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IMPORTANT: Select a location.To obtain application forms, location-specific information and contacts, select a town or zip code.

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Your selected location: Rhede (Ems) (268...)

Which place to enter?

The location is used to determine the responsible office for the selected administrative service. In most cases you can enter your place of residence to find the competent authority. However, there are also cases in which a different location must be specified. Here are some examples:

Birth certificateYou want to get married and need a birth certificate. You live in Hanover, but you were born in Celle. You must therefore state your place of birth, i.e. Celle.

Business registrationYou would like to register a business in Braunschweig. Your place of residence is Hanover. You must therefore state the location of your future business, i.e. Braunschweig.

Apply for a building permitYou would like to build a house in Wunstorf and therefore apply for a building permit. Her place of residence is currently Hanover. You must indicate the place where the house is to be built. In this case it is Wunstorf.

Apply for blindness benefit

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You can apply for blindness benefit if you are blind or have a comparably severe visual impairment.

If you meet the eligibility requirements for blindness benefit, the amount of the benefit depends on whether or not you live in an inpatient facility or in a special form of accommodation (integration assistance).

If you live in Lower Saxony outside of an inpatient facility or special form of accommodation, the monthly allowance for the blind is 450 euros. Certain benefits, in particular benefits from long-term care insurance, are partially offset against the allowance for the blind. In these cases, the above-mentioned allowance for the blind would be reduced.

If you live in an inpatient facility or special form of accommodation, the allowance for the blind is 225 euros per month.

You can decide for yourself how you use the allowance.

Legal basis

Which documents are required?

  • An application must be submitted
  • Severely disabled person's pass or notice of assessment with mark Bl
  • Documents relating to third-party benefits that are to be offset against the blind person's allowance (e.g. care insurance benefits).
  • Certificate of a legal residence permit if you are neither a German citizen nor a citizen of an EU country

Requirements

  • You must have been determined to have the mark Bl (blind) by a procedure for determining disability (severely disabled person's pass).
  • You must have your habitual residence in Lower Saxony

or,

  • if you live in an inpatient facility or a special form of accommodation within Germany, your habitual residence must have been in Lower Saxony before you were admitted there.
  • The reason for your blindness must not be related to military service or vaccination
  • You must not be the subject of any measures involving deprivation of liberty.

What are the fees?

There are no fees.

Process flow

After you have submitted your application, the responsible office will check whether you meet the requirements for receiving blindness benefit.

If documents or information are missing for the examination of the application, the competent office will request these from you in addition.

If you meet the requirements for receiving blind person's allowance, you will be notified of the amount of the allowance to which you are entitled. You will then receive the allowance on a monthly basis. Proof of use is not required.

If you do not meet the requirements for blind person's allowance, you will receive a rejection notice.

Processing duration

The processing time depends in particular on the completeness of the information and the submission of the evidence required for processing the application.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

Blindness benefit is paid from the first of the month in which the application for blindness benefit is submitted at the earliest.

Appeal

  • Objection
  • Complaint

Applications / forms

It is possible to apply for the state allowance for the blind at the same time as applying for the determination of severely disabled status in accordance with the German Social Code - Ninth Book (SGB IX).

What else should I know?

Information on the state allowance for the blind can be found on the website of the Lower Saxony State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Family.

It is possible to apply for the allowance for the blind at the same time as applying for the determination of severely disabled status in accordance with the German Social Code - Ninth Book (SGB IX) (severely disabled person's pass).

Further benefits for the blind can be granted within the framework of assistance for the blind in accordance with the Twelfth Book of the Social Code (SGB XII) or from the State Fund for the Blind.

Blind and severely visually impaired people from the former administrative district of Braunschweig can receive support from the Herzog-Wilhelm-Blindenstiftung.

Who should I contact?

Responsibility lies with the district and the independent city in which you reside.

Responsible authorities

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Landkreis Emsland - Fachbereich Soziales
Address: Ordeniederung 1 , 49716 Meppen
Timetable
Postal address: Post Office Box 15 62 , 49705 Meppen
Timetable
Telephone: 05931 44-0
Fax: 05931 44-3621
Email: Get in touch
www: https://www.emsland.de
Transport Connection:
Station Haltestelle Kreishaus
Bus: 993
Building Access
elevator available, wheelchair-accessible

Contact

Monika Berning
Telephone: 05931 44-1745
Email: Get in touch
Room:
F 257
responsible for:
Ulla Neumann
Telephone: 05931 44-1255
Fax: 05931 44391255
Email: Get in touch
Room:
F 255
responsible for:

Source: Serviceportal Niedersachsen (Portalverbund des Bundes und der Länder)

Further Links

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Single points of contact of the state of Lower Saxony, Single points of contact of the countries of Europe, advice and assistance for EU citizens and their families.
Access information on the single point of contact for the state of Lower Saxonyvisit Website Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEsVisit advice and assistance for EU citizens and their families