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Taking up employment (not Blue Card EU)
To whom does this leaflet apply
Employees with an equivalent or comparable foreign university degree or professional qualification (for regulated professions: professional licence is additionally required) who do not meet the requirements for a Blue Card EU (see separate information sheet „Blue Card EU“) and wish to take up qualified employment in Germany.
Employees who will be working in the IT sector and have gained at least two years of professional experience in the sector in the last five years. The contractually agreed salary must be at least 45.630 euros gross per year. This salary threshold does not apply if the employer is bound by a collective agreement and the employee is hired under the applicable collective agreement conditions. A university degree or professional qualification is not required in this case. IT specialists at university level can apply for a Blue Card EU (see separate information sheet „Blue Card EU“).
Employees in non-regulated professions, with a high level of practical professional experience acquired over at least two years in the last five years who are qualified for the planned employment AND have a university degree or have completed at least two years of vocational training. Recognition of the higher education or vocational qualification in Germany is not required. All that is needed is a certificate from the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentrale für ausländisches Bildungswesen - ZAB) stating that the foreign qualification is officially recognized in the respective country. The contractually agreed salary must be at least 45.630 euros gross per year. The salary threshold does not apply if the employer is bound by a collective agreement and the recruitment takes place under the applicable collective agreement conditions.
Additional information is available on the website www.make-it-in-germany.com
https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa-residence/types/work-qualified-professionals
What kind of documents need to be submitted
These documents depend on the type of visa you are applying for and must be submitted in addition to the standard proofs:
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signed employment contract (and a non-certified copy) |
The contract/offer must contain information on the nature of the intended activity:
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OR concrete job offer (and a non-certified copy) |
Form „Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis“ from Federal Employment Agency
Please have this form filled in by a responsible person at your future workplace and then submit it.
| ☐ | Complete curriculum vitae in tabular form in German or English | In your CV, please summarize all previous activities, trainings and qualifications up to the current application date in one table. |
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University diploma OR Proof of completed professional training (training period min. 2 years) AND notarized translation (Diploma in the English language do not require translation). (original document with a non-certified copy) |
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AND Proof of equivalence/comparability of your degree (Information on degree’s recognition and ways of proving, you can find in our leaflet „Information on degree’s recognition“) |
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OR (only for IT sector) Proof of at least two years of professional experience in the IT sector in the last five years and notarized translation AND Proof of relevant theoretical knowledge (original document with a non-certified copy, English-language proofs do not need to be translated) |
Please provide previous employment contracts or a workbook AND proof of completed training courses or examinations |
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OR Proof of at least two years of professional experience in the last five years that qualifies for the planned employment AND University degree or proof of at least two years of completed vocational training. The qualification must be state-recognized in the country in which it was obtained (proof by means of a ZAB certificate, information at: www.kmk.org/zab.html). OR a vocational qualification issued by a German chamber of commerce abroad (the certificate should contain a note that the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung - BIBB) has positively examined the qualification). (original document with a non-certified copy, English-language proofs do not need to be translated) |
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Minimum salary of 55.770 Euros gross per year or proof of adequate retirement provision (original document with a non-certified copy) AND notarized translation (English-language proofs do not need to be translated) |
Proof of additional retirement provision can be, for example, claims in a statutory pension scheme in your country of origin or other countries, private pension or life insurance policies or real estate or other assets. |
General information
- Please note:
- Due to the high workload and in order to ensure equal treatment of all applicants, the visa section can only accept applications in the requested form for processing.
- Submitting incomplete documents may lead to the rejection of the application.
- Unsolicited documents cannot be assigned to your application.
- All documents, leaflets and application forms provided by the Embassy are free of charge.
- All information on the application procedure is available on our website.
- Please refrain from submitting status requests. Status requests do not speed up the visa process.
- Processing time: Approximately between two and four weeks, in individual cases shorter or longer.
- If the Embassy has questions during the course of the visa procedure or if additional documents need to be submitted, we will contact you directly.