Germany’s Interior Ministry has confirmed that the German-language examination (Deutsch-Test für Zuwanderer, DTZ) taken at the end of state-funded integration courses will become significantly stricter from 1 November 2026. For the first time, every part of the three-section test (listening/reading comprehension, writing and the oral interview) must be completed satisfactorily. Until now, candidates who achieved very high scores in the oral and comprehension modules could still pass even if they left some or all of the written task blank. An internal review by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) found a surge in cheating rings selling answer sheets online—often via encrypted Telegram channels for about €250. The ministry says the rule change closes this loophole and reinforces the message that functional written German is essential for working life, tenancy contracts and dealings with authorities. Germany subsidises a 700-hour integration course (600 hours language, 100 hours civics) that roughly 320,000 newcomers completed last year. Ukrainians formed the largest group of participants in 2025 (around 30 percent), followed by Syrians, Afghans and Turks. Budget pressures mean overall federal funding for integration courses will fall from €1.3 billion to about €600 million in 2027, and asylum-seekers without a strong residence prospect will in future be steered to shorter “orientation” courses they must partly finance themselves. Business immigration advisers point out that the DTZ certificate at B1 level is increasingly a prerequisite for residence-permit renewals, Blue Card upgrades and—after eight years—naturalisation. Employers that sponsor non-EU staff therefore have an interest in ensuring assignees meet the new language-test bar. Companies are urged to invest early in writing skills, not just spoken German, and to allocate study leave well before November so staff avoid delays to residence titles. Language-school associations, meanwhile, warn of longer waiting lists as people retake the test. In the medium term, officials hope the tougher exam will deter fraudulent “test-shopping” across federal states and raise overall language outcomes, supporting faster labour-market integration at a time when German companies face severe skills shortages.
Source: Deutsche Welle (Russian service)
