I am an EU Blue Card holder living in Berlin. Because of medical complications during my wife’s pregnancy, I may need to take full-time Elternzeit with zero working hours.

My employment contract would remain active, but I would temporarily receive no salary. My expected personal income would be €1,800 per month in Elterngeld.

## 1. Applying for permanent residence through the Blue Card route during Elternzeit

1. Does the Blue Card remain valid during full-time Elternzeit with zero salary if the employment contract remains active and the holder’s only personal income is €1,800 per month in Elterngeld?

2. If DRV records Kindererziehungszeiten as “Pflichtbeitragszeiten wegen Kindererziehung,” do these months satisfy both:

   - the pension-contribution requirement for Blue Card permanent residence; and
   - the Blue Card-qualifying employment requirement?

3. For the secured-livelihood requirement, is a positive LEA calculator result based on the preceding six-month average sufficient if the applicant’s current income no longer meets the required minimum?

4. If the applicant’s income no longer meets the requirement by the fingerprinting appointment, could the absence of recent salary slips due to Elternzeit create a problem?

5. Would receiving Wohngeld or Kinderzuschlag negatively affect or disqualify a Blue Card permanent-residence application?

## 2. Wohngeld and Kinderzuschlag with Elterngeld

1. Must Familienkasse calculate Kinderzuschlag using income from the preceding six months, even if the previous Blue Card salary would make the applicant ineligible?

2. Alternatively, can Familienkasse consider current and expected Elterngeld if that income would fall within the qualifying range?

3. Does Wohngeld instead use the income expected during the upcoming approval period?

4. As a separate general example, can someone receiving €500 per month in Elterngeld qualify for Wohngeld or Kinderzuschlag?

5. Can savings help satisfy any minimum-income requirement for these benefits?

## 3. Freelance residence permit under §21 AufenthG

In a worst-case scenario, if my employment is terminated and I switch to a freelance residence permit, I would not apply for permanent residence through that route because I would not meet the qualifying-period or B1-language requirements. I only want to understand whether Elternzeit would still be possible.

1. Can a self-employed residence-permit holder formally take Elternzeit, or can they only reduce or pause their work while receiving Elterngeld?

2. Could temporarily reducing or pausing freelance activity endanger the residence permit?

3. Can the permit holder receive Wohngeld and Kinderzuschlag?

4. Could receiving these benefits affect the permit’s extension or a future permanent-residence application?

Where relevant, please distinguish the statutory requirements from current Berlin administrative practice.