Opportunity card (job search opportunity card)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Chancenkarte (§ 20a AufenthG) as of 2026-08-08[2] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Opportunity card (job search opportunity card) as of 2026-08-08[8] |
| Legal basis | Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 20a as of 2026-08-08[2] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-08[2] |
Who can apply
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 1 year as of 2026-08-08[2][8] |
|---|---|
| Renewable | Yes as of 2026-08-08[2][8] Extendable by up to two years as a Folge-Chancenkarte only with an employment contract or binding offer for qualified employment and BA consent (sec. 20a(5) s.2); further extension excluded; a new Such-Chancenkarte requires an intervening absence at least as long as the previous search stay. |
| Maximum total duration | 3 years as of 2026-08-08[2] One year search plus at most two years Folge-Chancenkarte. |
| Work rights | hours capped as of 2026-08-08[2][8] During the search: employment averaging at most 20 hours per week plus trial employments of up to two weeks each (qualified/training-oriented, sec. 20a(2)). No cap applies on the Folge-Chancenkarte (Abs. 2 disapplied, sec. 20a(5) s.5). |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | No as of 2026-08-08[2] Sec. 20a(6): sec. 9 does not apply to the Such-Chancenkarte. |
|---|
Requirements
| Job offer required | No as of 2026-08-08[2] |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | Not applicable[2] No BA involvement at issuance of the Such-Chancenkarte; BA consent is required for the Folge-Chancenkarte extension. |
| Qualification requirement | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[2][3][8] |
| Employer sponsorship | No as of 2026-08-08[2] |
| Own means requirement | EUR 1,091 per month as of 2026-08-08[2][8] |
| Job-search route | Yes as of 2026-08-08[2] This route IS a job-search route (v1.0 G9 semantics). |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-08[2][8] Visa at a German mission abroad; in-country issuance only to holders of an existing Abschnitt 3 or 4 residence title (sec. 20a(4) s.2); sec. 41 AufenthV visa-free-entry nationals may also apply in-country. |
|---|---|
| Fees |
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Physical presence
| maximum consecutive absence | 6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-08-08[4] 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 | Not established from a qualifying source A one-year search permit sits outside the sec. 30(1) s.1 no.3e expected-stay condition; family accompaniment was not closed for this route. |
|---|
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.
Profile benefits
- A 30-minute call with our consultant, who reads your profile first.
- An offer for legal support built around your case, covering the whole process.
Verification
| Sources cited | 8 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 8 |
| 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) § 20a – Chancenkarte (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [3] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 20b – Punktesystem für die Chancenkarte (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [4] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 51 – Beendigung der Rechtmäßigkeit des Aufenthalts (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [5] Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV) § 45 – Gebühren Aufenthaltserlaubnis (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy - [6] Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV) § 46 – Gebühren Visum (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [7] Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU (FreizügG/EU) § 1 – Anwendungsbereich (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [8] Job search opportunity card Germany
Make it in Germany (Federal Government portal for skilled workers) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08