Residence permit - skilled workers with vocational training
If you are a skilled worker with vocational training and would like to work in Germany, you will need a residence permit for skilled workers with vocational training.
Course description
Visa procedure
If you come from a third country ( not the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland) and would like to work in Germany, you will generally need a visa. This must be applied for at the German diplomatic mission abroad.
Citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America do not require a visa.
After entering the country
You must first register your residence at the Citizens Office.
Application and appointment
Apply for your residence permit before your visa or residence permit expires. If you can enter Germany without a visa for this purpose, you must apply for a residence permit at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service Office within 90 days of your entry.
Please submit the application form and the required documents online or by post. After your application has been checked, you will receive an appointment for a personal interview.
Period of validity
The residence permit is valid for four years or for the duration of the employment or work permit, if this is shorter.
Prerequisites
- Recognised foreign vocational training (see Recognition in Germany) or German vocational training, minimum duration of training two years
- Professional licence (if required, only for regulated professions, e.g. healthcare, legal advice or teaching professions)
- Employment contract or concrete job offer
- Approval from the Federal Employment Agency or an exemption from the approval requirement. Approval is obtained from the German diplomatic mission abroad or the Service Centre for Immigration and Naturalisation.
- Adequate pension provision (required from the age of 45)In order to be able to carry out the desired activity in Germany, you must earn a gross annual salary of at least 49,830 euros gross (in 2024) or provide evidence of adequate pension provision from public or private funds (assets or pension insurance).
Required documents
- Fully completed application form
- Valid passport or passport replacement
- current biometric passport photo submitted digitally by a certified photo studio or drugstore. Alternatively, you can use one of the photo terminals at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service Centre for a fee.
- Valid visa for entry to pursue qualified employment (only for first-time applicants). Citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can also enter Germany without a visa and apply for a residence permit before taking up employment.
- Proof of qualification as a skilled worker with vocational training
- completed German vocational training, minimum duration 2 years, or
- a foreign professional qualification recognised as equivalent (notice of recognition)
- Proof of the current monthly costs for the flat:
- for rented flats, a current confirmation from the landlord or bank statements showing the amount of rent
- for owner-occupied flats, proof of loan instalments and monthly housing benefit.
- Professional licence (for regulated professions, only for first-time applications)
- Employment contract (only for initial application)
- Fully completed declaration of employment(please upload together with the employment contract)
- Fully completed declaration of employment
- Last three salary statements from the period of employment (only for extension of residence permit)
- Adequate pension scheme (required from the age of 45 if the salary is not at least €49,830 per year). The salary may be lower if proof of assets or pension insurance from public or private sources in Germany or abroad is available. Written declaration of consent from the person authorised to take care of the person (parents) if under 18 years of age
Note: The documents submitted (such as proof of identity and language certificates) will be checked for authenticity. Further documents may be required in individual cases.
Questions & Answers
Qualified vocational training exists if it is vocational training in a state-recognised or comparably regulated training occupation for which a training period of at least two years is specified under federal or state law.
A list of recognised training occupations can be found on the website of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training.
Yes, it is possible to change employers .
If you have completed vocational training, you are authorised to work in any qualified occupation. Helper and trainee occupations are excluded. For regulated professions, you require a separate licence (professional licence).
Please note, however, that you are bound to your occupation and employer for the first two years and that a change must be authorised. You can find more information here.
Information on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications can be found here: Recognition in Germany
If you have any further questions, you can also contact the Service Centre for the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.
A regulated profession is an occupation for which certain professional qualifications are required in order to practise it.
A doctor, for example, needs to be recognised in order to practise her profession in Germany. In contrast, an engineer may also work as an engineer without being recognised, but may not call themselves an engineer. They are only authorised to use the professional title once they have been recognised.
Legal basis
§ 18 AufenthG, § 18a AufenthG
Ausländerbehörde
Phone number
Postal address
Ausländerbehörde
Ruppertstraße 19
80466 München
Fax: +49 89 233-27501
Address
Ruppertstraße 19
80337 München
Lagehinweis: Eingang A