Germany Job Seeker Visa

The German Job Seeker visa is intended to allow skilled workers from outside of the EU to enter Germany in order to find paid employment. It is a long-stay visa, allowing the holder to remain in Germany for up to six months without a job offer so that they can find work. The visa was initially introduced in order to address labor shortages within certain fields in Germany.

In certain cases, it is possible to enter Germany without a visa and apply for the Job Seeker visa upon arrival in Germany. This applies to citizens of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, and Korea. As such, if you are an American citizen, you can choose to apply for the Job Seeker visa after your arrival in Germany, in which case you would do so via your local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde).

Note that citizens of the EU do not require a visa in order to live and work in Germany.

Page Contents

• Job Seeker Visa in Germany: Overview
• Eligibility Criteria for the Germany Job Seeker Visa
• How to Apply for a Germany Job Seeker Visa?
• What Documents Will I Require?
• What Is the Germany Job Seeker Visa Fee?
• Processing time for Germany Job Seeker Visa Application
• After Arriving in Germany With a Job Seeker Visa
• EU Blue Card
• Settling in Germany
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

In order to be eligible to apply for the German Job Seeker visa, you will need to satisfy the following criteria:

• Proof of sufficient vocational or academic training. This training must be the equivalent to either a German degree or diploma. If your qualification is in a regulated profession, such as law or medicine, you will need to provide evidence of your license to practice the profession
• If your training is vocational in nature, you will need to provide proof of German language proficiency at a level which is sufficient for your field of work. This is generally level B1, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
• You will need to provide evidence of your ability to financially support yourself during your time in Germany, generally through either a blocked bank account or a Declaration of Commitment

Note that, if you are a citizen of the EU, you will not be eligible for this visa. This is because you will not require a visa in order to live and work in Germany.

There are a number of steps involved in the Job Seeker visa application process.

When applying for this visa type, you will need to apply via your local German consular services. In the US in particular, these can be found in Washington DC, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. You will need to book an appointment with your local German consular service, at which point you will be required to provide your necessary documents.

If your application is successful, you will then be granted a visa, which can be used to enter Germany.

However, US citizens do not require a visa in order to enter Germany. You can instead choose to enter Germany without a visa. In this case, you will need to register your new German address with the German ‘Meldebehörde’ within 2 weeks of your arrival in Germany and to apply for your visa to your local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) within 90 days of your arrival. As there can be delays with securing appointments, it is recommended that you contact your local immigration office as soon as possible after your arrival, in order to ensure that you maintain legal status.

There are a number of documents which you will be required to submit in order to apply for this visa type. These are as follows:

• Passport
• Completed application form
• Declaration of accuracy of information
• Passport photos, to the German specifications
• US equivalent of a residence permit for the US, e.g. Green Card, visa, US passport, etc.
• Proof of address
• Proof of your qualifications, e.g. university degree certificate. If you work in a profession which requires a license, e.g. medicine, law, or nursing, you will also need to provide evidence of this
• A letter outlining your career plans when in Germany and any preparation which you have already completed towards securing employment
• Proof that you have the financial means to support yourself for the duration of your stay in Germany
• Proof of German travel and health insurance

The fee for applying for the Germany Job Seeker visa is €75. You will need to provide proof of payment as part of your application.

There may also be additional costs associated with your application, for example obtaining translation services in order to get your documents translated into German. The exact cost of this will depend on the particular translation service which you use.

Additionally, some applicants choose to pay for legal assistance in order to help with their application. Contact Total Law today on +1 844 290 6312 to learn more about how we can help you with this.

As of January 2024, processing time for this visa type generally takes around 2 weeks. However, this is subject to change and varies based on a number of factors, such as the particular consular service in question and how many other applications are also being processed. You may also be asked to submit additional documentation as part of your application, which is likely to make the processing take longer.

In order to minimize the processing time of your application, make sure to submit all of the required documents correctly and to promptly provide any additional information which is requested.

After arriving in Germany with your Job Seeker visa, you will have 6 months in which to find work. You will not be allowed to extend the visa if you do not find work within this period; you will instead be required to return to your home country. Failure to do so means that you will no longer have legal status within Germany, and this will jeopardize your ability to obtain future German visas.

You are also not allowed to work in Germany on the Job Seeker visa. If you are successful in obtaining paid work, you will instead need to apply for a residence permit for paid employment. In this case, you would apply to your local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) upon receiving your job offer. You will not be authorized to start your new role until you have received your permit. However, if you obtain it before your arrival in Germany then you will be able to start work immediately upon your arrival in the country.

Once you have successfully obtained a job offer in Germany, the EU Blue Card may also be an option for you. This card is intended to help non-EU graduates find employment in Europe. It is valid for up to 4 years and can be renewed upon expiry, provided that you continue to meet the conditions.

The eligibility criteria for the EU Blue Card are as follows:

• You must have a university degree, equivalent to a degree from a German university
• You must already have a German job offer. The job must have a duration of at least 6 months, match your qualifications, and pay at least €48,300. For some professions, the minimum annual salary can be lower (e.g. in construction, academic STEM, medicine, etc.)

Your immediate family will also be able to join you under this scheme. Eventually, the EU Blue Card will also allow you to settle in Germany.

If you successfully obtain work in Germany and switch to a more permanent visa-type, you may eventually be eligible for permanent residence in Germany. Once you have held a German residence permit for at least 4 years, you may be eligible for a settlement permit. This allows you to freely live and work in Germany, and to eventually obtain German citizenship.

In general, you will need to satisfy the following eligibility criteria in order to permanently settle in Germany:

• Have held a German residence permit for at least 4 years
• Be able to financially support yourself without relying on public funds, e.g. welfare benefits
• Be employed in a role which matches your qualifications
• Have sufficient proficiency in the German language, specifically B1 level German (according to CEFR)
• Show sufficient legal and cultural knowledge of German culture
• Have appropriate accommodation for yourself and any dependents

Note that, if you have an EU Blue Card, you may be eligible for a settlement permit after 33 months. The requirements of the EU Blue Card are outlined in the previous section of this article.