are not an EU citizen yourself,
- if you are a British national with a residence document GB (Aufenthaltsdokument-GB) under the Withdrawal Agreement.
You are then regarded as having freedom of movement. Only the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) can clarify doubts about this; until it decides, freedom of movement is presumed.
Table: residence permits and entitlement
Green = entitled · Yellow = entitled only under a further condition · Red = not entitled. Sections without a named act are sections of the Residence Act (AufenthG).
Important on permission to work: it is enough if your permit at some point allowed you to work for at least six months. If you have since lost the job or a time limit has expired, this does not matter. Since 1 March 2020, foreign nationals with a residence permit may in principle work unless a law prohibits it. Your permit shows whether you may work.
The parental allowance office decides in each individual case based on your permit.
From when does the parental allowance office pay?
Parental allowance is paid for months of the child’s life. The entitlement only arises if all conditions are met at the start of a month of life. This has an important consequence:
- If your permit is issued during a month of life, parental allowance is only paid from the next month of life.
- Only if the permit is issued exactly on the first day of a month of life does that month count.
- This also applies if a work permit is issued retroactively.
Example: your child was born on 10 March. The 1st month of life runs from 10 March to 9 April. If you receive the permit on 20 March, parental allowance is only paid from the 2nd month of life, i.e. from 10 April.
So apply for your permit as early as possible – ideally during pregnancy.
If your permit expires: Fiktionsbescheinigung
If your permit ends during the period of receipt, the parental allowance office initially grants parental allowance only until then. How to protect yourself:
- Apply for the extension or the new permit before it expires. Your previous permit then remains valid until the immigration office decides (section 81(4) Residence Act). You will usually receive a Fiktionsbescheinigung (certificate of continued validity).
- Submit the Fiktionsbescheinigung to the parental allowance office. You are then entitled without interruption, including for the time in between.
- Submit the new permit as soon as you have it.
If the immigration office later refuses, parental allowance for the time before is not reclaimed. The entitlement ends at the earliest from the refusal.
If the immigration office no longer issues a Fiktionsbescheinigung because the permit has already been ordered from the Federal Printing Office (Bundesdruckerei), you are also entitled. Submit suitable proof in that case.
A Fiktionsbescheinigung under section 81(3) Residence Act, by contrast, is not enough. It is issued if you are lawfully in Germany without a residence permit (for example visa-free) and apply for one; then only your stay is deemed permitted. This does not yet give lawful residence for parental allowance purposes. The guidelines name two exceptions:
- refugees from Ukraine, if the certificate refers to a future permit under section 24 Residence Act,
- cases of force majeure, for example if the immigration office cannot operate because of a hacker attack and confirms which permit would have been issued and when.
National visa
A visa is generally not a residence permit for the purposes of parental allowance. A national visa is treated like a permit, however, if it
- was issued for at least six months,
- allows employment and
- leads to a residence permit that qualifies for parental allowance.
This applies, for example, to skilled workers who entered on an employment visa and do not yet have their permit.
Old permits and old section numbers
On 1 March 2020 the sections of the Residence Act were renumbered. Permits issued up to 29 February 2020 continue to apply with their purpose. The parental allowance office translates the old number into the new one. Example: a permit under old section 17b (training) corresponds to new section 16e – so there is no entitlement.
Residence entitlements and permanent residence permits issued before 1 January 2005 continue to apply as a settlement permit.
Spouses and partners of EU citizens
If you are a non-EU citizen living with your spouse or registered partner from an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, you generally have freedom of movement yourself under sections 3 and 4 of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU. The table above then does not matter. Doubts may arise if you do not accompany the EU citizen in order to establish or maintain family life.
If your case also involves another EU country, the parental allowance office applies the EU regulations. Section 1(7) BEEG then does not apply either.
Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria
There are agreements with the EU for nationals of these four countries. Under them, workers must be treated like Germans with regard to family benefits. If you do not meet section 1(7), you can therefore still be entitled if:
- you reside lawfully in Germany – a toleration (Duldung) is not enough,
- you are insured as an employee in at least one branch of social insurance, for example health, pension, unemployment or accident insurance. Compulsory health insurance under section 5(1) no. 13 Social Code V is also sufficient. So is pension insurance based on recognised child-raising periods – you need a certificate from the German Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) for this; a mere note on file is not enough,
- you meet the general conditions: residence in Germany, child in your household, caring for the child yourself, no more than 32 hours a week.
