RWR+ for Ukrainians: language, certificates and proof of income

Besides your insurance periods, the authority checks three things when you switch to the RWR+: your German, certificates about you, and an income that is enough to live on without public assistance. This is where most questions arise: which certificate is accepted, whether a diploma can replace it, how to order the certificate from Ukraine, and how to calculate income if there is rent, savings or a business of your own. Below we go through them one by one. All amounts are for 2026; the reference rates are adjusted every January.

You must prove your German before you apply, and the most basic level, A1, is enough. Only certificates from four institutions are accepted: ÖIF (Austrian Integration Fund), ÖSD (Austrian German Language Diploma), Goethe-Institut or telc. The certificate must be no more than one year old when you apply, and you can have taken the exam either in Austria or abroad. A certificate at a higher level also works if it is no more than a year old; the exception is the certificate of the ÖIF integration exam (Integrationsprüfung) confirming Modul 1, which may be up to two years old. Children under 14 do not need to provide proof.

The certificate can be replaced by proof that you meet Modul 1 of the integration agreement (Integrationsvereinbarung). For Ukrainian applicants this is most often a university degree. A bachelor’s diploma with at least three years of study is accepted if the university has H+ status in the German Anabin database of foreign qualifications; you must attach the confirmation from the Anabin website. The diplomas of a “junior specialist”, “junior bachelor” and “skilled worker” are also accepted, as is the diploma of a vocational school if, together with compulsory schooling, you completed at least twelve years of school. The school-leaving certificate (certificate of complete general secondary education) is not enough. The diploma may be older than two years, but it must be translated into German by a generally sworn interpreter.

A criminal record certificate (Strafregisterbescheinigung) is required from all applicants aged 14 and over: it must come from the country whose citizenship you hold and be no more than three months old when you apply. If you lived in another country for more than six months before staying in Austria, you also need a certificate from there. An Austrian certificate is not on the list. This is what MA 35 requires in Vienna; in another federal state it is better to check the documents with your own authority.

The Ukrainian criminal record extract (“витяг про несудимість”, formerly “довідка”) can be ordered online without travelling to Ukraine: • open “Diia” (app or portal) and log in; • choose “Послуги” (Services) → “Довідки та витяги” (Certificates and extracts) → “Витяг про несудимість” (Criminal record extract); • check your details: if you changed your surname or first name, enter the previous one; • choose the type of extract and the purpose of the request; • wait for the finished document: according to the Diia portal it takes up to 10 working days, or up to 30 calendar days if additional checks are needed; it arrives by e-mail and appears in the “Отримані документи” (Received documents) section; • have it translated into German by a generally sworn interpreter.

You do not need a credit history of your own, but you do need the Selbstauskunft: a credit agency’s answer to your request about what data it stores on you. For applicants aged 18 and over, MA 35 requires a current extract and accepts the free Selbstauskunft under Article 15 GDPR from KSV1870, which you can request on the agency’s website. The Ministry of the Interior’s FAQ describes it as a document that speeds up processing.