Legal topics explained briefly and understandably by our experts
There are two minimum salary thresholds for the EU Blue Card that must be met in order to obtain an EU Blue Card. The basic salary limit for 2023 is an annual gross salary of 43,800 euros. For so-called shortage occupations, the lower salary limit in 2023 is 39,682.80 euros. Find out more about minimum salary limits here.
The bill still has to be passed by the Bundestag and then promulgated before it can enter into force. It was originally scheduled to come into force at the end of 2023, but is now more likely to come into force in spring 2024.
You can leave Germany for up to 12 months without losing your EU Blue Card. The 12-month period also applies to your family members.
No, there is no general statutory entitlement to severance pay. Severance pay is only provided for in a social plan or, if applicable, in the event of termination for operational reasons within the meaning of Section 1 a KSchG. In most cases, severance pay is the result of a negotiation between the employer and the employee. In a lawsuit, the continuation of the employment relationship is usually disputed and the employer must prove the reasons for termination. In order to end the process for the employee and the employer, a settlement is usually reached with a severance payment. The amount of the severance payment depends on many factors, such as the industry, the length of service, the age and whether the employee has any maintenance obligations.
In principle, yes. Since German law is to permit multiple nationality in the future, there is nothing to prevent this from the German side. However, the decisive factor is the law of the state whose citizenship one wishes to regain.
Yes, at least as far as German citizenship law is concerned. In principle, the bill is intended to open dual citizenship to all foreigners, regardless of their country of origin. However, laws may exist in the country of origin that mandate the loss of citizenship in the event that a citizen is granted citizenship of another country. Such laws exist, for example, in China, Austria, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands. In any case, we advise you to inform yourself in the respective country of your previous citizenship.
Yes, holders of an EU Blue Card are permitted to travel to other Schengen states within the EU for tourism purposes without a visa. You can travel to Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland for 90 days within a 180-day period. As a rule, it is not possible to take up employment outside Germany without a corresponding residence permit.
It is generally possible for holders of an EU Blue Card to change jobs. However, in the first year of your employment, you must report any change of employer to the immigration authority. The authority then has the option of suspending the change and checking within 30 days whether it is permissible. If the authority allows this period to elapse or does not respond to your notification at all, the change is automatically deemed permissible. After one year, you can change your job without the approval of the immigration authority. However, the basic requirements, such as the minimum salary, must still be met.
If you want to check whether your naturalization application would be successful, you can do our naturalization check. However, this check only gives you a first overview. If you still have detailed questions or are unsure, then it is best to contact our lawyers.
Strictly speaking, the bill is not intended to permit dual citizenship, but to lift the generally applicable ban on multiple citizenship. If this prohibition is lifted, it will also be possible under German law to hold more than two nationalities.
No, unlike other residence permits, no German language skills are required to obtain an EU Blue Card. This applies to both the applicant and their family.
If you can demonstrate language skills at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), you can apply for a permanent work and residence permit after just 21 months with an EU Blue Card. However, language skills are not mandatory. Without language skills, the waiting period for the possibility of applying for a permanent work and residence permit is extended to 27 months.
Age can play a role in severance pay in combination with length of service. The older the employee is, the higher the severance payment can be. Age also depends on other aspects, such as the industry and other social factors.
An unlimited residence title such as settlement should only be granted if the person concerned and his or her family have sufficient living space at their disposal. The reason for this is that unlimited residence permits should only be issued if all basic needs are secured. This also includes the availability of sufficient living space.
The decisive question that arises here is what exactly is meant by "sufficient" in this context. First of all, it should be noted that a certain apartment size does not have to be achieved. The required apartment size and condition depends entirely on the individual case and is mainly determined by the size of your family.
The standard for determining sufficient living space is regulated in Section 2 (4) of the Residence Act. According to this, living space is insufficient if it does not meet the legal requirements that also apply to Germans with regard to condition and occupancy. Children under the age of two are not taken into account in the calculation.
As a rule, living space is sufficient if twelve square meters of living space are available for each family member over the age of six and ten square meters for each family member under the age of six. In addition, ancillary rooms such as the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet must be able to be shared to a reasonable extent. Proof of adequate living space can be provided, for example, by means of a rental agreement, purchase contract or a housing certificate from the landlord.
In case you are dismissed by your employer, you have three months to find a new job. If you do not succeed, there is a risk that your Blue Card will be revoked and you will have to leave Germany again. Get more information about the EU Blue Card and termination here.
In principle, certain additional payments can be included in the gross basic salary. These payments count towards the minimum salary if the supplements are agreed in the employment contract and are not dependent on the occurrence of certain conditions. Not every salary component is clear from the outset and requires individual examination in case of doubt.
Length of service includes the period during which you worked continuously for your employer from the beginning of the employment relationship until the end of the employment relationship. Interruptions such as parental leave or illness also count towards length of service, provided the employment relationship was not terminated during these periods.
Not included in length of service: Unpaid internships, temporary employment and employment as a freelancer.
The gross monthly salary that must be entered in the severance calculator includes not only the gross monthly salary, but also all salary components such as bonus payments and special payments. These payments include, in particular, bonus payments, premiums, vacation and Christmas bonuses, non-cash benefits, the company pension plan and non-cash benefits such as a company car.
For the severance calculator, all these salary components that have been paid or will be paid in the calendar year must be added up and then divided by the number of months already worked up to the end of employment in this calendar year. The resulting gross monthly salary is then entered into the severance calculator. It should be noted that the gross salary is the amount before deduction of taxes, soli and social security contributions for the severance payment calculation. It is not the amount paid out on the payroll.
We have explained this in detail in our article on naturalization.
Alternatively, you can complete our Naturalization Check.
If the bill is passed by the Bundestag in this form and it comes into force, then naturalization will be possible even if you keep your old citizenship. However, this will probably not be the case before spring 2024.
The employer and the employee are free to negotiate the amount of the severance payment. The so-called "standard severance payment" is 0.5 gross monthly salary per year of service. The exact amount depends on many factors that must be negotiated between the employer and the employee. In addition to length of service, these include factors such as age, industry and, in particular, the expected effectiveness of the notice given.
The EU Blue Card is usually issued for four years, unless the employment contract is shorter than four years. In this case, the EU Blue Card is valid for the duration of the employment contract plus three months, but never longer than four years. The EU Blue Card can be extended before it expires, provided you still meet all the requirements for an EU Blue Card.
The bill still has to be passed by the Bundestag and then promulgated before it can enter into force. It was originally scheduled to come into force at the end of 2023, but is now more likely to come into force in spring 2024.
You can leave Germany for up to 12 months without losing your EU Blue Card. The 12-month period also applies to your family members.
In principle, yes. Since German law is to permit multiple nationality in the future, there is nothing to prevent this from the German side. However, the decisive factor is the law of the state whose citizenship one wishes to regain.
Yes, at least as far as German citizenship law is concerned. In principle, the bill is intended to open dual citizenship to all foreigners, regardless of their country of origin. However, laws may exist in the country of origin that mandate the loss of citizenship in the event that a citizen is granted citizenship of another country. Such laws exist, for example, in China, Austria, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands. In any case, we advise you to inform yourself in the respective country of your previous citizenship.
Yes, holders of an EU Blue Card are permitted to travel to other Schengen states within the EU for tourism purposes without a visa. You can travel to Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland for 90 days within a 180-day period. As a rule, it is not possible to take up employment outside Germany without a corresponding residence permit.
It is generally possible for holders of an EU Blue Card to change jobs. However, in the first year of your employment, you must report any change of employer to the immigration authority. The authority then has the option of suspending the change and checking within 30 days whether it is permissible. If the authority allows this period to elapse or does not respond to your notification at all, the change is automatically deemed permissible. After one year, you can change your job without the approval of the immigration authority. However, the basic requirements, such as the minimum salary, must still be met.
If you want to check whether your naturalization application would be successful, you can do our naturalization check. However, this check only gives you a first overview. If you still have detailed questions or are unsure, then it is best to contact our lawyers.
Strictly speaking, the bill is not intended to permit dual citizenship, but to lift the generally applicable ban on multiple citizenship. If this prohibition is lifted, it will also be possible under German law to hold more than two nationalities.
No, unlike other residence permits, no German language skills are required to obtain an EU Blue Card. This applies to both the applicant and their family.
If you can demonstrate language skills at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), you can apply for a permanent work and residence permit after just 21 months with an EU Blue Card. However, language skills are not mandatory. Without language skills, the waiting period for the possibility of applying for a permanent work and residence permit is extended to 27 months.
