Work visa / residence permit for qualified professionals (vocational qualification)
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | Aufenthaltserlaubnis für Fachkräfte mit Berufsausbildung (§ 18a AufenthG) as of 2026-08-08[3] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | Work visa / residence permit for qualified professionals (vocational qualification) as of 2026-08-08[16] Federal portal designation 'Work visa for qualified professionals'; statute heading translated. |
| Legal basis | Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 18a in Verbindung mit § 18 as of 2026-08-08[2][3] |
| Instrument type | residence permit as of 2026-08-08[3] |
Who can apply
Permit terms
| Initial duration | up to 4 years as of 2026-08-08[2][16] |
|---|---|
| How the initial term is set | matches the contract |
| Renewable | Not established from a qualifying source |
| Work rights | employment only as of 2026-08-08[3] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Yes as of 2026-08-08[4] |
|---|---|
| Years to permanent residence on this route | 3 as of 2026-08-08[4] Sec. 18c(1): settlement permit after three years holding a secs. 18a/18b/18d/18g title with 36 months of pension contributions and sufficient German (B1 via sec. 2(11)); reduced to two years / 24 months for holders of a German vocational or higher-education qualification. |
Requirements
| Job offer required | Yes as of 2026-08-08[2][16] Concrete job offer (sec. 18(2) no.1); the job must be qualified but need not match the qualification's field; regulated professions need a practice licence (sec. 18(2) no.3). |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-08-08[2][16] BA approval under sec. 39 is generally required but is a conditions check (equivalence of salary and working conditions); the priority test for skilled workers was abolished. Recorded false with this caveat. |
| Qualification requirement | Recorded at the source, but not reducible to a single value[2][3][16] |
| Employer sponsorship | No as of 2026-08-08[2] No sponsorship regime. |
| Job-search route | No as of 2026-08-08[3] |
Process
| Where to apply from | either as of 2026-08-08[11][16] Default is a national D visa from a German mission abroad; sec. 41 AufenthV nationals may enter visa-free and apply in-country within 90 days. |
|---|---|
| Fees |
|
Physical presence
| maximum consecutive absence | 6 months · to keep the permit as of 2026-08-08[10] 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[5][6][7][8][15] 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)). |
|---|---|
| Eligible relations | spouse, minor child, parent as of 2026-08-08[6][7][8] |
| Family members' work rights | full as of 2026-08-08[9] |
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 | 16 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 16 |
| 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) § 18 – Grundsatz der Fachkräfteeinwanderung; allgemeine Bestimmungen (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [3] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 18a – Fachkräfte mit Berufsausbildung (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [4] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 18c – Niederlassungserlaubnis für Fachkräfte (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [5] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 29 – Familiennachzug zu Ausländern (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [6] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 30 – Ehegattennachzug (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [7] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 32 – Kindernachzug (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [8] 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 - [9] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 4a – Zugang zur Erwerbstätigkeit (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [10] Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) § 51 – Beendigung der Rechtmäßigkeit des Aufenthalts (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [11] Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV) § 41 – Vergünstigung für bestimmte Staatsangehörige (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [12] Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV) § 45 – Gebühren Aufenthaltserlaubnis (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 · Archived copy - [13] Aufenthaltsverordnung (AufenthV) § 46 – Gebühren Visum (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · fee schedule · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [14] Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU (FreizügG/EU) § 1 – Anwendungsbereich (consolidated)
Bundesministerium der Justiz / juris (gesetze-im-internet.de) · statute · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08 - [15] 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 - [16] Work visa for qualified professionals
Make it in Germany (Federal Government portal for skilled workers) · official portal · Tier 1 · Accessed 2026-08-08