Immigration2Berlin Berlin · Working, Studying and Training

Automatically translated – not reviewed by a lawyer. For deadlines, amounts and legal bases, the German original page applies. View German original

💼 Working, Studying and Training in Berlin

24 Themenseiten. Jede Seite erklärt das Thema zuerst kurz und klar – und darunter im Detail, mit Fristen, Rechtsgrundlagen, Berliner Zuständigkeiten und Zahlen.

How this page works. At the top you can search all topics by keyword. Each topic page begins with the ‘Briefly explained’ section in plain language. Below you will find the most important deadlines, typical mistakes, and an expandable expert section for counselling work.

Rechtsstand September 2026. This information does not replace legal advice.

All topic areas

🛬 Entry and first steps Visa for work/study purposes, entry, local registration. 1 Themen 🪪 Residence titles for work EU Blue Card, Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte), residence permit for skilled workers, ICT Card. 4 Themen 🎓 Studies Student visa, student jobs, transition from studies to work. 2 Themen 🔧 Vocational training Searching for a training place, residence permit for vocational training. 2 Themen 📜 Recognition of foreign qualifications ZAB (Central Office for Foreign Education), IQ Netzwerk, regulated and non-regulated professions. 2 Themen 🧭 Job search and labour market access Skilled worker portal, Federal Employment Agency (Arbeitsagentur), Jobcenter, work permit. 2 Themen 🏢 Chambers and regulated professions IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce), Chamber of Crafts (Handwerkskammer), Medical Association (Ärztekammer) and other local chambers. 1 Themen 🚀 Self-employment and starting a business Residence titles for the self-employed, business registration (Gewerbeanmeldung), freelancers. 1 Themen 👪 Family reunification Spouses, children, family reunification for labour migrants. 2 Themen 🗣️ Language and integration at work Job-related language courses, integration at the workplace. 1 Themen 💶 Social insurance, taxes, bank account Social insurance, tax ID, bank account, pension insurance. 2 Themen 🏠 Housing and registration Registration of residence (Anmeldung), flat hunting, local tenancy law basics. 1 Themen 🤝 Advice and contact points Welcome Centre (Willkommenszentrum), recognition advice, competent immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde). 1 Themen 🌍 Figures, programmes, glossary Skilled Immigration Act at a glance, statistics, glossary. 2 Themen

🛬 Entry and first steps

Visa for work/study purposes, entry, local registration.

🛬 Entry and first steps in Berlin for work and study From the national visa and registration at the Bürgeramt (citizens' office) to the appointment at the Landesamt für Einwanderung: what needs to be done in your first weeks in Berlin.

🪪 Residence titles for work

EU Blue Card, Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte), residence permit for skilled workers, ICT Card.

🔷 Blaue Karte EU (EU Blue Card): salary thresholds, EU mobility, and application in Berlin The current 2026 salary thresholds in detail, the rules for short-term and long-term mobility between EU states, the exact definition of shortage occupations, and the procedure at the LEA Keplerstraße. 🧭 Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card): points system and procedure in Berlin The exact points table of the Chancenkarte, the procedure before entry and at the LEA Keplerstraße, the limits on secondary employment, and the path from the Chancenkarte to a regular work title. 🪪 Residence titles for work (Aufenthaltstitel für Arbeit): overview for Berlin Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card), EU Blue Card, skilled-worker residence permit under § 18a/b, and ICT Card compared – and where in Berlin you submit your application. 🛠️ Skilled-worker visa for practical work (Fachkräftevisum): § 18a AufenthG in Berlin The residence title for skilled workers with foreign vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG): which requirements really apply since the reform, why recognition of the training is decisive, and how the application at the LEA Berlin works.

🎓 Studies

Student visa, student jobs, transition from studies to work.

🎓 Studying in Berlin: residence title, side jobs, and transition to work Residence permit for study under § 16b AufenthG, how many days students may work, and how the transition from studies to permanent employment under § 20 AufenthG works – with the Berlin LEA address for students. 📚 Visa for seeking a study place (§ 17 Abs. 2 AufenthG) and the route via a Studienkolleg in Berlin If you do not yet have a study place or admission to a Studienkolleg (university preparatory college), you can come to Germany with the visa for applying to study under § 17 Abs. 2 AufenthG – here you can find out what is needed for this and how the two Berlin Studienkollegs organize the transition to actual university studies.

🔧 Vocational training

Searching for a training place, residence permit for vocational training.

🧭 Searching for a training place (Ausbildungsplatzsuche) in Berlin: the role of IHK and Handwerkskammer Anyone looking for or starting vocational training in Berlin deals not only with the Landesamt für Einwanderung (State Office for Immigration), but also with the IHK Berlin or the Handwerkskammer Berlin – without their registration of the training contract, the training is not legally effective at all. 🔧 Vocational training (Berufsausbildung) in Berlin: residence permit and procedure Anyone who wants to do vocational training in Berlin, or first look for a training place, needs a different residence title depending on their situation – and usually has to show the Landesamt für Einwanderung (State Office for Immigration) that their subsistence is secured.