An unlimited residence title such as settlement should only be granted if the person concerned and his or her family have sufficient living space at their disposal. The reason for this is that unlimited residence permits should only be issued if all basic needs are secured. This also includes the availability of sufficient living space.
The decisive question that arises here is what exactly is meant by "sufficient" in this context. First of all, it should be noted that a certain apartment size does not have to be achieved. The required apartment size and condition depends entirely on the individual case and is mainly determined by the size of your family.
The standard for determining sufficient living space is regulated in Section 2 (4) of the Residence Act. According to this, living space is insufficient if it does not meet the legal requirements that also apply to Germans with regard to condition and occupancy. Children under the age of two are not taken into account in the calculation.
As a rule, living space is sufficient if twelve square meters of living space are available for each family member over the age of six and ten square meters for each family member under the age of six. In addition, ancillary rooms such as the kitchen, bathroom, and toilet must be able to be shared to a reasonable extent. Proof of adequate living space can be provided, for example, by means of a rental agreement, purchase contract or a housing certificate from the landlord.
In case you are dismissed by your employer, you have three months to find a new job. If you do not succeed, there is a risk that your Blue Card will be revoked and you will have to leave Germany again. Get more information about the EU Blue Card and termination here.
In principle, certain additional payments can be included in the gross basic salary. These payments count towards the minimum salary if the supplements are agreed in the employment contract and are not dependent on the occurrence of certain conditions. Not every salary component is clear from the outset and requires individual examination in case of doubt.
We have explained this in detail in our article on naturalization.
Alternatively, you can complete our Naturalization Check.
If the bill is passed by the Bundestag in this form and it comes into force, then naturalization will be possible even if you keep your old citizenship. However, this will probably not be the case before spring 2024.
There are two minimum salary thresholds for the EU Blue Card that must be met in order to obtain an EU Blue Card. The basic salary limit for 2023 is an annual gross salary of 43,800 euros. For so-called shortage occupations, the lower salary limit in 2023 is 39,682.80 euros. Find out more about minimum salary limits here.
The EU Blue Card is usually issued for four years, unless the employment contract is shorter than four years. In this case, the EU Blue Card is valid for the duration of the employment contract plus three months, but never longer than four years. The EU Blue Card can be extended before it expires, provided you still meet all the requirements for an EU Blue Card.
No, there is no general statutory entitlement to severance pay. Severance pay is only provided for in a social plan or, if applicable, in the event of termination for operational reasons within the meaning of Section 1 a KSchG. In most cases, severance pay is the result of a negotiation between the employer and the employee. In a lawsuit, the continuation of the employment relationship is usually disputed and the employer must prove the reasons for termination. In order to end the process for the employee and the employer, a settlement is usually reached with a severance payment. The amount of the severance payment depends on many factors, such as the industry, the length of service, the age and whether the employee has any maintenance obligations.
Age can play a role in severance pay in combination with length of service. The older the employee is, the higher the severance payment can be. Age also depends on other aspects, such as the industry and other social factors.
Length of service includes the period during which you worked continuously for your employer from the beginning of the employment relationship until the end of the employment relationship. Interruptions such as parental leave or illness also count towards length of service, provided the employment relationship was not terminated during these periods.
Not included in length of service: Unpaid internships, temporary employment and employment as a freelancer.
The gross monthly salary that must be entered in the severance calculator includes not only the gross monthly salary, but also all salary components such as bonus payments and special payments. These payments include, in particular, bonus payments, premiums, vacation and Christmas bonuses, non-cash benefits, the company pension plan and non-cash benefits such as a company car.
For the severance calculator, all these salary components that have been paid or will be paid in the calendar year must be added up and then divided by the number of months already worked up to the end of employment in this calendar year. The resulting gross monthly salary is then entered into the severance calculator. It should be noted that the gross salary is the amount before deduction of taxes, soli and social security contributions for the severance payment calculation. It is not the amount paid out on the payroll.
The employer and the employee are free to negotiate the amount of the severance payment. The so-called "standard severance payment" is 0.5 gross monthly salary per year of service. The exact amount depends on many factors that must be negotiated between the employer and the employee. In addition to length of service, these include factors such as age, industry and, in particular, the expected effectiveness of the notice given.
RT & Partner Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
Goethestrasse 74, 80336 Munich
Email: info@rtpartner.de
Phone: +49 (0) 89 958 706 40
Fax: +49 (0) 89 958 706 41
