Applying for an EU Blue Card for highly qualified employment

The requirements for the EU Blue Card are

• You fulfil the passport and visa requirements.
  For the passport requirement, it is sufficient if you have a replacement identity document.
• You receive an annual salary of at least EUR 50,700 (in 2026) For certain professions (so-called bottleneck professions), a minimum salary of EUR 45.934.20 (in 2026) These include scientists, mathematicians, engineers, doctors, IT specialists, managers in production in the manufacture of goods, in mining and construction and in logistics, managers in the provision of specialised services, managers in the provision of information and communication technology services, academic and comparable nursing and midwifery professionals, other academic and allied health professionals and teachers
• The minimum salary of EUR 45,934.20 also applies if a university degree was obtained no more than three years before applying for the EU Blue Card.
• The minimum salary of EUR 45,934.20 for bottleneck occupations, otherwise EUR 50,700.00, also applies to skilled workers, who have successfully completed a tertiary education programme equivalent to a university degree and requiring at least three years of training, if the qualification corresponds to a level of education which in the Federal Republic of Germany is assigned to at least level 6 of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2011) or level 6 of the European Qualifications Framework.
• The minimum salary of EUR 45,934.20 also applies toIT specialists if they do not have a university degree but can demonstrate at least three years of comparable professional experience.
• There are no grounds for deportation against you.
• Your stay does not jeopardise or impair the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany.
• You have
  • a German,
  • a recognised foreign or
  • a foreign university degree comparable to a German university degree or
  • successfully completed a tertiary education programme that is equivalent to a university degree and provides for at least three years of training, or
  • at least three years of comparable professional experience (applies exclusively to IT specialists).
    The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs may, by statutory order, determine professions in which a qualification proven by at least five years of professional experience is equivalent to a university degree.
• You have a job that corresponds to your qualifications or a specific job offer that corresponds to your qualifications.
• The Federal Employment Agency agrees to issue the residence title (only in cases where approval is required).