SBT Integration courses

General Terms and Conditions
Integration courses

1. Services
Tandem Bielefeld e.V. is officially recognized as an integration course provider by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)* and organizes general integration courses. A general integration course generally contains 600 hours of language tuition with the aim of acquiring adequate German language skills and includes the final test “German for immigrants” (level B1) plus 100 hours of tuition on German law, culture and history, the value of a democratic state, principles of justice, equality, tolerance and freedom of religion including the test “Living in Germany”. Integration courses are financially supported by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). You need a “Certificate of Eligibility“ (Berechtigungsschein) to benefit from an integration course.
TANDEM Bielefeld e.V. will help you complete the admission application form.
The access requirements comply with the policies of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) and with the integration course regulations (IntV).

2. Registration/ Contract inception
Registration is exclusively effected personally at the school’s office upon presentation of an identity card/ passport plus your authorisation to attend an integration course (“Certificate of Eligibility“, Berechtigungsschein). At the beginning a placement test is compulsory.

3. Terms of payment
You must also pay a contribution towards the costs before the course module starts, unless you are exempt from paying costs.
Participants who receive unemployment benefit II (Arbeitslosengeld II) or social assistance (Sozialhilfe), will be exempted from the costs. Participants who aren’t, must pay a contribution towards the costs of €2.20 for every lesson, which means €220.00 per course module at the start of each module by bank transfer or in cash.
If the classes are not attended or only attended in part or if attendance is discontinued, payment obligation persists even so for the current course module (100 lessons).
For transfers please use the following account:

TANDEM Bielefeld e.V.
Sparkasse Bielefeld
IBAN: DE59 4805 0161 0000 0230 85
BIC: SPBIDE3BXXX

Tip!
If you pass the final examination within
two years of receiving the attendance certificate,
you can claim back half the money you paid for the course.

4. Contract term/ Cancellation
The registration applies to the whole duration of the integration course, not for every single module.
Changing a course will be limited to exceptional cases to the end of the respective module and only with an educational justification by the school. A discontinuation of the course will be reported to the relevant authorities.

5. Course Dates / Organisational Changes
The course dates will be fixed by TANDEM Bielefeld e.V. and are binding. The school reserves the right to postpone a course for operational reasons.
Lessons which have been cancelled for reasons for which TANDEM Bielefeld is responsible will be rescheduled. In case of non-implementation of a course for exceptional circumstances, e.g. not enough registrations, the school shall reimburse the payments already made.
All further claims are excluded.
In exceptional cases the location of the course may be transferred within a reasonable distance and training staff may be replaced, in so far as it is of substantial interest to TANDEM Bielefeld e.V. for extraordinary circumstances (e.g. sick leave of training staff). Participants will be informed of this immediately.

6. Compulsory attendance
Integration course participants who can’t attend classes due to illness for more than 1 day are bound to submit a medical certificate. Should the participant be unable to attend for some other reason (e.g. appointments with authorities), he*she must inform TANDEM Bielefeld e.V. without delay and is obliged to submit signed, written proof.

7. Holiday patterns
At weekends, on public holidays and on the school’s holidays (indicated on the website) tuition and classes will not take place.

8. Data protection
Your personal data will be collected and processed electronically.
It will only be used for administrative requirements and will be passed exclusively on to the relevant authorities (e.g. Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Immigration authority, Jobcenter) for the proper implementation and billing. The data will at no time be passed on to unauthorised third parties.

* BAMF – Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge