Visa for IT professionals

To obtain a visa to work as an IT specialist, you must meet the following requirements in particular:

• Concrete job offer
• At least three years of professional experience
• Gross annual salary of EUR 52,560 (2023)
• Demonstrable theoretical knowledge
• German language skills level B1

As a rule, a recognized qualification is required for the immigration of skilled workers from non-EU third countries. However, in view of the fact that there are no comparable professional qualifications in the IT sector in some countries, the Skilled Workers Immigration Act created an exception for IT specialists. Under certain conditions, they can obtain a residence permit for qualified employment independently of a recognized qualification. 

In order to obtain a visa for IT professionals, you must have a concrete job offer in the IT field in Germany.

In addition, you must have at least three years of professional experience in the IT field from the past seven years. This professional experience must sufficiently qualify you to practice the profession you are seeking in Germany. This means that you must also have sufficient theoretical knowledge, which you can prove through training courses and examinations. This knowledge and your professional experience must be comparable to the level of an academic specialist.

As a rule, you must have German language skills at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). However, this may be waived in individual cases if the working language in the intended job is not German.

In principle, the approval of the Federal Employment Agency is also required. This agency checks whether the conditions of your employment are comparable to those of domestic employees.