Requesting an absence from the Jobcenter: the ANE form explained

If you receive Bürgergeld you have to be reachable for the Jobcenter on working days. If you want to travel you need its agreement in advance, and you request that with the ANE form, the Anfrage zur Nichterreichbarkeit under § 7b SGB II: 3 pages, 9 numbered items. As a rule 3 weeks per calendar year outside the „näherer Bereich“ are possible without the payment stopping, provided you arrange it BEFOREHAND. This guide walks through the form page by page: above you see the original page, below it what belongs in each item. The fields on the images are interactive: hover over them or tap them. You see the same explanations while filling the form in the PDeF editor.

1. 1. Page 1: your details, the period and the reason (items 1-7)

   

   Item 7 is the fork of the whole form. Tick „Urlaub“ and you jump to item 9. For ANY other reason you have to give a contact option in item 8, otherwise there is no money for that time.

   Section A: your details

   1-3

   First name, surname and date of birth.

   4-5

   Customer number and Bedarfsgemeinschaft number, both only „if known“. They are printed at the top of every letter from your Jobcenter.

   Section B: the planned absence

   6

   The period from and to. File the request BEFORE you leave: the Jobcenter checks whether important appointments fall into that window and then usually agrees.

   7

   The reason, one tick out of six. A medically prescribed preventive or rehabilitation measure (attach evidence). An event serving church, union or public interests (attach information about it). Temporarily leaving the area to sort out an apprenticeship or a job (explain where you go and which position you are after). Voluntary work outside the area (attach evidence). Holiday, then continue with item 9. Another reason such as caring for a close relative (state the reason and, if possible, attach evidence).

2. 2. Page 2: contact option and entitlement (items 8-9)

   

   The two items with the biggest consequences. Item 8 decides whether anything is paid during the absence at all; item 9 decides what happens if your trip is longer than your entitlement.

   8

   Only when the reason is NOT holiday: a way to contact you during the absence. Either you have agreed to online cooperation and are reachable that way, or you enter another route, for example an email address or a phone number. The sentence in the form is unambiguous: as long as no contact option is on file, no Grundsicherungsgeld is paid.

   9

   Three alternatives for the case where your entitlement does not cover the whole period. First: you stay inside the area after all. Second: you only travel for the period you receive benefits for. Third: you travel for the full period anyway, and then from week 4 no benefits are paid AND from that moment there is no statutory health insurance either.

   C

   The note below states the basic rule: as a benefit recipient you have to be reachable on working days and able to attend appointments at short notice. The rules apply to every member of the Bedarfsgemeinschaft aged 15 and over, unless they are in employment subject to social insurance.

3. 3. Page 3: the rules worth knowing

   

   There is nothing to fill in on this page, but it holds the rules most repayment demands hang on. In short:

   3 wk

   As a rule up to 3 weeks per calendar year outside the area with the payment continuing, if the Jobcenter agreed in advance. Longer stays can also be approved in certain cases.

   Area

   „Näherer Bereich“ means: you can reach your responsible Jobcenter office within a two-and-a-half-hour one-way journey. If you temporarily live somewhere else INSIDE that area, you still have to report the address in good time.

   Wknd

   For Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays you need no approval. You do have to make sure you can read messages before the next working day.

   ALG

   If you also draw Arbeitslosengeld, the Agentur für Arbeit decides about the absence; its approval then automatically counts for the Grundsicherungsgeld too. Earlier absences during ALG in the same year count towards the total.

   Job

   Anyone in employment subject to social insurance who receives topping-up benefits should inform their personal contact beforehand: special rules apply then.

   Longer

   Stay away longer than approved and the entitlement lapses for the time after that, and overpaid benefits can be reclaimed.

4. 4. How to fill in the ANE with explanations right on the form

   Download the ANE form from arbeitsagentur.de and open it in the free PDeF editor in your browser. The editor recognises it automatically and explains every field in plain language, including the fork in item 7. This form needs no signature: you save the filled PDF and send it together with your evidence through the Jobcenter's Online-Postfach. The file is not uploaded to a server: everything happens in your browser.

   

Note, not legal advice: whether your Jobcenter agrees to the absence is decided case by case, among other things on the basis of upcoming appointments. For questions about your entitlement, your contact at the Jobcenter or a social advice centre can help.