Immigration and Global Mobility

Immigration to Germany for work: the basics

Business immigration to Germany is governed by the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz, AufenthG), which was substantially reformed by the Skilled Immigration Act (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz). Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland enjoy freedom of movement and can work in Germany without a permit. Nationals of other countries need a residence title that permits employment, and an employer may employ a foreign national only if he or she holds such a title and no prohibition or restriction applies (§ 4a(5) AufenthG). The main routes for qualified staff are the EU Blue Card, residence permits for skilled workers with vocational or academic training, the ICT Card for intra-corporate transferees, and the Opportunity Card for job seekers.

For international employers, immigration is only one part of global mobility. Sending employees to Germany, or German employees abroad, also raises questions of employment law, social security, tax and posting rules. An employee seconded from a US parent to a German subsidiary needs a residence title, but the group must also decide which entity employs the person, whether the home country's social security continues to apply, how income is taxed and which German employment rules apply during the assignment.

This page gives an overview of the residence titles relevant for business, the procedure and the fast-track option, employer compliance duties, the posting of workers within the EU and A1 certificates, and the tax and social security aspects of assignments. It is written for HR directors, global mobility teams and managing directors of German subsidiaries.

Residence titles for skilled workers

EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card is the main route for university graduates. It is issued without approval by the Federal Employment Agency to a skilled worker with academic training for employment appropriate to the qualification, if the salary is at least 50% of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the statutory pension insurance (§ 18g(1) AufenthG).

A lower threshold of 45.3% of the ceiling applies to shortage occupations, such as certain IT, engineering, medical and teaching professions, and to young professionals who obtained their degree within the last three years; in those cases the Federal Employment Agency must generally approve. Because the contribution assessment ceiling is adjusted annually, the euro amounts change every year and should be checked before each application. IT specialists without a degree can qualify under specific conditions based on professional experience.

The Blue Card offers attractive conditions: family members can join with simplified requirements, a permanent settlement permit is available after a shorter period than for other titles, and Blue Card holders from other EU member states benefit from mobility rules. Changes of employer during the first year require notification to the foreigners authority.

Skilled workers with vocational or academic training

Skilled workers with recognised vocational training or a recognised degree can obtain a residence permit for employment (§§ 18a and 18b AufenthG), usually with the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, which checks that the working conditions are comparable to those of German employees. Since the reform, skilled workers can work in any qualified employment, not only in the field of their qualification. Recognition of foreign qualifications is often the bottleneck and should be started early; for some regulated professions, such as doctors and nurses, recognition is a prerequisite for practice.

Opportunity Card and experience-based routes

The Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) is a residence permit to look for work or to pursue recognition measures (§ 20a(1) AufenthG). It is available either to recognised skilled workers or, on the basis of a points system that rewards qualifications, language skills, professional experience, age and links to Germany, to others with a foreign qualification. Holders may work up to 20 hours per week on average and undertake trial employment for up to two weeks per position (§ 20a(2) AufenthG). Additional routes allow employment based on professional experience and a qualification recognised in the country of origin, and on recognition partnerships where the recognition procedure is completed in Germany.

Researchers, students and trainees

Further titles cover researchers with a hosting agreement with a recognised research institution, students and graduates of German universities, who may stay to look for work after graduating, and vocational trainees. Graduates of German universities are an important recruitment pool, as their German qualification avoids the recognition procedure. Internships and trainee programmes for non-EU nationals require careful structuring, because unpaid or low-paid placements may not meet the conditions of the relevant title.

Family members, settlement and citizenship

Spouses and minor children of skilled workers can usually join them in Germany, and since the reform family members of Blue Card holders and skilled workers face reduced requirements, for example regarding language skills. Spouses generally have full access to the labour market. Skilled workers can obtain a permanent settlement permit after a number of years that is shorter for Blue Card holders, particularly those with German language skills. Naturalisation has become easier since the reform of the citizenship law, which allows multiple nationality in general. For employers, the prospect of permanent residence is an important factor in attracting and retaining international staff.

Intra-corporate transfers and business travel

International groups often move managers, specialists and trainees from non-EU entities to German group companies. The ICT Card (§ 19 AufenthG) is the residence title for intra-corporate transfers: the temporary assignment of a foreign national to a German branch or group company of an undertaking based outside the EU. The employee must have been employed in the group for at least six months before the transfer, and the transfer must last more than 90 days. The card is issued for up to three years for managers and specialists and up to one year for trainees.

ICT Card holders from other EU member states can use short-term and long-term mobility rules to work in Germany.

