Visa for IT professionals
Special regulation: visa for IT professionals
Since March 1, 2022, the Skilled Immigration Act has made it possible for IT specialists to obtain a residence permit for qualified employment in Germany, regardless of whether they have a degree or not. Since November 18, 2023, it has even been possible for them to apply for an EU Blue Card without a degree. To do so, however, they need practical work experience in the field of information and communication technology.
EU Blue Card for IT specialists
In principle, skilled workers applying for a Blue Card must be able to prove that they have completed a university education. However, IT experts are in demand on the German labor market like never before. This is why the legislator has decided to allow them to apply for an EU Blue Card even if they do not have a university degree. The following requirements must be met:
- Concrete job offer
- Gross annual salary of 41,041.80 euros (2024)
- Three years of professional experience in the past seven years
- Demonstrable theoretical knowledge
First of all, there must be a specific job offer in the IT sector. The salary offered must be at least EUR 41,041.80 gross per year, i.e. it must meet the salary threshold for so-called shortage occupations, which are in particularly high demand.
In addition, applicants must have gained at least three years of professional experience in the field in which they wish to work in Germany in the past seven years.
Although IT specialists do not need a university degree to apply for an EU Blue Card, they must still be able to demonstrate theoretical knowledge in IT that is comparable to that of university graduates. This proof can be provided through training courses or by passing examinations, for example.
Advantages of an EU Blue Card
As mentioned above, in addition to applying for an EU Blue Card, it is also possible to obtain a visa for IT specialists. However, the Blue Card offers many advantages over this visa. The most obvious is the salary threshold, which is more than EUR 10,000 lower. Another major advantage is that, unlike the IT visa, the EU Blue Card does not require proof of German language skills. In addition, holders of an EU Blue Card can apply for a settlement permit more quickly and bring more members of their close family to join them. We therefore definitely advise you to apply for the EU Blue Card.
For the sake of clarity, we will nevertheless briefly explain the visa for IT specialists and its requirements below.
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
- Three years of professional experience
- Gross annual salary of 54,360 euros (2024)
- Demonstrable theoretical knowledge
- German language skills level B1
As with the EU Blue Card, you must have a concrete job offer in the IT sector in Germany, but in this case with a significantly higher minimum salary.
In addition, you must again have at least three years of professional experience in the IT sector in the last seven years and theoretical knowledge at the level of university graduates.
As a rule, you must also have German language skills at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). However, this can be waived in individual cases if the working language in the job you are applying for 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 those that are comparable to those of domestic employees.
