3 Getting started 3.1 Living Once you arrive in Potsdam from the Central Reception Centre, to start with you will be assigned a communal shelter or a housing group. Here you will live with people of different cultural backgrounds. In order to live together as harmoniously as possible it is necessary to treat one another with respect and tolerance. This includes compliance with the house rules. The staff on site is more than happy to explain these to you. Your points of contact, who will be advising and accompanying you over the coming period in the shelter are: The shelter managers: The shelter managers decide how and where you are housed in the facility. They also decide on who shares a room with whom; however, in doing so they are mindful of ethnic, cultural and religious differences or similarities. As a resident you have a right to privacy, i.e. your room must be lockable and no one may enter your room without your permission. The shelter managers are also in charge of distributing the “additional, not-for-profit work” (= gemeinnützliche zusätzliche Arbeit or gzA/ see the section entitled “Work”) within your communal shelter and will try to distribute this fairly among the residents. In many facilities, shelter managers are also social workers. For more information: The flyer “What can refugee shelter managers do” can be downloaded here: www.fluechtlingsrat-brandenburg.de/tipps-fur-den-fluchtlingsalltag/was-darf-die- heimleitung. The flyer is available in eight languages. The social workers: These are your main points of contact when it comes to making appointments with and visiting public authorities or administrative offices, but also if you need to see a doctor. The social workers can assist you with important appointments and, if necessary, organize a language professional or an interpreter for you. (See the section entitled “Language”) The duration of your stay in the transitional shelter is likely to amount to a maximum of 12 months, after which you are usually able to move into your own apartment. The exact time at which you are able to leave the communal shelter, however, is a matter of discretion of the Sozialamt (Social Assistance Office) – and certain conditions are attached to this. You may apply in writing to the Sozialamt to be housed in an apartment; reasons for such application must be given. The social workers at your shelter are able to assist you with such an application. In order to move into your own home it is very important to apply for a Wohnberechtigungsschein or WBS (a certificate of eligibility to public housing) with Potsdam city administration, which grants you the right to rent an apartment at a reduced rent. The situation on the Potsdam housing market is difficult, so it could take some time before a suitable apartment is found. During this time, you may of course remain in your shelter. If, over time, there should be a change in your residence status and you receive a residence permit, you are under an obligation to move out of the communal shelter. PLEASE NOTE: During your ongoing asylum procedure you must notify not only the Einwohnermeldeamt/ Bürgerservice (registration office/citizens- service) but also the Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF (the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) of any change of address. Address: Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge (BAMF), 90343 Nürnberg or online at: https://www.bamf.de/DE/Infothek/AnsprechpartnerAdressen/ansprechpartner- node.html?themeId=0 Germany operates a so-called residence obligation for tolerated persons and asylum- seekers. If you are housed here in Potsdam, you are permitted to reside in and visit the German states of Brandenburg and Berlin only. This means you may reside in or visit those states without fear of a penalty should your documents be inspected. 3.2 Attending administrative offices Immediately on the first working day after your arrival in Potsdam, there are 3 things that you must do urgently: 1. Register with the Bürgerservice (citizens’ service) 2. Register with the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ registration office) 3. Make contact with the Sozialamt (social assistance office) If required, you will be accompanied by a member of staff of your shelter, a volunteer helper or a language professional in your appointments with administrative offices and the related registration with the city of Potsdam. PLEASE NOTE: Why do you have to attend these administrative offices? Because the state of Brandenburg has a “registration duty”, too. This means that every person who moves into a home in Potsdam or the surrounding area has to register with the Einwohnermeldeamt/Bürgerservice (registration office/citizens’ service). With your registration you become a Potsdam resident who is entitled to certain social and other benefits. In return, certain expectations are placed on you – you have a duty to cooperate. 