🇩🇪 Learning German in Germany

The standard Integrationskurs is 700 teaching units — 600 hours of German up to B1 plus a 100-hour orientation course on law, history and society — with intensive and special variants running from 500 up to 1,000 units. Self-payers contribute a set fee per teaching hour, and people receiving benefits such as Bürgergeld or Wohngeld can apply to have that waived entirely. It ends in two exams: the Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer, where B1 is the target result, and the Leben in Deutschland test. Apply through your responsible BAMF Regionalstelle; many residence permits either entitle or oblige you to attend.

The vocational language courses under the DeuFöV regulation pick up where the Integrationskurs stops, taking you from B1 towards B2, C1 and C2 with specialised tracks for healthcare, commercial and technical professions. They are free for eligible jobseekers and employees, funded by the employment agency or the Jobcenter. The usual route in is a referral from your Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter caseworker, or via an approved provider if you are employed. Courses end in a telc or Goethe certificate at the target level.

The federal office's own geographic search for nearby integration courses, migration counselling and the BAMF Regionalstelle responsible for your address. Because Integrationskurs providers are ordinary schools and Volkshochschulen rather than a single state chain, this is the practical first step once you know you are entitled to a course. Free to use, no account needed. Filter by course type — the standard, intensive, literacy and parent courses are different things.

The VHS network is the backbone of adult education in Germany, publicly supported and present in essentially every town, and it teaches German as a foreign language at every level as well as running a large share of the BAMF Integrationskurse. Courses cost far less than private schools, and evening and weekend formats are normal. This national portal finds your local VHS; enrolment then happens with that centre directly. Class sizes are larger and progress slower than an intensive private course — the trade-off for the price.

Best known for teaching German abroad, the Goethe-Institut also runs institutes inside Germany, including Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and several smaller cities, with intensive courses and accommodation packages aimed at people coming specifically to study. It is also the awarding body for the Goethe-Zertifikat exams from A1 to C2, which are widely accepted for visas, universities and employers. Teaching quality is consistently high and priced accordingly — it is the most expensive mainstream choice by some margin. Navigate to Deutschkurse on the site to see locations and dates.

Physical schools in Berlin (two locations), Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, Leipzig and Düsseldorf, teaching A1 to C2 in intensive and evening formats. It sits between the Volkshochschulen and the premium schools on price while keeping small classes, which makes it a common choice for working professionals who want evening intensives. Use the course finder on the site rather than guessing city URLs, and compare the intensive and evening rates — they differ substantially.

Caritas runs the state-funded MBE service for adult immigrants out of local branches across Germany, and language acquisition is one of its core counselling topics. Advisers help you work out which course you are entitled to, complete the BAMF paperwork and find a provider — genuinely useful when the entitlement rules are the obstacle rather than the teaching. Free and open regardless of religion or status. Contact your local Caritas Migrationsdienst office to book an appointment.