New rules for the immigration of skilled workers to Germany will enter into force in early 2020. The new law extends the opportunities for qualified professionals from outside the European Union to come to work in Germany.

Please inform yourself on the following website if you fulfill the requirements for immigration as a skilled worker: Moving to Germany as a skilled worker

Before applying for a visa under the new rules, interested candidates need to obtain official recognition of their professional qualification from the competent German authorities. Information about the procedures can be found on www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de. Interested professionals should start these procedures early.

You may be issued a residence title for skilled workers that entitles you to take up employment:

• if your foreign degree or certificate has been officially recognised;
• if you have already been offered a specific job offer – you must ask your future employer to fill out the „Declaration regarding a contract of employment“ (Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis);

You should only submit your visa application if you meet all the requirements and are able to produce complete documents. If your foreign qualification has not yet been recognized, your visa application cannot be processed.

If your documents are complete, please register here for an appointment: Registration for an appointment

Information about the fast-track procedure for skilled workers

If you have already found an employer, you can authorise this employer to submit a fast-track application for you as a skilled worker at the local foreigner’s authority, i.e. at your future place of work. The foreigners authority will advise your employer and be of assistance in filing an application for recognition of your foreign degree or certificate. The authority is also responsible for obtaining the necessary approval from the Federal Employment Agency. The authorities and the Federal Employment Agency must make decisions on recognition and approval within certain deadlines. The fee for this procedure is 411 euros. In addition, there are fees for recognition of your degree or certificate. When all prerequisites that can be examined in Germany have been met, the foreigners authority will issue what is called advanced approval, which your employer will then send to you. As soon as you have received advanced approval, you can make a visa application appointment at your mission abroad; this appointment must occur within a period of three weeks. At the appointment, you must present the original letter of advanced approval together with other documents. As a rule, the mission abroad will take a decision on your visa application within the following three weeks. The visa fee is 75 euros.

If you also have the advanced approval of the Foreigners Office, you can register for an appointment in the fast-track procedure for skilled workers. To do this, please enter yourself in the appointment list for a visa for specialists with the advanced approval of the Foreigners Authority. This appointment list will be activated from March 2nd, 2020 under the following link: Registration for an appointment