Guide: Disabled Refugees
I have one or more disabilities
Specific Rights for Refugees with Impairments
Do you have a disability that limits your daily life and participation in social life?
A disability is present when your physical functions, mental abilities, or emotional condition differ from what is typical for your age for at least six months. This can also include limitations in senses such as vision and hearing.
As a person with a disability, you are entitled to appropriate support. Contact the asylum procedure counselling or local social counselling service responsible for you. They will help you with your first doctor’s appointment. It is important that you obtain medical certificates for your disability / disabilities and submit them to the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees).
Disabilities may be relevant when deciding on your asylum application—for example, if a person is persecuted due to their disability, if returning to their home country would pose a serious or life-threatening risk due to lack of medical care, if the person cannot support themselves due to their disability, or if no other support options (such as state or family assistance) are available, putting them at risk of destitution.
Your Specific Rights
- Consideration of your disability in the asylum procedure
- Acknowledgment of your disability during the asylum interview (for example, a sign language interpreter if you are deaf)
- Support during the asylum process to ensure you can present all reasons for your asylum claim
- Accommodation and care that meet your specific needs
- Assistance with applications for official disability status
- Partial provision of disability-related additional needs as well as medical aids (e.g. wheelchairs, prosthetics, glasses, hearing aids)
- Specific support in managing daily life
Counselling Centres for People with Disabilities
EUTB – Supplementary Independent Participation Counselling:
EUTB advises you on available support options and helps with applications or with officially determining your disability
Email: eutb.magdeburg@malteser.org
Each district has its own equal opportunities officer:
Equal Opportunities Officer Stendal
Phone: +49 3931 60-7041
Email: gleichstellung@landkreis-stendal.de
Equal Opportunities Officer Halberstadt
Phone: +49 3941 551003
Email: gleichstellung@halberstadt.de
Sensory counselling centres in Saxony-Anhalt
EmISA – Empowerment and Inclusion in Saxony-Anhalt (LAMSA)
The project supports people with disabilities in gaining better access to existing support services. The counsellors at the locations in Halle, Magdeburg, and Dessau-Roßlau offer multilingual counselling and assistance.
miko – communicating together (AWO, Magdeburg)
Opportunities for social interaction, counselling, and support for and with people with a migration background and disabilities in Magdeburg.
Crossroads – Flight.Migration.Disability
Initial telephone consultation
The collected information was compiled and provided by the SENSA project. The project is funded by the European Union (AMIF), co-funded by the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the Free State of Thuringia, and UN Refugee Aid.
