Skilled worker permits: §18a, §18b and the experience-based route

• EU Blue Card (§18g): you have a degree and a salary of at least €50,700, or €45,934.20 in shortage occupations or as a new graduate (2026). It offers the fastest settlement. See the EU Blue Card guide.
• §18b, skilled worker with a degree: a German, recognised or comparable degree and a qualified job. There is no minimum salary below age 45.
• §18a, skilled worker with vocational training: a German vocational qualification, or a foreign one recognised as equivalent. Foreign training normally needs a formal recognition notice.
• §19c(2), experience-based route: your qualification is recognised in the country where you earned it, but not (yet) in Germany. You have two years' experience and a salary of at least €45,630 (2026), or an employer bound by a collective agreement.
• No full recognition yet: a recognition partnership (§16d(6)), training measures (§16d) or the Opportunity Card to look for work can bridge the gap. See the Opportunity Card guide.

• Qualified employment: a job that normally requires skills from vocational training or a degree. Helper roles and trainee-level jobs do not count.
• Recognised qualification: foreign degrees count if they are recognised or comparable, shown by anabin or a ZAB Statement of Comparability (€208 in 2026). Vocational qualifications need a recognition notice from the competent body, such as a chamber, confirming equivalence with the German reference occupation.
• BA approval: the BA checks that your pay and working conditions match those of comparable local employees. Temporary agency work is not allowed. The approval lasts at most four years. After two years of lawful employment, a change of employer usually no longer needs new approval.
• Regulated professions (for example many healthcare jobs): the licence to practise must be presented, or promised, when you apply.
• Age 45 and over, applying for the first time: a gross salary of at least €55,770 a year (€4,647.50 a month) in 2026. That is 55% of the pension contribution ceiling. Alternatively, you can show that adequate pension provision is already secured from other public or private sources.
• Validity: up to four years. If your contract is shorter, the permit runs for the contract period plus three months, and it can be extended.

Recognition and the residence permit are separate procedures. Recognition compares your foreign qualification with a German reference qualification and takes your professional experience into account.

• Degrees: if anabin lists both your university and your degree as equivalent, a printout is usually enough. Otherwise apply to the ZAB for a Statement of Comparability (€208, 2026). It is issued digitally and processing begins once the fee is paid. Regulated professions such as medicine need a separate licence.
• Vocational qualifications: the competent recognition body (depending on the occupation, for example a chamber or a state authority) issues a notice of full or partial equivalence. A partial notice lists the gaps. You can close them through an adaptation measure in Germany under §16d.
• Recognition partnership (§16d(6)): you come to Germany, work for your employer and complete the recognition procedure here. You need a qualification of at least two years, A2 German, and an employer who commits to supporting recognition.

Use the official Recognition Finder to find the competent body for your profession. See the Recognition of qualifications guide.

This route recognises your qualification as it stands in your home country, so you can skip the German recognition procedure. The conditions (2026):

• a vocational qualification with at least two years of training, or a university degree, that is state-recognised in the country where you earned it. A qualification from a German Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK) certified by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) can also count;
• at least two years of relevant professional experience within the last five years, connected to the job in Germany;
• a job offer for qualified employment in a non-regulated profession;
• a gross salary of at least €45,630 a year (€3,802.50 a month), which is 45% of the pension contribution ceiling. The threshold does not apply if your employer is bound by a collective agreement and pays you according to it;
• for first-time applicants aged 45 or older: at least €55,770 a year, or adequate pension provision;
• BA approval. The BA assesses your experience and whether it fits the job.

Proof of your qualification: for vocational training, apply to the ZAB for its digital Statement on a Foreign Vocational Qualification (DAB). Alternatively, use a (partial) recognition notice that confirms at least two years of training. For degrees, use anabin or the Statement of Comparability. For IT professions, the BA notes that the formal qualification requirement can be waived; the other conditions still apply.

The permit runs for the contract period plus three months, up to four years, and can be extended while the job continues.

With a §18a, §18b or §19c(2) permit:

• your spouse does not need to prove German skills before arrival;
• you do not need to prove sufficient living space;
• livelihood must still be secured;
• children aged 16 or 17 do not need to prove German skills.

A spouse can join if the marriage already existed when your permit was issued and you expect to stay more than a year. Otherwise, they can join after you have held a residence permit for two years. Parents (and parents-in-law, if your spouse lives here permanently) can be admitted at the authority's discretion if your permit was first issued on or after 1 March 2024 and their livelihood is covered. In the fast-track procedure, spouses and minor children can be included if they follow within six months. See the Family reunification guide.

• Read your Zusatzblatt. It states for whom you may work. Some say that after two years of employment subject to social insurance, any employment is allowed.
• Losing your job: tell the immigration office within two weeks. In Berlin, the permit usually stays valid and the LEA normally allows up to 12 months to find a new qualified job before it considers shortening the permit. Claiming contribution-based Arbeitslosengeld does not harm your status. Claiming basic income support can. An Opportunity Card can allow part-time work while you search.
• Settlement permit: usually after three years as a skilled worker with 36 months of pension contributions, B1 German, basic knowledge of the legal and social system, and sufficient living space. If you completed your training or degree in Germany, it is two years and 24 months. See the Settlement permit guide.