📜 Recognition of foreign qualifications

ZAB (Central Office for Foreign Education), IQ Netzwerk, regulated and non-regulated professions.

🤝 Anerkennungspartnerschaft (recognition partnership): working in Berlin while recognition is ongoing How the Anerkennungspartnerschaft (recognition partnership, § 16d Abs. 3 AufenthG) allows you to work in Berlin before your professional recognition is complete – requirements, duties of employer and skilled worker, deadlines, and what happens with only partial recognition. 📜 Recognition of foreign qualifications (Anerkennung ausländischer Abschlüsse) in Berlin ZAB, IQ Netzwerk Berlin, and the difference between regulated and non-regulated professions – who in Berlin has which qualification recognized, and where to get free advice.

🧭 Job search and labour market access

Skilled worker portal, Federal Employment Agency (Arbeitsagentur), Jobcenter, work permit.

🔎 Job search and labor market access in Berlin: BA approval, ZAV, and portals What role the Bundesagentur für Arbeit plays in granting a residence title, where you as a skilled worker abroad can actually find support, and what the difference between the LEA and the employment agency/Jobcenter means in Berlin. ✅ Western Balkans regulation: prior approval, quota, and the path to a residence title in Berlin How the prior-approval procedure of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) works for nationals of the six Western Balkan states, what the annual quota currently allows, and what role the Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin (State Office for Immigration) plays after entry.

🏢 Chambers and regulated professions

IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce), Chamber of Crafts (Handwerkskammer), Medical Association (Ärztekammer) and other local chambers.

🏢 Chambers (Kammern) and regulated professions in Berlin For some professions a recognized degree is not enough – a chamber or authority must first give its approval before you may work in Berlin.

🚀 Self-employment and starting a business

Residence titles for the self-employed, business registration (Gewerbeanmeldung), freelancers.

🚀 Self-employment and starting a business in Berlin For self-employment you need, in addition to the residence title under § 21 AufenthG and depending on the activity, either a trade registration (Gewerbeanmeldung) at the competent Bezirksamt (district office) or – as a freelancer – only an informal registration with the Finanzamt (tax office) of your district of residence.

👪 Family reunification

Spouses, children, family reunification for labour migrants.

👪 Family reunification (Familiennachzug) for labor migrants in Berlin How spouses and children of holders of a Chancenkarte, Blaue Karte EU, § 18a/18b title, or ICT Card can join them in Berlin – and where in Berlin the application is made. 💍 Spousal reunification (Ehegattennachzug) for labor migrants: language proof, visa, and switch at the LEA The A1 language requirement has seven statutory exceptions, not just the two for skilled workers – and anyone without an exception must go through the exam, the visa procedure, and the switch at the Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin in concrete terms.

🗣️ Language and integration at work

Job-related language courses, integration at the workplace.

🗣️ Language and integration at the workplace in Berlin There is a dedicated funding program for German at the workplace, the DeuFöV – and it is open not only to refugees but, under certain conditions, also to labor migrants who are already employed.

💶 Social insurance, taxes, bank account

Social insurance, tax ID, bank account, pension insurance.

💶 Social insurance, tax ID, and bank account in Berlin What happens automatically after registration and what you have to do yourself: tax ID, social insurance number, health insurance fund, and bank account for starting your job. 🧾 Wage tax classes and tax office responsibility for employees in Berlin Which of the six wage tax classes (Lohnsteuerklassen) you receive automatically as an employee, how married couples can choose between III/V, IV/IV, and the factor procedure, how the electronic ELStAM procedure works – and which of the 17 Berlin tax offices is responsible for you.

🏠 Housing and registration

Registration of residence (Anmeldung), flat hunting, local tenancy law basics.

🏠 Housing and registration in Berlin Anyone who moves into a flat in Berlin must register at the Bürgeramt (citizens' office) within two weeks – this is not possible without a landlord's confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung).

🤝 Advice and contact points

Welcome Centre (Willkommenszentrum), recognition advice, competent immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde).

🧭 Counseling and contact points (Beratung und Anlaufstellen) for labor migration in Berlin Eight contact points for recognition counseling, residence titles, chamber information, and legal advice on work and training in Berlin – with knowledge gaps openly named instead of smoothed-over information.

🌍 Figures, programmes, glossary

Skilled Immigration Act at a glance, statistics, glossary.

📊 Berlin regional labour market figures, state programmes and supplementary glossary What the Regionaldirektion Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency), the Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen (Senate Department for Finance) and the IHK Berlin (Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce) actually publish in terms of Berlin's own labour market figures, which state programmes (Business Immigration Service, IQ Netzwerk Berlin) go beyond mere advice – and technical terms still missing from the topic page on the Skilled Immigration Act. 🌍 The Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz (Skilled Immigration Act) at a glance: origins, figures, glossary How the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz has developed in stages since 2020, what the Chancenkarte, Blaue Karte EU, Anerkennungspartnerschaft, and Westbalkanregelung mean legally – and what the current figures on labor migration show.

For reference

🔠 Keyword index All keywords from A to Z with links to the matching pages. 🔗 Sources and methodology Where the information comes from and how current it is.