Probationary periods, fixed-term contracts, changing jobs and unemployment

Naturalisation proceedings can last longer than an employment relationship. In the meantime, you may start a new job, a fixed-term contract may expire, or you may have a period without employment. These changes do not always lead to the same outcome. What matters is how your living expenses are currently covered, your specific employment prospects and, where applicable, a statutory exception. An employment contract therefore needs to be considered alongside your employment history and the foreseeable next steps.

The ordinary subsistence requirement in § 10 StAG does not prescribe a particular type of contract. Neither a permanent employment contract nor a fully completed probationary period is listed there as a separate general requirement. In principle, what is required is the ability to support yourself and your family without benefits under SGB II or SGB XII.

This entails looking ahead. We assess whether the employment provides a sound basis for foreseeable financial support; a lifetime employment guarantee is not required. A contract is an important piece of evidence for this purpose. However, it is not assessed independently of qualifications, employment history and how the employment actually operates. The principles are explained in Long-term financial security: assessing future income.

The following also applies to all the situations discussed here: sufficient financial support may be available from other reliable resources. A spouse's income, suitable savings or an insurance benefit may be relevant. Whether your own employment is insecure therefore does not automatically determine whether the household as a whole lacks adequate financial security.

A probationary period marks an early stage of an employment relationship. It can be relevant when assessing its stability because the working relationship still has to prove itself. However, it does not automatically bar naturalisation. The actual circumstances must be considered. Someone who has worked for many years and moves seamlessly between jobs presents different indicators from someone who has taken up employment for the first time.

Relevant factors include the length of previous employment, existing qualifications, the nature of the new position and its financial importance. If someone continues in an occupation for which they are already trained with a different employer, their previous experience can support a favourable assessment. A move into an entirely new field, by contrast, may require the authority to obtain additional information about the actual employment and how it is developing.

Useful documents include the complete employment contract, initial payslips and, where appropriate, an up-to-date confirmation from the employer. This can establish the actual start date, working hours and the fact that the contract remains in force. A statement that dismissal can never be expected, however, is not a realistic requirement. An employer cannot make binding predictions about the entire economic future either.

An enquiry about a probationary period may be understandable if the new job is the sole source of financial support and has only recently begun. We examine which specific circumstances support the enquiry. Automatically equating every probationary period with a failure to secure subsistence is too simplistic. The overall situation must be taken into account, particularly where the household has additional stable income.

In our response, we explain the timeline: previous employment, the reason for changing jobs, the new start date, salary and other available funds. This account shows whether there has actually been a financial interruption. It also prevents a move to better conditions from appearing to be a step backwards solely because of the form of the new contract.

If the probationary period has ended, we document this with current records. Actual developments may then have resolved a question that was previously open. Referring to the old contract is not always enough if the authority is still relying on an earlier state of affairs.

Fixed-term contracts occur in various areas of employment. A contract may relate to a project, cover for another employee or particular business plans. The assessment of future income therefore considers whether fixed-term employment is typical of your employment history and what specific opportunities exist afterwards. The mere presence of an end date is not a complete assessment.

A substantial remaining contract term, several previous extensions and stable work in the same occupation may indicate sound prospects. By contrast, if a very short contract expires in a few weeks and there is no clear way of covering living expenses afterwards, a specific question remains unanswered. This justifies closer scrutiny, but not the invention of a statutory minimum remaining contract term.

A follow-on contract that has already been signed carries different weight from a verbal hope of an extension. Confirmation from the employer can also be useful if it describes specifically what has already been agreed or is actually planned. Its binding nature must remain clear. A non-binding intention, an existing entitlement and a concluded contract are different foundations.

The assessment may take account of whether the person has usable vocational training, professional experience or a recognised qualification. These factors help explain how realistic further employment is after the contract ends. However, they do not remove the need to consider the specific circumstances. A general reference to a shortage of skilled workers, for example, does not establish whether a required professional authorisation is in place.

For regulated professions, we include recognition and professional authorisation in the financial assessment. If a required authorisation expires, the ability to continue practising lawfully must be clarified. This is distinct from the fixed term of an employment contract: a contract may exist while the right to practise depends on a further decision. We therefore present the relevant evidence together.

A transition following the completion of vocational training may also warrant a favourable assessment. In that situation, a new contract does not stand alone as the beginning of an entirely unknown employment history, but may follow a clear path of qualification. The actual employment opportunities and the household's specific financial coverage remain decisive.

