Labor Migration: Skilled Worker Visa for Germany

Residence titles for labor migration

You are considered a skilled worker with vocational training if you have completed qualified vocational training in Germany or hold a foreign professional qualification that is equivalent to qualified vocational training in Germany. You are likewise considered a skilled worker with academic training if you hold a German higher education degree, a recognized foreign higher education degree or a foreign higher education degree comparable to a German one. As a skilled worker, you are issued a residence permit for any qualified employment if the requirements for issuance are met, in particular a concrete job offer and the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, to the extent that this approval is required. A widespread misconception is that, for these two residence titles, the position must correspond exactly to your own training, because the law requires qualified employment. The requirements in detail can be found on the page about the residence permit for economic activity.

Alongside the residence permit as a skilled worker with academic training, the EU Blue Card is open to you. It is issued for employment in Germany commensurate with your qualification if, among other things, your salary reaches at least 50 percent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the general pension insurance scheme and there is no statutory ground for refusal. Anyone with well-developed practical professional knowledge may obtain a residence permit for qualified employment if the Employment Ordinance provides for this, and the ordinance requires for that purpose, among other things, at least two years of professional experience acquired within the last five years. The Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) may be issued for the purpose of seeking economic activity if you are a skilled worker or reach a sufficient number of points, and only if your means of subsistence are secure. The risk is that only the route via recognition is examined, although another route leads to the goal more quickly. We examine this separately in the individual case.

Recognition of Qualifications and Salary Threshold

As a skilled worker with vocational training, you need a determination that your foreign professional qualification is equivalent, to the extent that this is a requirement for the issuance of the residence title. It is a serious legal misconception that every higher education degree must be formally recognized, because comparability is sufficient for the status as a skilled worker. For the residence title to be issued, however, a license to practice the profession must have been granted or promised, to the extent that such a license is required, for example in regulated professions. Depending on the profession and on the country in which the degree was obtained, recognition takes a fairly long time, even where the employment contract has already been signed.

If the competent body determines that adjustment or compensatory measures are still required for equivalence, a separate residence permit for recognition is, as a rule, to be issued to you for these measures. This residence permit requires, among other things, that you have German language skills appropriate to the measure, as a rule at least sufficient ones. Where a residence permit as a skilled worker with vocational training or with academic training is issued for the first time after reaching the age of 45, a salary threshold applies in addition, unless you furnish proof of adequate retirement provision. The threshold may moreover be waived if there is a public interest in the employment, in particular where it is only slightly undercut. The details can be found on the page about the residence permit for economic activity, and in practice it is not uncommon for an application to fail less because of the threshold than because of the language skills, which the authorities examine with varying strictness. We also support you in the procedure for the recognition of foreign qualifications.

Visa, Entry and Approval of the Federal Employment Agency

For a longer-term stay, a national visa is required, which is issued before entry, and its issuance is governed by the provisions for the residence title applied for. The residence permit also requires that you entered with the required visa and already provided the information relevant to the residence title in your visa application. Entry with the required visa and the information in the visa application may be dispensed with if the requirements of an entitlement to issuance are met. Both requirements must be dispensed with if, on account of special circumstances of the individual case, it is unreasonable to complete the visa procedure subsequently. It is often assumed that the visa procedure can readily be completed after entry, but these exceptions are narrow.

Nationals of the states listed in § 41 Absatz 1 of the Residence Ordinance, among them the United States of America and Japan, may also enter without a visa for a stay that is not a short stay and may obtain the required residence title in the federal territory. The application must then be filed within 90 days of entry, and the time limit ends early if you are expelled or your stay is limited in time. Only the residence title entitles you to engage in economic activity, not visa-free entry. This exception is often overlooked, and the application is not filed until after the 90 days have expired.

The issuance of a residence title for the purpose of employment requires the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, unless such approval is not required by virtue of law, under the Employment Ordinance or under an intergovernmental agreement. For skilled workers, the Federal Employment Agency may grant approval if, among other things, you are not employed under less favorable working conditions than comparable employees in Germany. Approval must be denied if the employment relationship came about through unauthorized job placement or recruitment, or if you intend to work as a temporary agency worker. The employer must provide the Federal Employment Agency with information on the employment relationship, and it is not uncommon for approval to fail because of incomplete information on pay or working hours. If you have found a job in Germany as an employee, we are glad to support you from the national visa procedure at the competent Auslandsvertretung (German diplomatic mission abroad) through to your appointment at the immigration authority.

For Companies: The Expedited Skilled Worker Procedure

Pursuant to § 81a AufenthG, you as the employer may apply for an expedited skilled worker procedure at the competent immigration authority, acting under a power of attorney from the person who wishes to enter the country for one of the purposes named in the law. The procedure is open for certain purposes of residence, among them the two skilled worker residence titles and in-company vocational training, and likewise for other qualified employees. The basis is an agreement between you and the immigration authority, which covers in particular the documents to be submitted and the procedural steps with their processing deadlines, because the Residence Act itself names only the invitation deadline for the employer. The agreement is often signed without any deadlines in it, and then there is no benchmark. In addition, § 31a of the Residence Ordinance binds the mission abroad, which offers an appointment within the next three weeks after submission of the preliminary approval and receipt of the appointment request and, as a rule, decides within three weeks of the filing of the complete visa application.

The immigration authority initiates the procedure for the determination of equivalence where this is required, and obtains the approval of the Federal Employment Agency where this is required. If the requirements are met, the immigration authority grants preliminary approval for the issuance of the visa without undue delay. If the competent body requests further documents, or if the findings of the competent body reach the immigration authority, the immigration authority invites you as the employer within three working days of receipt for a handover and a discussion of the further procedure. The procedure also covers the reunification of the spouse and of unmarried minor children if their visa applications are filed in close temporal connection. It is not uncommon for the procedure to fail not because of the authority, but because of a missing power of attorney or incomplete documents from the employer.

In cooperation with the Munich Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK München), the law firm offers events for employers and HR managers on hiring and employing foreign staff. Anyone who regularly recruits from abroad should be familiar with the expedited skilled worker procedure. We are glad to advise you on this.

Frequently Asked Questions About Labor Migration

Is a bachelor’s degree sufficient?

For the residence permit as a skilled worker with academic training, what matters is a German higher education degree, a recognized foreign higher education degree or a foreign higher education degree comparable to a German one. A bachelor’s degree can meet this requirement if it is comparable to a German higher education degree. We examine separately in the individual case whether this applies to your degree.

May the skilled worker bring the family along?

The spouse of a skilled worker with a residence permit under § 18a or § 18b AufenthG is entitled to family reunification if, among other things, the marriage already existed when this residence permit was issued and the stay is expected to last more than one year. If the marriage did not yet exist, this requirement may be waived if the skilled worker already holds the residence permit. The spouse’s proof of language skills is not required, among other things, if the skilled worker holds an EU Blue Card or a residence permit as a skilled worker. In the expedited skilled worker procedure, the reunification of the spouse and of unmarried minor children is pursued at the same time if the visa applications are filed in close temporal connection. The rules in detail can be found on the page about family reunification.

What applies to trainees and students?

There are separate residence permits for in-company vocational training and for full-time studies. Anyone who successfully completes qualified vocational training or studies in the federal territory under such a residence permit receives a residence permit to search for economic activity, provided that the means of subsistence are secure. The expedited skilled worker procedure is also open for in-company vocational training, but not for studies. Details on the page Vocational Training and University Studies in Germany.

Last updated: September 8, 2026. Professionally responsible: Gülay Tasli, specialist lawyer for migration law and social law (Fachanwältin für Migrationsrecht und Sozialrecht).