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If you receive a citizen's allowance and you want to become self-employed or start a job that is subject to social insurance contributions, you can receive an introductory allowance under certain conditions.
The introductory allowance is intended to provide you with a financial incentive if your income is initially no higher or barely higher than your previous cash benefits from the basic income support scheme.
Einstiegsgeld is granted to you as a non-accountable subsidy.
The amount of the subsidy can be determined by each job center on the basis of the legal criteria and amounts to a maximum of 50 percent of the standard rate of the citizen's allowance. The calculation of the amount takes into account, among other things, the duration of your unemployment and the size of your needs group. Therefore, the amount of the Einstiegsgeld varies depending on the individual case.
For special groups of people, your job center can also make a flat-rate assessment. This facilitates equal decisions in similarly situated cases and concerns in particular:
You can receive starter money for a maximum of 24 months.
Your job center alone decides whether and how much you can receive. This means that you have no legal entitlement to it.
For self-employment/start-up:
In the case of employment subject to social insurance contributions:
In order to receive the introductory allowance, you should first arrange a counseling interview at your responsible job center:
There are no costs involved.
You must not have started your gainful employment yet when you apply for Einstiegsgeld. This applies both to the start of employment subject to social insurance contributions and to your self-employment.
Objection period: 1 month
4 weeks.
The notice of objection contains detailed reasons for the decision and information on legal remedies. After receiving the notice of objection, the applicant must decide whether to take legal action.