Child Benefit & Parental Allowance

The Social System in Germany supports Families with Kindergeld & Elterngeld.

General information about Benefits in Germany

Lots of information about becoming parents in Germany, including parental allowance, child benefits & protection of mothers with videos & more can be found at the Familienportal of the German government.

HELP with documentation

In general if you need help with any of the below, you can contact our partners & experts:
Compass International, who can help you with a fee of 100 Euro / application.
Please write to them directly with your request or ask for their offer if your situation is special.
Baby in Berlin - Elodie is specialised on the German bureaucracy and offers online courses and handles special and individual requests. You can contact her here.

Child benefit / Kindergeld

The child allowance ensures the basic care of your children from birth and at least until their 18th birthday.
German citizens can in principle receive child benefit in accordance with the Income Tax Act if their place of residence or the place where they usually live is located in Germany.
Foreign nationals who live in Germany can receive child benefit if they are in possession of a valid settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis). Certain residence titles (Aufenthaltstitel) can also give rise an entitlement to child benefit.

More detailed information in English who is eligible, the download of the forms and how to fill them in and where to apply can be found here.

You will need:

• birth certificate (the one that specifically states ‘Kindergeldantrag’ on it)
• tax ID number for both parents & tax ID of the newborn (will be automatically send to your home address)
• Kindergeld application form
• Proof of residence permit & proof of your actual residence (registration of your address)
• Work contract (you might blank your salary and other information you do want to disclose) or a confirmation of employment from your employer.

Where to apply: 

Send the document via post to the Familienkasse (Family Benefits Department)

When to apply:

After your baby is born and you have received the birth certificates & the tax ID

How much will I get?

Afor the 1^st and 2nd child: 219 € per month,
for the 3rd child: 225 € per month,
for the 4th and each additional child: 250 € per month.

More information can be found here.

Parental Allowance  / Elterngeld

Parental benefit is a benefit in Germany for parents of infants and toddlers. It should enable the parents to educate and care for their child. Parental allowance compensates if the parents have lower incomes because they temporarily work less or no longer at birth. This helps the parental allowance to secure the financial livelihood of the families. Parental allowance is also available for parents who had no income before birth.
Even foreign parents can apply for it under certain conditions.

Here are some links for more information how it works and who is entitled to receive Elterngeld.

https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/meta/en/publications-en/parental-allowance--parental-allowance-plus-and-partnership-bonus/142790

https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/living-in-germany/family-reunification/parental-benefit/

Here is a number you can call to get help with the application:

https://www.elterngeld.net/elterngeldantrag.html

You will need

• birth certificate (the one that specifically says for ‘Elterngeldantrag’
• Elterngeld application form (both parents must sign the application form)
• income statements for the last 12 months
  • if you are self-employed different sections need to be filled
  • if you did not work before you can apply for the minimum
• health insurance statement re: Mutterschaftsgeld (sent to you in the mail from your Krankenkasse)
• valid ID for both parents (Passport or identification card)
• copy of your citizenship or visa 

If applicable:

• Vaterschaftsanerkennung 
• form stating how much your work place paid you additionally during your Mutterschutz time 
• Elterngeld statement for older children, if you received this is the past 12 months (14 in some states) 
• section of the application form filled out by your employer (If applicable) 

Where to apply:

Send the forms to your Elterngeldstelle (in BW that is L-Bank)

When to apply:

After your baby is born and you have received the birth certificates, your health insurance has sent you your certificate and within the first 3 months of your baby’s life.

Some more information can also be found here.

June 2020 - Kira Neumann
This blog post has been prepared with the greatest possible care and does not claim to be correct, complete or up-to-date.“
The information is translated from the German Website.

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