Family members of such a worker can also be entitled, for example the wife. She does not then have to be an employee herself, but must reside lawfully in an EU or EEA country.
Turkish nationals prove their right of residence under the Association Agreement with a residence permit. Submit it to the parental allowance office.
The European Interim Agreement on Social Security does not help for parental allowance. It does not apply to parental allowance.
British nationals
- With a residence document GB under the Withdrawal Agreement, you are regarded as having freedom of movement. You receive parental allowance like EU citizens; section 1(7) is not checked.
- Arrived from 2021: If you only took up residence in Germany or started working here after 31 December 2020, you are treated like a non-EU citizen. Then your residence permit decides.
Whether the EU priority rules also apply to you depends on the individual case under Art. 30 of the Withdrawal Agreement. More in the Guide for expats.
Stateless persons
Stateless persons are only entitled if they hold one of the permits listed in section 1(7) BEEG.
Non-EU citizens with a link to a second EU country
If you live lawfully in an EU country and your case involves a second EU country, the EU coordination rules apply to you (Regulation 1231/2010). The parental allowance office then does not check section 1(7) BEEG. Exception Denmark: if both parents are non-EU citizens, there is no coordination with Denmark. Then section 1 BEEG including section 1(7) applies.
FAQ
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I have a permanent employment contract. Is that enough?
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Do I get parental allowance with an EU Blue Card?
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I am studying with a residence permit under section 16b. Am I entitled?
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My permit expires while I receive parental allowance. What do I need to do?
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My permit was issued in the middle of a month of life. Is there parental allowance for that month?
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I am married to an EU citizen. Do I need a particular permit?
Sources and legal basis
Same sources as the German page (`U4_aufenthaltstitel.de.md`). “RL” = Guidelines on the BEEG, as of 07/2026; “p.” = PDF page.
- General conditions, freedom of movement: section 1(1), (6), (7), (8) BEEG; RL 1.7.1 (pp. 65–67).
- Table of permits: section 1(7) sentence 1 nos. 1–5 and sentence 2 BEEG; RL 1.7.2.1 (pp. 68–70), 1.7.2.2.1 (p. 71), 1.7.2.2.2 (p. 72); transition section 28(3) BEEG.
- Permission to work “at some point”, permission note, section 4a Residence Act: RL 1.7.2.1 (p. 68); section 4a(1) sentence 1 Residence Act (holders of a permit may work unless a law prohibits it); Blue Card: section 18g Residence Act (employment of at least six months).
- Fiktionsbescheinigung section 81(3) and (4): section 81(3) sentence 1, (4) sentence 1 Residence Act (gesetze-im-internet.de).
- Month of life principle: section 4(2) BEEG; RL 1.7.2.1 (p. 69) with Federal Social Court, partial judgment of 30 Sep 2010, B 10 EG 9/09 R (as cited in RL); RL 28.3 (p. 366).
- Fiktionsbescheinigung, Ukraine, force majeure, Federal Printing Office: RL 1.7.2.1 (pp. 69–70).
- National visa: RL 1.7.2.1 (p. 69).
- Old permits: RL 1.7.2.3 (pp. 72–74).
- Spouses and partners of EU citizens: RL 1.7.1 (p. 66); RL Part II 2.1 (p. 393), 2.3.3 (p. 394).
- Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria: RL 1.7.2.5–1.7.2.7 (pp. 74–76) with Federal Social Court of 9 Mar 2022, B 7/14 KG 1/20 R (as cited in RL).
- British nationals: RL 1.7.1.1 (p. 67); RL Part II 2.1 (p. 392).
- Stateless persons: RL 1.7.2.4 (p. 74).
- Non-EU citizens with a link to two EU countries, Denmark: Regulation (EU) 1231/2010; RL 1.7.2.8 (pp. 76–77); RL Part II 2.1 (p. 393).
Sources checked: November 2026
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As of November 2026.