Waiting for approval: what to do in the gap.

Why nothing starts before the letter.

The voucher pays the provider for a measure the agency has approved. Sessions held before the written approval are not covered, by anyone, so no serious provider starts early. Approval usually takes a few weeks; if you have heard nothing after three, a short, friendly message through the portal asking for the status is normal and does no harm.

Two rules while you wait.

• You stay available. § 138 SGB III keeps you obliged to look for work and to react to the agency’s letters while you receive Arbeitslosengeldunemployment benefit. The gap is not a holiday from that.
• Under 15 hours is fine. The same paragraph lets you work self-employed up to 15 hours a week without ending your unemployment. Preparing, talking to customers and taking a first small job are allowed. Income is offset against the benefit after an allowance of €165 a month (§ 155 SGB III); tell the agency about it.

The plan for the gap.

1. Week 1: your dates. Enter notice date and last day on How it works →. Count back 150 days from the end date in your Bescheid: that is the last day to apply for the grant, and everything else is planned from it.

2. Weeks 1–3: ten conversations. Not a survey: ten people who might pay, asked what they do today, what it costs them, and whether they would pay you instead. Write every answer down. This is the raw material of the plan, and nothing in the coaching replaces it.

3. Week 2: the file. The expert body will want four documents: the plan, your CV with qualifications, the capital and financing plan, the revenue forecast. Start the CV and the list of costs now; the rest comes out of the conversations.

4. Week 3: the admin questions. Which health insurance you will have as a founder, how tax registration works, whether your residence permit needs a permission. Collect the questions; the answers come in the program, and the visa question goes to a lawyer first.

5. Any week: the number. If the agency asks how many units you need, the Hours Guide → gives you the number and the sentence.

If the approval is for fewer units.

That happens, and it is a decision, not a rejection. The coaching starts; what moves into the sessions and what you do with the templates alone is settled in the first session. If the approval is a refusal, ask for the reasons in writing; most reasons are fixable, and this guide covers the conversation.

When the letter arrives.

Send the approval to the provider the same day. The first session is usually within the week, and it starts from what you did in the gap, not from zero.