When you hire a non-EU national in Germany, your employment contract is the foundation of their visa application. Without a compliant offer from a German-registered employer, they can’t apply. And if the Federal Employment Agency needs to approve the hire first, you’re looking at weeks of additional lead time before your candidate can even submit their application.
This guide covers what visa routes are available for your hires, what you’re responsible for as the sponsoring employer, how the process works end to end, and how to hire international talent in Germany without setting up a local entity.
Who can work in germany without employer sponsorship
Not every international hire requires you to do anything from an immigration standpoint. A significant portion of candidates can work freely in Germany, and for those people, you have no sponsorship obligations at all.
| Status | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| EU / EEA / Swiss citizenship | Full right to work — no visa or permit needed |
| Existing residence permit with work authorisation | Can work within the conditions of their permit — verify before hiring |
| Settled status / permanent settlement permit | Unrestricted right to work |
| Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) holder | Can work part-time (up to 20 hours/week) while job-seeking — not for full employment |
If your candidate holds any of these, you can hire them without sponsoring a visa. You still need to verify their right to work, but you don’t need to initiate any permit process.
When you need to sponsor a visa
If your candidate is a non-EU national without existing work authorisation, you need to be the employing entity on their visa application. The main routes requiring employer sponsorship are:
- Skilled Worker Visa — standard route for candidates with a recognised degree or vocational qualification
- EU Blue Card — for highly qualified candidates meeting the salary threshold; faster path to permanent residence
- ICT Card — for employees transferring internally from a foreign office to your German branch
- Experience-Based Visa — for IT professionals and certain roles where substantial work experience substitutes for formal qualifications
Germany also has a Job Seeker Visa (Opportunity Card) that candidates can obtain without a job offer. If your hire already holds one, they can convert it to a work permit once you make them an offer — and in that case, the employer process is simpler.
What you’re responsible for as the sponsoring employer
Providing a compliant employment contract The contract is the core document in every German work visa application. It must include the job title, salary, working hours, start date, and notice period. It must also comply with German labor law — a contract that doesn’t meet local standards can delay visa processing or create compliance issues later. For candidates applying for an EU Blue Card, the salary must meet the minimum threshold (currently around €41,042–€45,300 annually depending on the field — check the Make it in Germany portal for current figures as these are reviewed annually).
Federal Employment Agency approval (where required) For some applications, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) must confirm that no suitable local candidate was available — the priority review (Vorrangprüfung). This adds roughly 2–4 weeks to the timeline. The review is waived for EU Blue Card applicants meeting the salary threshold, shortage occupations, and certain other categories. Your HR team initiates this process if required.
Qualification recognition For the Skilled Worker Visa, your candidate’s foreign degree or vocational training must be recognised as equivalent to German standards. While the candidate applies for recognition themselves (through the anabin database or a formal assessment), you’ll typically need to support this process — delays here are the most common cause of overall timeline slippage. Recognition can take 2–4 months, so factor this in when planning start dates.
Ongoing obligations Once your hire is working, you must notify the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ authority) of any significant changes: role changes, salary reductions, or early termination. For employer-specific permits, a change of employer requires a new authorisation.
Visa types: what each means for your hiring process
Skilled worker visa
The standard route for most hires. Your candidate needs a recognised qualification and a job offer matching their field. You may need Federal Employment Agency approval depending on the role and salary. Processing time: typically 1–3 months from application.
EU blue card
Best for highly qualified hires meeting the salary threshold. Key employer benefit: no priority review required if the salary threshold is met. Key candidate benefit: faster path to permanent residence — 21 months with B1 German language skills, 27 months with A1, compared to the standard 5-year route. Processing is generally faster than the standard Skilled Worker Visa.
Ict card (intra-corporate transfer)
For employees you’re relocating from a foreign branch to your German office. The candidate must have worked for your company for at least 3–6 months before the transfer (3 months for specialists, 6 months for trainees). No priority review required. Valid for up to 3 years.
Experience-based visa
Introduced under Germany’s updated Skilled Immigration Act. Allows IT professionals and certain other roles to qualify based on work experience rather than formal qualifications. Requires a job offer and at least 3 years of relevant experience. No degree recognition process needed, which shortens the overall timeline.
Costs: what you pay vs what the employee pays
| Fee | Typical Cost | Paid By |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application fee | €75 | Employee |
| Residence permit fee | ~€100 | Employee |
| Qualification recognition assessment | €100–€600 | Typically employee; some employers cover this |
| Federal Employment Agency review | No fee | N/A |
Employers don’t pay a direct visa sponsorship fee in Germany. Your main costs are administrative: HR time for documentation, any legal support, and potentially covering recognition assessment costs as part of the offer package.
Typical timeline from offer to start date
The end-to-end process commonly takes 3–5 months. The bottlenecks are usually qualification recognition and embassy appointment availability, not the visa processing itself.
| Stage | Typical Duration |
|---|---|
| Qualification recognition | 2–4 months (run this in parallel with everything else) |
| Federal Employment Agency review (if required) | 2–4 weeks |
| Embassy appointment and visa processing | 1–3 months |
| Arrival and residence permit conversion | 2–4 weeks after arrival |
Start the qualification recognition process as early as possible — ideally as soon as the candidate accepts the offer.
Hiring in germany without a german legal entity
To sponsor a German work visa, the employer on record must be a German-registered entity. If you don’t have one, you cannot directly sponsor the application.
An Employer of Record (EOR) solves this. The EOR is the German-registered legal employer, allowing them to issue the compliant employment contract required for the visa application, initiate the Federal Employment Agency process where needed, and handle all ongoing payroll and compliance obligations. You manage the employee’s day-to-day work.
RemotePass provides EOR services in Germany, covering visa sponsorship support alongside employment contracts, payroll, and benefits administration. Book a RemotePass demo to see how it works.
FAQs about sponsoring work visas in germany
Do I need a german legal entity to sponsor a work visa?
Yes. The employing entity on the contract must be registered in Germany. Foreign companies without a German entity can use an Employer of Record to act as the legal employer and support the visa application.
Does the salary have to meet a minimum for the EU blue card?
Yes. The EU Blue Card salary threshold for 2024–2025 is approximately €41,042–€45,300 annually, depending on the occupation. Shortage occupations (including IT, engineering, and medicine) have a lower threshold. Check the Make it in Germany portal for current figures as these are updated annually.
Is the priority review always required?
No. It’s waived for EU Blue Card holders meeting the salary threshold, shortage occupations, and several other categories. For standard Skilled Worker Visa applications, it typically applies unless an exemption covers the role.
How long does the whole process take?
Plan for 3–5 months from offer acceptance to start date. The longest stage is usually qualification recognition (2–4 months). Embassy processing adds another 1–3 months. Running recognition in parallel with other steps reduces the overall timeline.
What happens if the employee leaves before their permit expires?
You must notify the Ausländerbehörde. If the permit is employer-specific, the employee’s right to work under that permit ends when employment ends. They would need to either find a new employer willing to sponsor a new permit or leave Germany.
Can I transfer an existing employee from another country to germany?
Yes, via the ICT Card route. The employee must have worked for your company for at least 3 months (specialists) or 6 months (trainees) before the transfer. No priority review is required, which simplifies the process compared to external hires.
What if my candidate already holds an opportunity card?
If they’re already in Germany on an Opportunity Card, the conversion to a full work permit once you make an offer is more straightforward than a fresh application from abroad. They apply at the local Ausländerbehörde rather than going through a consulate.