We connect the evidence for both periods of employment in a clear account. This includes the end of the previous employment, the start of the new job and the change in pay. Where the transition is seamless, a short chronology may be enough to put potentially misleading individual payslips into context. If the final payment includes unused-leave compensation or a special payment, we identify it accordingly and do not treat it as continuing salary.

Resigning from a job does not automatically disqualify someone under the ordinary naturalisation rules. However, its financial consequences may be relevant, particularly if no follow-on job is in place. Under the transitional provision or the special provision for former guest workers, responsibility for receiving benefits may also have its own legal significance. These different questions must not be conflated.

After losing a job, what matters is which resources are actually available. Unemployment benefit from unemployment insurance must be distinguished from benefits under SGB II. The insurance benefit is not detrimental to naturalisation simply because there is no employment relationship. Its amount and limited duration may, however, affect the assessment of future finances.

We also assess whether a partner’s income, maintenance or assets can fund the transition. A single-person household without savings and a family with another spouse earning enough do not therefore have to be assessed in the same way. We calculate the financial coverage specifically. The label “unemployed” describes employment status, not the complete financial situation.

Anyone receiving supplementary benefits under SGB II, by contrast, needs to consider the ordinary restriction and possible exceptions. Since July 2026, the relevant cash benefit has been called Grundsicherungsgeld. Authorities may continue to use “Bürgergeld” even in current benefit decisions until the end of 2026 (§ 65a paragraph 4 SGB II). The statutory basis determines its legal classification; further details are explained in Social benefits and naturalisation.

A severance payment can make a transitional period financially easier. However, it is not equivalent to a salary that continues indefinitely. Its significance depends on the amount available after deductions, existing obligations and the expected time until the next reliable income. If the severance payment is also used to repay a substantial debt, that portion is no longer available for ongoing household expenses. A transparent breakdown prevents the same sum from being counted towards several funding purposes at once.

A serious job search can help explain employment prospects. Particularly useful evidence includes specific applications, invitations, ongoing discussions and existing offers. A simple total of applications sent says less than clear information about suitable positions and actual responses. We select evidence that shows your individual position in the labour market.

Here too, an offer is not the same as a concluded contract. A job that is merely hoped for must not be counted as income already available. A signed contract with a future start date, by contrast, can provide a concrete basis for subsequent financial support. Existing benefits or savings may need to cover the period before that start date.

The reason for losing a job can help put events into context. A business closure, for example, does not indicate a lack of professional qualifications. However, under the new law, losing a job through no fault of your own does not create a general additional exception to the subsistence requirement in the ordinary assessment. The cause of the job loss and the current availability of sustainable financial support remain separate questions.

The statutory exception requires current full-time employment and at least 20 months of such employment within the last 24 months. Several successive employment relationships may count; the wording of the law does not require 20 months with the same employer. However, the specific working hours and periods must be documented.

A fixed-term contract or an announced change in working hours may also raise the disputed question of what assessment of future circumstances is permissible within the exception. In any event, this must not become a blanket requirement that supplementary benefits must cease entirely in future. The detailed article Exception for full-time employment examines this special provision at length.

Even a seamless change of employer can have different effects for the purposes of letter b: someone who has worked for 18 months and then a further two months in documented full-time employment does not restart the month count by changing jobs. If the new job is only part-time, however, the requirement of current full-time employment is initially absent, even if there are enough previous months. The same part-time position may nevertheless be sufficient under the ordinary subsistence requirement. Working hours and pay sufficient to cover needs must therefore be documented separately.

For applications submitted by 23 August 2023, § 40a StAG requires a review of whether the previous subsistence rule is more favourable. In that case, whether the applicant is responsible for receiving benefits may still be decisive. A job loss through no fault of the applicant and serious efforts to find new employment can carry particular weight under this test.

For later applications, this former general exception must not simply be carried forward. Outside the expressly regulated exceptions, discretionary naturalisation involving an assessment of hardship may be an option. Health, childcare or care responsibilities may be legally significant in that context. However, they neither lead automatically to naturalisation nor justify automatic exclusion.

A notice of termination without information about subsequent financial support is incomplete; so is a new contract without an explanation of an intervening gap.

Before a decision is made, this can establish whether a document is simply missing, a specific transitional period needs to be assessed, or another legal basis must be considered. We present your employment history factually. What matters is their actual effect on the household and the requirements of the applicable route to naturalisation.