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Visa - EU Blue Card
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The EU Blue Card allows third-country nationals with a university degree to take up employment in Germany according to their qualifications.
General information
This scheme is aimed at qualified academic professionals employed in a position according to their qualification. As of November 2023, the scheme has facilitated applications for professionals in more bottleneck occupations, young professionals and certain non-academic IT professionals.
Please note that there are also other options to take up employment in Germany.
The EU Blue Card visa category requires you
- to hold a German, a recognised or a comparable foreign academic degree or equivalent tertiary qualification.
- that the qualification must be relevant for your intended emploment.
If you hold a non German academic degree, please check whether both your degree and the awarding academic institution are listed as comparable in the official Anabin database. If the degree (Hochschulabluss) is not listed as "entspricht" (comparable) or "gleichwertig" (equivalent) and the institution (Institution) is not classified as "H+": please have the degree formally assessed through a "Statement of Comparability for Foreign Higher Education Qualifications" issued by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB). Any equivalent foreign tertiary qualification must have been formally recognized. - to have a contract of employment in Germany appropriate to your qualifications
- to have a minimum gross salary of 50.700 EUR (4.225,00 EUR per month/as of 2026) or in MINT (employment in the fields of mathematics, IT, natural sciences and technology) professions and health professions of 45.934,20 EUR (3.827,85 EUR per month/as of 2026 §18g Abs.1 S.2 und Abs. 2 AufenthG)
- to have sufficient health insurance cover under German law
Additional notes:
Bottleneck professions (Engpassberufe)
Academic professionals employed in a bottleneck profession (see list here) qualify for an EU Blue Card with a remuneration starting at 45.934,20 EUR gross per annum / 3.827,85 EUR gross per month (2026, subject to change).
New entrants to the labour market
The lower salary of 45.934,20 EUR gross per annum / 3.827,85 EUR gross per month (2026, subject to change) also applies to new entrants to the labour market: if you obtained your last degree or equivalent qualification less than three years ago, you also qualify for an EU Blue Card.
IT professionals without formal qualification
IT professionals without a formal qualification, but having worked in IT for at least three of the past seven years and with professional experience at university level may also qualify for an EU Blue Card.
Visa free travel
Citizens of Japan, Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as EU citizens may apply to the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) for their residence permit for work purposes after arrival in Germany and without having obtained a visa prior to travelling to Germany. Please note that you need to register your new residence (Anmeldung) with the authorities (Meldebehörde) within two weeks of having moved in and apply to the local immigraiton office (Ausländerbehörde) for your residence permit within the first 90 days of your stay in Germany.
Please note that you may only take up employment once you have been issued a residence permit explicitly authorising such employment. The citizens of above mentioned countries may therefore also choose to apply for a visa prior to travel, effectively permitting employment from the first day of visa validity.
All other nationalities require a visa prior to travel to Germany.
How to apply for EU Blue Card Visa
If the above mentioned conditions apply, you can apply for your visa online via the Consular Services Portal of the Federal Foreign Office (submitting the documents online first before the appointment). We will support you in preparing the documents by checking them in advance. You can view the status of your application online at any time.
This is how the application works:
1. Sign in at the consular services portal and upload the documents in the category for EU-Blue Card
If you apply via the Consular Services Portal you will be guided which documents you have to upload. Please upload the documents with the correct description and in good quality to ensure a fast process.
If your family members would like to apply as well, please submit within one user account all family members in the category family reunion.
Please note the evaluation of the documents is only the verification of accuracy and completeness of the document. If the pre-evaluation has finished, it does not automatically confirm that the visa has been approved. The final evaluation will only take place after your onsite appointment. Therefore we do not recommend to arrange any travel plans or flights to Germany until you have received your passport in return after the visa process has finished completely.
Documents to apply on the Consular Services Portal:
Important to know, that you need to fill in all required information.
You need to fill in your place of birth correctly (not only the country)
You need to fill in your e-mail address.
If you have only one name according to your passport, you need to fill in the same name in the family name and in the first name.
Only the identity page and, if applicable, of the signature page
We will keep the passport during the evaluation of your visa application. If you require the passport after application and during the processing procedure, please submit an informal written justification (English/German) at the time of application and your passport will be returned to you. However, your passport must be sent in upon our request.
Passport must
- be valid for at least 15 months longer than the intended day of entry in Germany
- have at least two empty pages
- have been issued within the last 10 years
If applicable: upload as well the previous national visa/permit of stay in Germany
Proof of the habitual residence, that matches the consular district of the German representatives: the registration certificate (Jyuminhyo, without translation) or electricity bill, etc.
Japanese residence card (both sides)
– needs to be presented in original on the day of the appointment.
For Japanese citizens: proof of address in Japan (registration certificate or electricity bill, etc.)
- mention the place and date as well the signature according to your passport
2. Signed declaration § 18 (2) no. 4 Residence Act (AufenthG)
- mention the place and date as well the signature according to your passport
3. Signed declaration § 82 (1) sentence 6 Residence Act (AufenthG)
- mention the place and date as well the signature according to your passport
We will need to see the original degree certificate/qualification or a copy either notarised by a notary public or certified by the issuing institution. Any original will be returned to you. Any document in a language other than German, English or French needs to be translated into one of these languages by a certified or sworn translator. The degree must correspond to the future occupation. We reserve the right to request an apostille/legalization of the foreign document if necessary.
We will need to see the original degree certificate/qualification or a copy either notarised by a notary public or certified by the issuing institution. Any original will be returned to you. Any document in a language other than German, English or French needs to be translated into one of these languages by a certified or sworn translator. The degree must correspond to the future occupation. We reserve the right to request an apostille/legalization of the foreign document if necessary.
Not necessary if it is a German degree
Printouts from the official Anabin database showing that both the qualification as well as the academic institution are listed as comparable - one (1) copy each
OR
"Statement of Comparability for Foreign Higher Education Qualifications", issued by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB)
If applicable: IT professionals without formal qualification
We will need to see evidence of your full employment history during the last 7 years, including reference letters outlining the duration of the employment and the exact areas of responsibilities held.
Academic/professional curriculum vitae in English/German languag
Employer's declaration (Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis)
- to be completed and signed by your employer in Germany. Please ensure all fields are completed and all applicable boxes are checked, otherwise send it back to your further employer to correct it.
Employment contract/binding job offer from your future employer in Germany (containing gross annual salary, working house, workplace, duration of work, etc.)
Job description
Proof of Health insurance upon day of entry to Germany (Confirmation of health insurance cover by the German Public Health insurance, if employment health insurance starts later than the day of entry to Germany a Schengen travel health insurance for the time being can be provided ). More information here
2. The onsite appointment
After the pre-evaluation has been finished, you will receive the information with a link to book your onsite appointment.
For the onsite appointment you need to bring:
- Original passport
- Original Residence Card
- One (1) original passport picture 35 x 45 mm, biometric standard, white background, no older than 6 months, digitally altered passport photos cannot be accepted, print-outs on paper are not accepted, Resolution 600 dpi/sharp and clear photo. More information
- Originals of your academic degree
- Return envelope with your address: Letterpack PLUS (600 yen) – self-addressed. Only the return of the passport by post is possible. Please write down the tracking number to check upon the return of your passport.
- Visa fee
Please note that the German Embassy Tokyo / the Consulate General Osaka-Kobe reserves the right to ask for additional documents at any time during processing. Submission of the above mentioned documents does not guarantee that a visa is granted.
3. Processing time
In this visa category, most applications are typically processed within 2 weeks. This also applies to accompanying family members.
Although we will provide you with a file number, please understand that we cannot respond to questions regarding the status of your visa application. Should we have any questions or should we require additional documentation to process your application, we will contact you. If a decision has been made, you will be informed via the consular services portal.
4. Additional information
This page has been prepared with utmost care. It is intended to provide a point of reference to our clients but may not be fully applicable to every individual case. If you have further, more specific questions which are not answered by the information contained here nor on our website, please contact the German Embassy / the Consulate General serving your prefecture. The German missions in Japan cannot accept any responsibility for inaccuracies contained in this page.