Parental Allowance (Elterngeld) and Parental Leave in Germany

This guide is for parents who have recently moved to Germany and are expecting a baby or have just had one. After reading it, you will know who can claim Elterngeld (parental allowance), how long it is paid, and how to request Elternzeit (parental leave).

• Who can get Elterngeld
• Types and duration of Elterngeld
• Amount and applying
• Parental leave (Elternzeit)
• Job protection and part-time work
• FAQ

Who can get Elterngeld

Elterngeld supports parents and legal guardians who work less, or not at all, while caring for a young child. According to Handbook Germany’s guide to parental allowance, you do not need to have worked before the birth. Employees, self-employed people, civil servants, students, trainees, unemployed people and stay-at-home parents can all apply. You must live with your child in Germany and have custody. You also cannot work more than 32 hours a week on average in a month (30 hours for children born before 1 September 2021).

Residence status. Citizens of Germany, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland meet this condition. Other nationals need one of the following:

• a permanent residence permit, a permanent EU residence permit, an EU Blue Card, an ICT Card or a Mobile ICT Card;
• a residence permit that entitles or has entitled them to work for at least 6 months (the Federal Parental Allowance Act sets out exceptions);
• a Beschäftigungsduldung (toleration for the purpose of employment).

Some permits come with an extra condition: permits under § 23 (1) of the Residence Act issued because of war in the home country, and permits under § 24 or § 25 (3) to (5). Holders must also be employed, on parental leave or receiving unemployment benefit I, or have been in Germany for at least 15 months. Questions about a specific permit belong with the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ authority) or a migration advice service.

Income limit. For births from April 2025, an income limit of €175,000 applies to single parents and to parents raising a child together. What counts is income in the year before the birth. For births from 1 April 2024 to March 2025, the limits were €200,000 combined for couples and €150,000 for single parents.

Types and duration of Elterngeld

Parents can choose one type or combine them. They can take the allowance continuously, pause it, or alternate with the other parent. Combined, Elterngeld can run until the child is 2 years and 8 months (32 months) old at most.

Basiselterngeld (basic parental allowance) is paid for 12 months per child. Two extra Partnermonate (partner months) are added when both parents claim and at least one worked before the birth and now earns less. Each parent takes between 2 and 12 months, and a month in which both receive it counts as two. For births from 1 April 2024, one partner month must fall within the first 12 months, and only in that month can both parents claim at the same time. Single parents can also receive 14 months. Basiselterngeld is generally only available until the child is 14 months old.

ElterngeldPlus turns one month of basic allowance into two, so 14 months can become 28. Parents who do not work receive half the basic monthly amount. Parents working part-time can receive as much as the basic amount. After the child’s 14th month, ElterngeldPlus cannot be paused and resumed, because pausing ends the entitlement.

Partnerschaftsbonus (partnership bonus) applies when both parents receive Elterngeld at the same time and both work 24 to 32 hours a week. Single parents working those hours also qualify. For births from 1 September 2021, it adds 2 to 4 months of ElterngeldPlus for each parent. It is not paid automatically and must be applied for.

A baby born 6 to 16 weeks (or more) before the due date brings 1 to 4 extra months.

Amount and applying

The amount depends on the type chosen, your living situation and your taxable income. The sources for this guide do not give rates or a list of required documents. The Elterngeldstelle (parental allowance office) responsible for your area calculates the exact figure and explains its application process. You can only apply after the birth, and payment is backdated for a maximum of 3 months before the application. Basing the claim on the child’s months of life rather than calendar months also matters, because calendar months produce a lower payment.

Parental leave (Elternzeit)

Elternzeit is time off work, or reduced hours, with the right to return to your job afterwards. Handbook Germany’s guide to parental leave explains who can take it: employees and trainees, including part-time and mini-job workers, who live with the child and personally care for it. Self-employed and unemployed people, homemakers, pupils and university students cannot take it. Civil servants, judges and soldiers have special rules. Your employer pays no salary for hours you do not work, but you can claim Elterngeld for them.

• Length: each parent can take up to three years per child. For mothers, maternity leave after the birth counts towards the three years.
• Timing: fathers can start at the birth, and mothers after maternity leave. Part of the leave must be taken before the third birthday. Up to 24 months can be taken between the third and eighth birthdays.
• Splitting: leave can be taken in up to 3 periods, or more if the employer agrees.
• Notice: for children born from 1 July 2015, at least seven weeks for leave starting before the third birthday, and 13 weeks for leave between the third and eighth birthdays.

You must register leave with your employer in writing and give its start and end dates. Phone and email do not count. Elternzeit.de offers a sample letter. For leave before the third birthday, you also commit to how you will divide your leave over the next two years. This is the Bindungszeitraum (binding period), and after that you can only change the plan if your employer agrees.

Job protection and part-time work

Protection against dismissal starts once you have registered your leave, at the earliest eight weeks before it begins, and lasts until it ends. In exceptional cases, such as insolvency, a dismissal is only valid if the Aufsichtsbehörde (supervisory authority) approves it. Even then, it can be challenged within three weeks. After leave, you return to your old job or an equivalent one with no lower pay. If you do not work during leave, your annual holiday falls by 1/12 for each full month. If you work part-time, it does not fall.

During leave you can work part-time up to 32 hours a week, averaged over the month. You have a legal right to work 15 to 32 hours for at least 2 months if all of these apply:

• you have worked for the employer for more than 6 months without a break;
• the employer usually has more than 15 employees;
• no urgent operational reasons stand in the way.

The application must be in writing and state the start date, the hours and your preferred days. For children born from 1 July 2015, an employer who refuses must do so in writing within 4 weeks (before the third birthday) or 8 weeks (after it). If the employer does not reply in time, consent is treated as given.

FAQ

Can I get Elterngeld if I did not work before the birth?

Yes. Work is not a condition, so unemployed people, students and stay-at-home parents can apply if they meet the residence, custody and income rules. Some humanitarian residence permits carry extra conditions.

Do I have to take Elternzeit to receive Elterngeld?

No. Elterngeld does not depend on parental leave. You can work while receiving it, but only up to 32 hours a week on average in a month.

Can I receive Elterngeld while my child attends a Kita?

Yes. It is still paid if your child goes to a Kita (daycare centre) or a Tagesmutter (childminder). Your city or local authority decides how childcare places are allocated.

Where can I get help with parental leave questions?

The Migrationsberatung für Erwachsene (MBE, migration counselling for adults) helps people over 27 in many languages. The Jugendmigrationsdienste (youth migration services) help people aged 12 to 27. You can find local offices on bamf.de and jugendmigrationsdienste.de.

Sources: handbookgermany.de · handbookgermany.de

Last verified: 31 October 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the foreigners’ authority (Ausländerbehörde) of your city, a recognised migration advice service or a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt).