Profile

Germany

Residency route coverage

Residency route coverage
Route familyRoutesCoverage
Investment

No routes recorded

No qualifying route as of 2026-08-08[5][15][16]
German law has no investor-residence instrument. The federal portal's full enumeration of residence titles for economic activity contains no investment route, and the AufenthG's employment chapter (secs. 18-21) knows no capital-investment permit; capital invested is only an assessment factor within the sec. 21(1) self-employment permit. The former fixed thresholds (EUR 250,000/five jobs) were removed from sec. 21 in 2012.
Remote work

No routes recorded

No qualifying route as of 2026-08-08[5][15][16]
Germany has no digital-nomad or remote-work permit. The federal portal's full list of residence purposes contains none, and the Residence Act (AufenthG) defines no such purpose. The nearest instrument is the freelance permit under sec. 21(5), shown here under the entrepreneur family, which turns on German clients and economic activity in Germany rather than on work done for people abroad.
Passive income

No routes recorded

No qualifying route as of 2026-08-08[5][15][16]
Germany has no retirement, passive-income or financially-independent-person permit. The federal portal's list of residence purposes contains none and the Residence Act (AufenthG) defines no such purpose. A permit can be granted under sec. 7(1) sentence 3 for a purpose the Act does not name, but that is an individual-case decision with no published conditions, so there is nothing there to apply for on private means.
EntrepreneurRoutes recorded
Three instruments: the sec. 21(1) commercial self-employment permit, the sec. 21(5) freelance (liberal professions) permit, and the sec. 21(2b) founder-preparation permit for stipend holders. The sec. 21(2a) variant for German graduates/researchers is recorded as a note on the sec. 21(1) route, not as a separate route.
WorkRoutes recorded
StudyRoutes recorded
FamilyRoutes recorded
Two routes: reunification with foreign residents (secs. 27, 29-32, 36) and with Germans (sec. 28).

Country facts

Identity

Identity
Local nameDeutschland
ISO codeDEU
RegionEurope
CurrencyEUR as of 2026-08-08[13]
Official languagesde as of 2026-08-08[13]

Memberships

Memberships
Memberships
    • Bloc: EU
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[13]
    • Since: 1958-01-01 as of 2026-08-08[13]
      Founding member of the European Communities
    • Bloc: EEA
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[10]
      EEA membership asserted via EU membership: EEA Agreement art. 128 obliges an acceding EU state to apply for EEA participation; EU membership and accession date confirmed separately, source de-eu-country-profile.
    • Bloc: Schengen
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[13]
    • Since: 1995-03-26 as of 2026-08-08[13]
    • Bloc: Eurozone
    • Member: Yes as of 2026-08-08[13]
    • Since: 1999-01-01 as of 2026-08-08[13]

Permanent residence

Permanent residence
Qualifying years5 as of 2026-08-08[4]
Language requirementB1 as of 2026-08-08[3][4]
Sec. 9(2) s.1 no.7: 'ausreichende Kenntnisse der deutschen Sprache' = CEFR B1 per the sec. 2(11) statutory definition.
Integration requirementYes as of 2026-08-08[4]
Sec. 9(2) s.1 nos.7-8; both are deemed proven by successful completion of an integration course (sec. 9(2) s.2).
Income requirementRecorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[4]

Citizenship

Citizenship
Years to naturalisation5 as of 2026-08-08[7][17]
Sec. 10(1) StAG: five years of lawful habitual residence. The three-year fast track (former sec. 10(3)) was repealed with effect from 2025-10-30 – see recent_changes.
of which on permanent residenceRecorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[7][17]
No minimum period on permanent-resident status is required; instead a qualifying residence right (permanent right of residence or one of the residence titles specified in sec. 10(1) s.1 no.2 StAG) must be held at the time of naturalisation.
Dual citizenshipallowed as of 2026-08-08[6][17]
Since 2024-06-27 (Act to Modernise Nationality Law) renunciation of the previous citizenship is no longer required; the former sec. 12 exception catalogue is repealed.
Language requirementB1 as of 2026-08-08[7][17]
Sec. 10(4) StAG: B1 of the CEFR (oral and written); exceptions for the guest-worker generation and GDR contract workers.
Citizenship test requiredYes as of 2026-08-08[7][17]
Knowledge of the legal and social order (sec. 10(1) s.1 no.7) is as a rule proven by the naturalisation test (sec. 10(5)); same exception groups as the language requirement.

