If you are looking to move to Germany and settle there while working, you will need to understand the correct process for applying for a visa. In order to access the German labor market, there are three groups. If you are an EU or EEA national, no visa is required for your entry, and you have unrestricted access to the German labor market.
If you are a national of the so-called privileged states like Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the US, you can also enter Germany without a visa, but please keep in mind that you will need to apply for a residence permit for employment when you arrive in Germany.
And all other third-country nationals require a visa for entry and also need to apply for a residence permit when they arrive in Germany for the purpose of employment.
The kind of visa you’re applying for depends on different aspects like employment, salary, if you want to work in a regulated profession or a non-regulated profession, qualifications, work experience, and also language skills in some cases.
Skilled Worker Work Visa
To apply for a work visa in Germany, it is crucial to understand the definition of a skilled worker, termed as “qualifizierte Fachkraft” in German. According to the German Residence Act, a skilled worker is any foreigner who possesses a higher education degree or has completed qualified vocational training.
This means persons who have acquired a vocational qualification abroad, which is recognized as equivalent to a German qualified vocational training, are considered skilled worker and their training should be at least two years.
During the recognition procedure, the respective competent authority in Germany checks whether your foreign qualification is equivalent to a German one or whether there are substantial differences.
And also persons with a higher education degree, which is comparable to a higher education degree, are also considered skilled workers.
So, you have a lot of recognition and comparability, and you have different options in order to prove if your qualification is recognized or comparable to a German one. There are methods in order for you to validate your qualification as a skilled worker.
So, first case, you have a university degree, and you want to pursue a non-regulated profession in Germany, for instance, like civil engineering or a data analyst, then you have to go for the procedure to check if your qualification is available in the ANABIN database, or if not, you can apply for a statement of comparability by the ZAB.
The ANABIN database is also run by the ZAB. But if you’re holding a university degree and you want to work in a regulated profession, in most cases, in the healthcare sector or in the education sector, most of them are regulated. For instance, if you want to work as a physician, then you need to apply for a recognition procedure, which is carried out by a German authority, and you need to receive full equivalence as a result in order to get a visa to work in Germany.
And if you’re also holding a vocational qualification, no matter if you want to work in a regulated or non-regulated profession like a nurse or a hotel manager, you will also need to carry out the recognition procedure by a German authority.
ANABIN Database
There are around 400 professions in Germany that are regulated, but many professions in Germany are still non-regulated. So if you’re holding a university degree and you want to work in a non-regulated profession, it might be better to check if your qualification is available on the ANABIN database.
ANABIN offers comprehensive information on the evaluation of foreign educational qualifications. The portal supports authorities, employers, and private individuals in classifying foreign qualifications within the German education system.
The ANABIN database is operated by the Central Office for Foreign Education and provides information on the assessment of foreign educational certificates and universities. So there you have to check if your higher education institution, where you obtained your qualification, is available, and also the qualification itself. It has to be marked as correspondence or equivalent, and both steps must be carried out since this is needed for the proof if your qualification is equivalent.
If only your university is stated in the ANABIN database, then you have to request a statement of comparability from the ZAB.
If you want to work in a regulated profession or you are holding a vocational degree, then you have to go through the recognition procedure. There is also a recognition finder where you can find out which German authority is responsible for you for the recognition procedure.
Jobs in Germany
You will need a work contract to apply for the visa. So here are some tips on how to find a job in Germany. For those looking for jobs in Germany, the ‘Make it in Germany’ portal is highly suggested, but you can also look for job offers on the Federal Employment Agency, Eurarex or EURES, social media, the company website, private job boards, networking, and placement agencies. And also, one tip is to be patient during the job search process, since the application selection procedures in Germany can take a long time.