German integration course admissions frozen until further notice

The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has confirmed that it is not currently admitting new students to German integration courses and that admissions are paused until further notice.

BAMF stopped integration course admissions in December

An open letter from the Institute for Language and Communication (ISK) has criticised a decision by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees to freeze admissions to German integration courses in December.

According to the letter, integration course teachers were never officially informed about the nationwide admissions freeze, which continues even though “eligible participants are available and providers have free capacity”.

Integration courses are designed by the German government to help anyone who has recently arrived in Germany to adjust to everyday life, culture and customs. Under German law, certain non-EU migrants are entitled or obliged to take part in an integration course.

Approached by German investigative outlet Correctiv for more information, the BAMF said that “Applications for admission pursuant to Section 44 (4) of the Residence Act are currently being reviewed by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.”

In response to another inquiry submitted by the Green Party and seen by Correctiv, the BAMF replied on January 28 that “At present, it is not yet possible to say with certainty how long this review process will take.”

Some courses postponed as a result

According to a teacher in Cologne who spoke with Correctiv, the decision to freeze integration course admissions is also impacting students who are already enrolled in courses.

Courses which admitted some students before the freeze are now undersubscribed and being postponed. “We don’t know the reason for the suspension,” ISK representative Gerd Heymann told Correctiv.

In their open letter to BAMF, the ISK called the decision “highly problematic when it comes to integration policy” and said that those impacted will lose “time, prospects and connections in times of skilled labor shortages” while “institutions [face] planning uncertainty and financial risks.”

The BAMF confirmed that federal funding for integration courses will be the same in 2026 as it was in 2025, at 1,64 million euros. However, state-level funding has been cut in some states. In November, the CDU-SPD government in Saxony announced it would cut funding for integration courses by 80 percent in 2026.

As a result, only 21 of the 91 integration projects applying for funding have received the money they need to support migrants to Germany. The Refugee Council in Saxony (Sächsischer Flüchtlingsrat e.V. or SFR) has called the move dangerous for social cohesion.