3.2.1 The Einwohnermeldeamt/ Bürgerservice (registration office/citizens’ service) Registration at the registration office is free of charge. You will receive a certificate of registration, which will include details of the current address of your accommodation. You can use this certificate to prove your current address to other public authorities. In order to register, you will need to provide a personal document that gives details of your identity (passport, identity card or provisional document). Bürgerservice (citizens’ service) Stadthaus Potsdam; Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 79-81, 14469 Potsdam Telephone: 0331-2891111 Email: [email protected] Opening hours: Monday 10:00 - 18:00, Tuesday 08:00 - 18:00, Wednesday 08:00 - 18:00, Thursday 08:00 - 18:00, Friday 08:00 - 14:00, Saturday 08:00 - 12:00 3.2.2 Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ registration office) This public authority looks after the interests of non-German nationals, i.e. matters regarding entry, stay, establishment and employment in Germany. This includes the issue and renewal of residence permits, permissions to run a business, permissions to study. In issuing or renewing such permits, the foreigners’ registration office is bound by the decisions of the Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge or BAMF (the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees). If an application for asylum has been refused by the BAMF, the foreigners’ registration office is also responsible for organising the departure. Once you have registered with the Bürgerservice (citizens’ service), the foreigners’ registration office will record your current address as per the registration certificate on what is known as the blue card (blaue Karte). You now have a temporary residence permit (Aufenthaltsgestattung), which certifies that you are lawfully resident in Potsdam and Brandenburg. This document allows you to identify yourself in dealings with public authorities or other bodies. Please note that, in order to deal with the matters described above, you need to make an individual appointment in advance. Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ registration office) Friedrich- Ebert- Str. 79-81, Haus 20; 14469 Potsdam, Telephone 0331-2891753 Email: [email protected] Opening hours: Tuesday 9:00 - 18:00, Thursday 9:00 - 12:00 and 13:00 - 16:00, Friday 9:00 -12:00 3.2.3 Sozialamt (social assistance office) This is the third step on your “journey” through the various administrative offices – nearly there now! First of all, the social assistance office will check your entitlements to benefits under the German Asylum Seekers Benefits Act (Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz – AsylbLG); this is the money which will cover your living expenses initially. Then you will receive what is known as a Leistungsbescheid (benefits notice), which lists the benefits you are entitled to. You will receive support to pay for: food, accommodation, heating, clothing, health and personal hygiene, durable household goods and consumables pocket money for personal everyday needs benefits in the case of sickness, pregnancy and birth depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to other benefits, which will be assessed in each individual case Currently, in the state of Brandenburg these benefits amount to approx. EUR 352 per month (since March 2015). There are certain set days in the social assistance office, on which the money is paid out to you in cash. Please check this with the social workers in your shelter. They have a list detailing the payout dates, which they will be happy to provide to you. PLEASE NOTE: Should you be sick on the day the money is due to be paid out, or should you be unable to attend in person for any other important reasons, you need to submit a doctor’s note or another valid excuse (e.g. a letter from the social institution which runs your shelter) – otherwise you will lose the money for the days in question! For the first few months of your stay in Potsdam, the social assistance office will bear the cost of a “language professional” who will accompany you to administrative offices, doctors etc. in order to interpret for you. You need to submit a written request in this regard. The social workers in your shelter are on hand to help you with such request. In the social assistance office you can also apply for other social benefits: for example, an “educational and participation package” (Bildungs- und Teilhabe-Paket/ BuT) (see the section “Education”) for your children, or pregnancy clothing or baby-related items (prams, cots, changing table, etc.). Sozialamt (social assistance office) Hegelallee 6-10, Haus 2, 14461 Potsdam Telephone Div. Asylum: A-G,J,K,O-Z: 0331-2892156; letters H,I: 0331-2892201; letters L-N: 0331-2892203 Email: [email protected] Opening hours: Tuesday 9:00 - 12:00 and 13:00 - 18:00, Thursday 9:00 - 12:00 and 13:00 - 16:00 3.2.4 Standesamt (civil registry office) Depending on your personal circumstances it may be necessary to visit another administrative office.