Citizeo
Pathway

Germany Visa for Experienced Workers

Germany Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Germany's visa for professionally experienced workers is for people with recent qualified work experience and a German job offer in a non-regulated profession. It generally requires a qualifying foreign qualification or IT-specialist exception, at least two years of recent relevant experience, salary at or above Germany's 2026 threshold or a collective agreement, and Federal Employment Agency approval.

Type
Experienced-worker residence
Job fit
Experienced workers in non-regulated German roles
Core requirements
Recent experience, qualifying job, salary or collective agreement
What to know
IT workers can qualify without formal qualification proof
Salary requirement
€45,630 per year or pay under a collective agreement
Job offer required?
Yes

Summary

Germany's visa for professionally experienced workers allows qualified employment in a non-regulated occupation without requiring the foreign qualification to be formally recognized as equivalent to a German one. The qualification must still be officially recognized in the country where it was earned, and the applicant needs recent, relevant experience.

This route is under Section 19c(2) of the Residence Act together with Section 6 of the Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners. It is useful when a worker's real training and experience fit a German job but the ordinary German equivalency process is unnecessary or incomplete.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

You generally need:

IT professionals have a special exception from the formal-qualification requirement. They still need the required recent experience, a qualifying job, salary, and Agency approval.

The salary figures change annually. Applicants normally document vocational qualifications through a ZAB Statement on a Foreign Vocational Qualification and academic qualifications through Anabin or an appropriate ZAB assessment.

What This Route Allows

The residence title allows the approved non-regulated qualified employment. It can be renewed while the requirements continue to be met.

General settlement rules can provide a route to permanent residence, often after five years, if the holder meets the contribution, livelihood, language, housing, and other conditions. This route does not have the same accelerated settlement rule as the EU Blue Card.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a way around licensing for a regulated profession. Doctors, professional nurses, and other regulated professionals normally need recognition and permission to practice.

It is not based on experience alone except for the specific IT exception. Most applicants still need a state-recognized foreign qualification.

The two years of experience cannot be any work history; it must be qualified, recent, and relevant to the German job.

Next Steps

  1. Check the Recognition Finder to confirm that the German occupation is non-regulated.
  2. Obtain evidence that the qualification is state-recognized in the country of training, using ZAB or Anabin as appropriate.
  3. Document at least two years of relevant work within the last five years with detailed employer letters or comparable records.
  4. Confirm the salary, any collective agreement, and the higher over-45 rule for the application year.
  5. Obtain the contract and employer's Declaration of Employment and apply through the responsible German mission.
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Sources