You are here:

Application for a severely disabled person's pass


If you have a significant condition due to an illness, an accident or from birth that restricts your participation in life in the community, you can have these restrictions officially recognized as a disability. The disability must not be temporary, but must last longer than six months.

Before a severely disabled person's pass can be issued, the degree of disability must be determined. A degree of disability of 50 or higher must be determined in order to obtain a severely disabled person's pass.

The assessment determines the overall impact of one or more disabilities.

In particular, the degree of disability and other health features (characteristics) are then entered on the severely disabled person's pass.

The ID card with the respective characteristic (mark) is a prerequisite for claiming compensation for disadvantages, such as free travel on local public transport.

Requirements

  • Residence in Bremen/Bremerhaven
  • The habitual residence is in Germany

Foreign jurisdiction of the AVIB

The AVIB is responsible for the following non-European countries for applications in the severe disability procedure in accordance with the German Social Code Book IX (SGB IX):

Latin America/South America; Canada, Caribbean, USA

In which cases does the AVIB become active?

According to Section 2 of Book IX of the German Social Code, people are severely disabled if they have a degree of disability of at least 50 and are legally resident, ordinarily resident or employed within the area of application of this Code.

According to the intention of the legislator, SGB IX should therefore only apply to people in the Federal Republic of Germany.

There are two exceptions to this rule:

  1. You are liable to pay tax in the Federal Republic and require proof to claim a so-called lump sum for severely disabled persons under income tax law
  2. claiming an early retirement pension for severely disabled persons from the statutory pension insurance scheme - but only for nationals of a member state of the European Union or a contracting state of the European Economic Area

In this case, a special interest in a determination would have to be substantiated.

If the check then reveals that a severe disability exists, a certificate would be issued as proof for submission to the tax office or pension insurance company.

A severely disabled person's pass cannot be issued.

What documents do I need?

  • Examination documents of the doctor(s)/clinic(s)/nursing opinion,

    if available (the documents should not be older than 2 years) or complete addresses as well as the last date of treatment

  • Passport/replacement passport/residence status for non-EU citizens
  • Passport photo

    The passport photo can also be scanned and sent by email.