Blaue Karte EU (EU Blue Card): salary thresholds, EU mobility, and application in Berlin

Salary thresholds 2026: origin and confirmation

§ 18g Absatz 1 Satz 1 AufenthG requires, for the regular EU Blue Card, a salary of at least 50 percent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the general pension insurance; Satz 2 lowers this threshold for shortage occupations and career starters to at least 45.3 percent. The contribution assessment ceiling of the general pension insurance is 101,400 euros/year (8,450 euros/month) nationwide in 2026. This results arithmetically in 50,700 euros/year (4,225 euros/month) and 45,934.20 euros/year (3,827.85 euros/month) – exactly the amounts also given by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (ZAV) for 2026. Under § 18g Absatz 7 AufenthG, the Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat (Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community) announces the minimum salaries for each calendar year by 31 December of the previous year in the Bundesanzeiger; for 2026, this took place on 18 December 2025 (BAnz AT 18.12.2025 B3).

Who counts as a "shortage occupation" or "career starter" within the meaning of § 18g AufenthG

For skilled workers with academic training, the reduced threshold applies (§ 18g Absatz 1 Satz 2 AufenthG) if either (Nummer 1) the occupation exercised belongs to one of the following ISCO-08 groups according to the recommendation of the EU Commission of 29 October 2009: 132 (production, mining, construction, and logistics managers), 133 (ICT service managers), 134 (managers in education, health, and social services), 21 (science and engineering professionals), 221 (medical doctors), 222 (nursing and midwifery professionals), 225 (veterinarians), 226 (other health professionals), 23 (teaching professionals), or 25 (ICT professionals); or (Nummer 2) the person obtained their university degree no more than three years before applying for the EU Blue Card (career starter). For skilled workers WITHOUT academic training, § 18g Absatz 2 AufenthG opens a separate, narrower route: it applies only to occupational groups 133 or 25 (IT/ICT sector), requires at least three years of relevant professional experience in the last seven years at a competence level comparable to university level, in every case requires the approval of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, and likewise at least 45.3 percent of the contribution assessment ceiling as salary. On extension, under § 18g Absatz 6 AufenthG the reduced threshold continues to apply if the degree was obtained no more than three years before the extension application or if less than 24 months have passed since first issuance via the career-starter route.

EU-wide mobility (Directive (EU) 2021/1883)

Short-term mobility (§ 18h AufenthG, Article 20 of the Directive): Holders of a valid EU Blue Card of another EU member state do not need a German residence title or a work permit from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit for entry and stay to carry out a business activity directly related to the duties under the employment contract underlying the Blue Card, as long as the stay does not exceed 90 days within 180 days. If the EU Blue Card was issued by a non-Schengen member state, proof of the business purpose must additionally be carried and shown at border control on request. The same applies accordingly to persons who hold long-term resident status in another member state and immediately before held an EU Blue Card issued by that state.

Long-term mobility (§ 18i AufenthG, Article 21 of the Directive): Anyone who has lived lawfully for at least twelve months with an EU Blue Card of another member state in that state receives a German EU Blue Card if the other § 18g requirements are met; the requirement of § 18 Absatz 2 Nummer 4 AufenthG is generally deemed fulfilled – unless the person has held the foreign EU Blue Card for less than two years, or the other member state issued the card on the basis of professional experience for an occupation not listed in Annex I of Directive (EU) 2021/1883. If the foreign EU Blue Card was issued by a non-Schengen member state, an employment contract meeting the § 18g requirements or a binding job offer for at least six months must additionally be carried on entry. If the person has already made use of long-term mobility under Article 21 of the Directive once or several times, the minimum period of residence in the previous member state is reduced to six months.

Berlin: documents, fees, and procedure at the LEA

Responsible is the LEA at the location Keplerstraße 2, 10589 Berlin. According to the service page service.berlin.de, the following must be submitted, among other things: the online application form, color passport copies (data page and, if applicable, entry stamps), employment contract or job offer, proof of the university degree or an equivalent qualification (if there is no entry in the anabin database, an additional evaluation may be necessary), proof of Berlin residence (registration certificate or rental contract with landlord confirmation), information on living space and monthly housing costs, proof of health insurance, and a form "Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis" (declaration on the employment relationship) filled out by the employer; for extensions, additionally current proof of employment with payslips. The fees according to the same source: 56 euros for first issuance as a sticker, 49 euros for extension as a sticker, 100 euros for first issuance as an electronic residence title (eAT), 93 euros for its extension; for Turkish nationals, reduced rates apply (27.60 euros or 46 euros depending on age). Fees already paid are not refunded if the application is withdrawn after processing has begun. Sticker titles can be issued directly on site at the appointment; according to the source, an eAT takes 4 to 6 weeks until collection.

Change of job and extension

Deviating from the general rule, holders of an EU Blue Card generally do not need permission from the immigration authority for a change of job (§ 18g Absatz 4 Satz 1 AufenthG). In the first twelve months of employment, however, the responsible immigration authority can suspend the change for 30 days and refuse it within this period if the requirements for issuing an EU Blue Card are not met at the new job (Absatz 4 Satz 2). On extension, subsistence is deemed secured if the person previously held a residence permit under § 18a or § 18b AufenthG and the job is not changed (Absatz 5).