Business travel is a frequent compliance gap. Non-EU nationals may enter Germany for business meetings, negotiations and similar activities without a work permit on a Schengen visa or visa-free stay, but productive work, installation and repair, or the provision of services to customers can count as employment requiring a residence title, subject to exceptions in the Employment Ordinance. Groups should define which activities their travellers may carry out and train managers accordingly. Travel booking systems can flag trips by non-EU nationals to German sites so that HR can check in advance whether the planned activity is permitted, and customer contracts for installation or commissioning should allocate responsibility for obtaining any necessary titles.

The immigration procedure and the fast-track option

Applicants from abroad generally apply for a national visa at the German mission in their country of residence; nationals of certain countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and others, may enter visa-free and apply for the residence title in Germany. Where Federal Employment Agency approval is required, the foreigners authority obtains it internally, but the employer must provide a description of the job and the working conditions. Appointment waiting times at missions and immigration authorities are often the decisive factor for timing.

Employers can speed up the process through the accelerated skilled worker procedure (§ 81a AufenthG). The employer applies to the competent foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) on behalf of the foreign national, concludes an agreement with the authority on the steps and deadlines, and the authority coordinates recognition, Federal Employment Agency approval and the visa procedure with the mission. A fee is payable, and the agreement sets out the steps and the deadlines that both sides are expected to meet. The procedure is available for training, skilled worker, Blue Card and certain other titles and is particularly useful for employers recruiting several people from abroad.

Employer compliance duties

Employers carry significant responsibility for immigration compliance. Before and during employment, the employer must check that the foreign national holds a residence title that permits the employment, keep a copy of the title (electronically or on paper) for the duration of employment, and notify the immigration authority within four weeks of becoming aware that employment for which a title was issued for skilled workers has ended early (§ 4a(5) AufenthG). Employing a foreign national without the required title is an administrative offence with substantial fines and can, in serious or repeated cases, be a criminal offence; it can also lead to exclusion from public contracts.

Residence titles often contain conditions, such as a specific employer, job or minimum salary. Changes in job, salary or employer may require approval or notification, and salary increases in line with the annual adjustment of the Blue Card thresholds should be monitored where the salary is close to the threshold. Remote work from abroad by employees of German companies, and remote work in Germany by employees of foreign companies, raise similar questions and should be covered by a written policy.

Data protection applies to the documents employers collect for these checks, so copies of passports and residence titles should be stored securely, accessed only by those who need them and deleted after the retention period. A central register with expiry dates, automatic reminders several months before a title expires and a clear process for renewals avoids gaps in which an employee would be working without a valid title. In groups, responsibilities between the German employer, the group HR function and external providers should be documented.

Posting, A1 certificates and tax in global mobility

Within the EU, employers can post employees to another member state to provide services. Posted workers remain employed by the sending employer and, for up to 24 months, generally remain subject to the social security system of their home country, evidenced by an A1 certificate under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004.

Employers should apply for an A1 certificate before each posting, including short business trips, because authorities in several member states check A1 certificates during inspections. For postings to Germany, the Posted Workers Act requires compliance with German minimum working conditions, including the statutory minimum wage of EUR 13.90 per hour since 1 January 2026, and in certain sectors a prior notification to the customs authorities.

Social security for assignments from outside the EU depends on bilateral social security agreements, which Germany has concluded with many countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, India and others. Without an agreement, double contributions are possible. Tax follows double tax treaties: employees working in Germany for more than 183 days in a relevant period, or whose salary is borne by a German employer or permanent establishment, are generally taxable in Germany, and employers must withhold wage tax. Long-term assignments can also create permanent establishment risks for the sending company, particularly where the assignee concludes contracts on its behalf or manages its business from Germany. See our page on international tax.

Non-EU employees of a company established in another member state can also be posted to Germany to provide services for their employer, without a German work permit, if they are lawfully and habitually employed by the sending company. This possibility, based on the EU freedom to provide services, is useful for groups with EU hubs that employ third-country nationals, but it does not allow the employee to work for the German company itself, and the posting must be genuinely temporary.

• Choose between assignment, local hire and dual contract structures early.
• Obtain A1 or certificates of coverage before each posting.
• Monitor 183-day counts and permanent establishment risks.
• Apply German mandatory employment rules to employees working in Germany.

Employment law applies alongside immigration law. Employees working in Germany are protected by mandatory German employment law, including working time, holiday, dismissal protection and, if a works council exists, its co-determination rights, regardless of the law chosen in the contract. See dismissals and workforce restructuring and works councils.

How TRW & Co helps

We advise employers on immigration and global mobility in Germany. We identify the right residence title for each hire, prepare applications and fast-track procedures under § 81a AufenthG, and coordinate with immigration authorities and the Federal Employment Agency. We design assignment structures, draft secondment and local employment contracts, and advise on posting rules, A1 certificates and the interaction with tax and social security, working with tax advisers. We also set up compliance processes for checking and tracking residence titles. To discuss a hire or an assignment, please contact us.