Tax

Tax
Tax-residency day threshold183 as of 2026-08-08[2]
Other tax-residency triggersdomicile, habitual abode as of 2026-08-08[1][2]
Unlimited income-tax liability attaches to a domicile (Wohnsitz, AO sec. 8) or habitual abode (gewoehnlicher Aufenthalt, AO sec. 9) in Germany.
Headline income tax rate45% as of 2026-08-08[12]
Income tax structureprogressive as of 2026-08-08[12]
Net-wealth taxNo as of 2026-08-08[9]
The Vermoegensteuergesetz formally remains on the books but the tax has not been levied since 1997, following the Federal Constitutional Court decision of 22 June 1995 (2 BvL 37/91).
Inheritance or estate taxYes as of 2026-08-08[11]

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Reference figures

Reference figures
Contribution assessment ceiling, general pension insurance
  • Local name: Beitragsbemessungsgrenze in der allgemeinen Rentenversicherung
  • Amount: EUR 101,400 per year as of 2026-08-08[14][18]
    2026 figure (EUR 8,450/month), set by sec. 4(1) no.1 of the Sozialversicherungs-Rechengroessenverordnung 2026 under sec. 159 SGB VI. The secs. 18g and 18(2) no.5 salary floors are defined as percentages of this annual figure; derived 2026 values: 50% = EUR 50,700; 45.3% = EUR 45,934.20; 55% = EUR 55,770. The BMI additionally announces the derived minimum salaries each December in the Bundesanzeiger (sec. 18g(7)).
  • Period: year
  • Reset: annual

Changes

Recent changes

Recent changes
2025-10-30The three-year fast-track naturalisation for special integration achievements (sec. 10(3) StAG) was repealed (Act of 2025, BGBl. 2025 I No. 257, in force 30 October 2025); entitlement naturalisation now uniformly requires five years of lawful habitual residence, with no transitional provision for pending applications.
Affects: country-core[8][17]

Verification

Verification
Sources cited18
of which official (tier 1)18
Oldest as-of date2026-08-08
Newest as-of date2026-08-08
Reviewed on2026-08-11
Schema version1.1

Sources

  1. [1] Abgabenordnung (AO) § 8 – Wohnsitz (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  2. [2] Abgabenordnung (AO) § 9 – Gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  3. [3] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 2 – Begriffsbestimmungen (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  4. [4] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 9 – Niederlassungserlaubnis (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  5. [5] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) – Inhaltsübersicht (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  6. [6] New law on nationality takes effect
    Bundesministerium des Innern (BMI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Published 2024-06-27 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  7. [7] Naturalisation
    Bundesministerium des Innern (BMI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  8. [8] Gesetzgebungsverfahren: Gesetz zur Änderung des Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetzes sowie weiterer Vorschriften (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 257)
    Bundesministerium des Innern (BMI) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  9. [9] Vermögensteuer wird nicht die gesetzliche Grundlage entzogen (Textarchiv)
    Deutscher Bundestag · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  10. [10] Agreement on the European Economic Area (consolidated text, CELEX 21994A0103(01))
    EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  11. [11] Erbschaftsteuer- und Schenkungsteuergesetz (ErbStG) § 1 – Steuerpflichtige Vorgänge (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  12. [12] Einkommensteuergesetz (EStG) § 32a – Einkommensteuertarif (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  13. [13] Germany – EU country profile
    European Union (european-union.europa.eu) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  14. [14] EU Blue Card
    Make it in Germany (Federal Government portal for skilled workers) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  15. [15] Types of visa
    Make it in Germany (Federal Government portal for skilled workers) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  16. [16] Other types of visa
    Make it in Germany (Federal Government portal for skilled workers) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08
  17. [17] Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz (StAG) § 10 (consolidated)
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy
  18. [18] Sozialversicherungs-Rechengrößenverordnung 2026 § 4 – Beitragsbemessungsgrenzen in der Rentenversicherung
    Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08

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