EU Blue Card

 EUROPEAN UNION BLUE CARD - Residence Act (AufenthG) - 18(g)
- It is a special residency title granted to persons with academic qualifications or similar qualifications.
- The Blue Card is issued for the duration of the employment contract + 3 months, for a maximum of 4 years in total. After 33 months, Blue Card holders can apply for a Permanent Residence Permit (AufenthG 9 - "Niederlassungserlaubnis") if they can prove a German level of A1. If the German language level is B1, the permanent residence permit can be applied for after 21 months.
- Blue Card holders can change jobs once they have started working in the job for which they have officially applied. However, if this happens within the first year of employment, the Immigration Office ("Auslanderbehörde") will check whether the new job meets the requirements for a Blue Card.


REQUIREMENTS FOR A BLUE CARD: 

- A German university degree or a university degree with a qualification corresponding to a German diploma (in the absence of a university degree, a qualification of at least level 6 according to ISCED 2011).
- An employment contract in Germany (must be submitted at the time of application) for a minimum of 6 months,
- The job in question must be relevant to the education the person has received,
- The gross annual salary must be above €54,360 by 2024.
If the person will work in one of the sectors specifically required by Germany ("Engpassberufe"): - The annual gross salary must be a minimum of €41,041 by 2024. Some of these sectors are as follows:
- Manufacturing, mining, construction and distribution managers,
- Information and communication technology service managers,
- Professional service managers such as childcare, healthcare and education managers
Academic STEM specialists,
- Academic professionals in architecture, spatial planning and transportation planning,
- Medical doctors,
- Veterinarians,
- Dentists,
- Pharmacists
- Academic and comparable nursing and midwifery professionals,
- School and non-school teachers and educators.
A person can also apply for a Blue Card if he or she has received the education that will be the basis for working in Germany less than 3 years ago. For such an application, the gross annual salary must be at least €41,041 as of 2024 and must be approved by the Federal Employment Agency - (“Bundesagentur für Arbeit" - BA) approval is required. All entry-level professions are eligible for this category.

 There is a special exception for people working in the IT sector when applying for a Blue Card: People who do not have a formal qualification to work in the IT sector can also apply for a Blue Card. The requirements for this are: 

- Submission of a specific employment contract (for at least 6 months),

- The job in Germany has a gross annual salary of €41,041 (for 2024),

- The worker in question must have worked in the IT sector for at least 3 years in the last 7 years.