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Visa for a Blue Card (EU) – for professionals with a university degree

07.02.2024 - Article

Skilled workers with an academic education apply for a Blue Card (EU) visa to take up employment in Germany - simply online via the international portal or on site at the relevant diplomatic mission abroad.

General Information

Prerequisite for a Blue Card (EU)

To apply for the Blue Card (EU) for academics in Germany you will need

  • an academic degree comparable with an academic degree in Germany,
  • an employment (at least of a duration of six months) in Germany corresponding to your qualifications and
  • a minimum annual gross salary of EUR 45.300,-
  • For employment in the fields of mathematics, IT, natural sciences, engineering and human medicine (STEM) and other bottleneck professions, a gross annual salary of at least EUR 41.041,80,- is sufficient.

If you obtained your last degree or equivalent qualification less than three years ago, you can also obtain an EU Blue Card if your job (all academic professions) includes a gross annual salary of at least EUR 41.041,80,-). In these cases, your employment must be approved by the Federal Employment Agency (BA). If you wish to work in a regulated profession, for instance, in a health profession, a professional license is mandatory.

Online Application for the Blue Card Visa via Consular Services Portal

 Digital application via the Consular Services Portal
Digital application via the Consular Services Portal© GKSP/Canva.com

You can easily apply for your Blue Card Visa online via the Consular Services Portal of the Federal Foreign Office. You need to compile the necessary document personally followed by a pre-check of your application You can check the status of your application online at any time. Please refrain from any status enquires, as these will not be answered.

This is how the online application works:

Step 1: Complete your application form online and upload all and correct documents.

Step 2: Submit your application. Your details and documents will be pre-checked once for completeness. You will receive feedback online. If your application is complete, you will receive a link to book your appointment.

Step 3: Use the link you receive to book an appointment online at your diplomatic mission abroad. You may only apply for your appointment once your documents have been pre-checked.

Step 4: Attend your appointment on site at the Embassy. During this appointment, you need to provide the checklist (see below), a biometric passport photo, originals of your documents (certificates), your identity will be checked and your biometric data (fingerprints) recorded.

Step 5: Track your application status online.

APPLY ONLINE NOW

Please Note: Applications for Blue Card Visa can no longer be handed in directly at the Embassy. Do not book an appointment separately.

Required Documents

Section 18g of the Residence Act [AufenthG)

To apply, you will need the following original documents to present at your appointment at the Embassy. Please pay attention that all Tanzanian documents issued by an authority of the state needs to be Legalizations

Please sort the individual sets in the order listed below.

DO NOT STAPLE THE DOCUMENTS
Information Sheet

In your application form (VIDEX) you enter all the information about your entry and your stay in Germany. You must complete this form and print it out once, sign and date it.

If you are a minor, your legal representatives must sign the application and declare their consent.

To the form

A recent biometric photo (3.5 x 4.5 cm with a light background)

Information on biometric photos can be found here

Your passport must be signed and valid for at least one year from the date your visa is issued.
Please note that the document must still have at least two blank pages (if the decision is positive, your visa will be affixed here later).

Do you not have Tanzanian citizenship?

If you are not a Tanzanian citizen, please provide us with your Tanzanian residence permit.

Proof of your residence in Tanzania can be, for example, a copy of your electricity bill, water bill or gas bill.or a rent contract.

For non- Tanzanian nationals: Tanzanian residence permit

Please sign the attached declaration and bring the original to your appointment

Form

Please have this form completed by your future employer. The information on the job description must indicate the planned activity! It is also helpful to additionally include the work contract.

Form:

This document can be, for example, the degree certificate of your degree program. If you obtained your degree at a university outside Germany, the degree and the university must be recognized. Therefore, in a first step you need to receive an official Statement of Comparability by evaluation: Please proceed via the Recognition Portal

Further information can be found in the required documents “Recognition of the university degree” and “Recognition of the university”.

Please note that a legalisation is required to use Tanzanian documents. This confirms to the domestic authorities that the document was actually issued by an official Tanzanian authority.

Further information on Legalizations

For a pre-check you can use the Anabin database to check whether your university degree is recognized in Germany. The anabin assessment of your university degree must be “Equivalent ‚Entspricht‘” or “Equivalent ‚Gleichwertig‘”.

Should it seem as if you are eligible, please proceed to the website of the Service Centre for Professional Recognition in order to obtain and provide the ‘Certificate of Comparability’

Are you unable to meet this requirement? Please contact the German authority responsible for the recognition of foreign degrees: KMK

You can use the Anabin database to check whether your foreign university is recognized in Germany. The anabin rating of your university must be “H+” or “H+/-”. Print out the search result in the database and bring the printout with you.

Are you unable to meet this requirement? Please contact the German authority responsible for the recognition of foreign degrees: KMK

Persons with statutory health insurance cover are adequately insured from the first day of work. Please provide proof of your statutory insurance cover.
If you arrive before the statutory health insurance cover begins, you must take out appropriate supplementary insurance.
If a long or permanent stay is planned, some travel health insurance policies may exclude insurance cover in their terms and conditions. This restriction may also apply to an “incoming” insurance policy, so please ensure that your supplementary insurance policy provides adequate cover. Further information here.

Please sign the attached declaration and bring the original to your appointment

Form

These documents are also optional:

This document is only required for practicing a profession regulated in Germany, e.g. in the fields of medicine and law. You will receive this document from the relevant recognition body in Germany. Please visit the information portal ”Recognition in Germany“ to find out whether your profession is regulated.

Employers in Germany can apply for an accelerated skilled worker procedure before applying for a visa. If you have this document, please submit it.

You can find more information here.

Employers in Germany can apply for pre-approval from the ZAV (International Placement Services) before applying for a visa in Germany. If you have this document, please submit it.

Further information can be found here.

If you have reached the age of 45 and do not have a minimum annual gross salary of EUR 49,830 (2024), you must provide proof of adequate pension provision.
You can submit various types of assets as proof of additional pension provision. These include statutory, state-regulated pension insurance policies, entitlements already acquired from private pension or life insurance policies, real estate and other assets.

In certain cases, additional documents may be required. You will be notified of this directly via the international portal as part of the preliminary check of the online application.

Processing time:

Due to the regular need for approval from the authorities in Germany, you should generally allow six weeks for your visa application to be processed (calculated from the time you submit the complete application documents to the diplomatic mission abroad).

Please do not request a status update – these will not be answered but ignored.

Fees

Appointments

After the above mentioned pre-check you will receive a link to book your appointment. Eine telefonische oder persönliche Terminvereinbarung ist nicht möglich. It is not possible to make an appointment by telephone or in person.

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