🧭 Rights and obligations at a glance
In brief
If you become unemployed, Germany has two separate systems that can apply one after the other: unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld I) (an insurance benefit of the employment agency, SGB III) and basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld) (called “Bürgergeld” until 30 June 2026; tax-funded basic income support from the Jobcenter, SGB II). Both systems combine benefits with obligations: you must look for work yourself, attend appointments and report changes in your circumstances. In return you are entitled to advice, placement, qualification and benefits that secure your livelihood.
Important: social benefits in Germany are subsidiary. That means you must first use your own income, assets and benefits that take priority (e.g. housing benefit, child benefit, maintenance) before basic income support is paid.
Step by step
- Register as unemployedRegister as unemployed with the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency), in person or online, at the latest on the first day of unemployment – if you know the end date, even 3 months earlier (duty of early registration, § 38 Abs. 1 SGB III).
- Clarify the benefitCheck whether you receive unemployment benefit I (insurance benefit) or depend on basic income support (means-tested) – or both in parallel if unemployment benefit I does not secure your livelihood.
- Submit the applicationSubmit the relevant application as soon as possible; an informal application to the Jobcenter already secures backdating to the first day of the month.
- CooperateAttend appointments, submit requested documents and report changes (move, new income, illness) without delay.
- Know your rightsYou are entitled to advice, a written notice of right of appeal with every notice of decision, and the option to lodge an objection (Widerspruch) against decisions.
Deadlines
- If you register as unemployed too late, you risk a disqualification period (Sperrzeit) or loss of entitlement days for unemployment benefit I.
- Since 1 July 2026, “Bürgergeld” and “Grundsicherungsgeld” refer to the same benefit – older notices and forms still carry the old name; this does not change your entitlement.
- Subsidiarity also applies to housing benefit (Wohngeld): if housing benefit would end the need for assistance for at least 3 months for all persons in the household, you must apply for it first (§ 12a SGB II).
- A cooperation plan or a summons to report is binding even if you consider it unreasonable – objections belong in an objection (Widerspruch), not in ignoring the appointment.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Two systems, one subsidiarity principle
Unemployment benefit I (§§ 136 ff. SGB III) is an insurance benefit: entitlement and amount depend on previous contributions, not on need. Basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld) (§§ 7 ff. SGB II, until 30.6.2026 “Bürgergeld”) is a means-tested basic benefit: entitlement exists only to the extent that income and assets do not cover the need (§ 9 SGB II). If unemployment benefit I is not enough to secure a livelihood, basic income support can be applied for in addition (§ 5 Abs. 2 SGB II – no exclusion, only counting as income).
Priority of placement
Since the reform of 1.7.2026, § 3a SGB II (new version) expressly emphasises the priority of placement into work over other integration benefits, insofar as this is appropriate in the circumstances of the individual case. This does not affect your right to qualification if it improves the prospects of lasting employment.
Reasonableness
Under § 10 SGB II, in principle any work is reasonable that you are mentally, emotionally and physically able to do. Exceptions exist, among others, for caring for a child under 14 months if no childcare is available or can reasonably be arranged (§ 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 SGB II new version; the age limit was lowered with the 2026 reform from 3 years to 14 months).
What changed on 1 July 2026
The Thirteenth Act Amending the Second Book of the Social Code and Other Laws (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 107, issued 22.4.2026) renamed “Bürgergeld” as “Grundsicherungsgeld” and, among other things, introduced the priority of placement (§ 3a), stricter sanction rules (§§ 31, 31a, 32) and a new asset allowance graded by age (§ 12 Abs. 2). The term “Neue Grundsicherung” discussed in 2025/2026 referred to proposals in political debate before the act was passed; the decisive text is solely the law actually promulgated.
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