…is a monthly payment per German-domiciled or EU-domiciled child

It is generally granted to applicants (parents) who are residents or unlimited income tax payers in Germany and holding:

• an EU/EEA or Swiss citizenship or
• Algerian, Bosnian, Kosovar, Moroccan, Serbian, Montenegrin, Tunisian or Turkish citizenship if employed subject to unemployment insurance contributions or
• any other citizenship and a permanent settlement permit or residence permit

Scholarship holders with a visa as a researcher (§20 AufenthG) are eligible as well. Please get in touch with us if you need support with your application.

Holders of student or language student residence permits are not eligible.

Necessary documents to receive Kindergeld are:

• your tax ID and your child/ren’s tax ID/s.

Please note that processing Kindergeld applications can take many months.

…is a monthly payment serving to compensate for a loss of income in the year following the birth of a child.

Each parent can apply for parental support for himself or herself. Those eligible for parental allowance are applicants (parents) holding:

• an EU/EEA or Swiss citizenship
• any other citizenship only if their residence is deemed probably permanent and if they have proper access to the labour market (i.e. unlimited eligibility for holders of a settlement permit; while holders of a residence permit are only eligible if they were or are allowed to work)

Parents holding a residence permit for the purpose of studying or in connection with a work permit for a specified maximum period are not eligible to receive parental allowance.

Important facts about parental support:

• amounting to 65-67% of your average last net income, in case of employment before applying for parental support, one may be eligible for the minimum amount
• minimum of 300€ and maximum of 1,800€ per month
• paid out period: maximum of 12 months per parent OR up to 14 months to single parents or to both parents combined if each parent loses at least 2 months of income in caring for their children
• it can be used by and paid out consecutively or concurrently to both parents
• it can be split into several parts and taken from birth up until 12 or 14 months after the child was born
• if parental allowance is to be paid out retrospectively, it is so for a maximum of 3 months prior to the application date

An alternative is the extended parental support – ElterngeldPlus: half the usual amount for twice as many months. Please note that if you would like to receive ElterngeldPlus after the first 14 months, it must be used continuously from the 15th month.

Simultaneously, part-time work of up to 30 hours per week is possible and recommendable. If both parents work part-time for a specified number of hours per week in the same period of time, a partnership bonus of up to 4 months additional ElterngeldPlus is available.

A child tax break is granted per child, either fully to a single parent or split between both parents, also depending on your tax classes. It may exempt a part of your income from taxes and thereby reduce your taxable income. The number of child tax breaks you are entitled to should be stated on your payslip and yearly certificate of wage tax deductions – elektronische Lohnsteuerbescheinigung. Inform your HR department of your resident children and childbirths.

…is a benefit per child for families with a very low income from employment: just above the threshold for unemployment benefits type II – Arbeitslosengeld II, but less than the individual maximum threshold. It is unclear whether it counts as a form of social welfare.

For Non-EU citizens on a residence permit this may harm the residence status, because a residence permit is issued on the condition that you must have sufficient means throughout your stay to sustain yourself and your family financially. Therefore we currently strongly discourage applications for Kinderzuschlag for residence permit holders.