ICT Card (intra-corporate transferee)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | ICT-Karte (§ 19 AufenthG) as of 2026-08-08[2] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | ICT Card (intra-corporate transferee) as of 2026-08-08[2] Marked translation; the statutory name is 'ICT-Karte'. |
| Legal basis | Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 19 (Richtlinie 2014/66/EU) as of 2026-08-08[2] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-08[2] |
Who can apply
Permit terms
| Initial duration | Not applicable[2] Issued for the duration of the transfer (see initial_duration_basis and max_total_duration). |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | matches the assignment |
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-08[2] Extension possible within the sec. 19(4) maxima. |
| Renewal duration | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Maximum total duration | 3 years as of 2026-08-08[2] Managers and specialists: at most three years; trainees: at most one year (sec. 19(4)); extensions may not exceed these maxima. |
| Work rights | own activity only as of 2026-08-08[2] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-08[2] Work contract valid for the transfer period and, where needed, an assignment letter, stating location, role, remuneration and return possibility to a non-EU establishment (sec. 19(2) no.4); at least six months of prior group employment (no.2); transfer must exceed 90 days (no.3). |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Qualification requirement | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[2] Category-dependent: managers and specialists must evidence their professional qualification (sec. 19(2) no.5, with statutory definitions of manager and specialist); trainees must hold a higher-education degree (sec. 19(3)). The single-array vocabulary cannot carry the category matrix without distortion. |
| Employer sponsorship | Yes as of 2026-08-08[2] Transfer within the undertaking or group is constitutive. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-08-08[2] |
Process
| Where to apply from | Not established from a qualifying source |
|---|---|
| Fees |
|
Physical presence
| maximum consecutive absence | 6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-08-08[8] Sec. 51(1) no. 7 AufenthG: the permit lapses if the holder leaves Germany and does not re-enter within six months (or a longer period set by the foreigners authority); it also lapses on departure for a reason that is not temporary by nature (no. 6). |
|---|
Family inclusion
| Family members may be included | Yes as of 2026-08-08[3][4][5][6][12] Spouse (sec. 30) and minor children (sec. 32) may join. Spouses of holders of a Blue Card, ICT Card or a permit under secs. 18a/18b/18d/19c/21 are exempt from the pre-entry A1 German requirement (sec. 30(1) s.3 no.5). Parents and parents-in-law of skilled workers whose first qualifying title was issued on or after 2024-03-01 may be granted reunification at discretion, livelihood secured (sec. 36(3)). Spouses of ICT Card holders are within the sec. 30(1) s.1 no.3g entitlement and the no.5 A1 exemption. |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, minor child, parent as of 2026-08-08[4][5][6] |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-08-08[7] |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 12 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 12 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-08-08 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-08-08 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 1 – Zweck des Gesetzes; Anwendungsbereich (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [2] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 19 – ICT-Karte für unternehmensintern transferierte Arbeitnehmer (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [3] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 29 – Familiennachzug zu Ausländern (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [4] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 30 – Ehegattennachzug (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [5] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 32 – Kindernachzug (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [6] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 36 – Nachzug der Eltern und sonstiger Familienangehöriger (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [7] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 4a – Zugang zur Erwerbstätigkeit (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [8] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 51 – Beendigung der Rechtmäßigkeit des Aufenthalts (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [9] Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV) § 45 – Gebühren Aufenthaltserlaubnis (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy - [10] Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV) § 46 – Gebühren Visum (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [11] Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU (FreizügG/EU) § 1 – Anwendungsbereich (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [12] Spouses joining citizens of non-EU countries
Make it in Germany (Federal Government portal for skilled workers) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08