Germany Immigration Services

Newland Chase offers full support with all aspects of corporate immigration to Germany. Please find an overview of the typical corporate immigration processes below. Every situation is unique, so please do get in touch, either through your usual Newland Chase contact or using the details on the right hand side of the page. Our immigration experts will be glad to discuss your needs in greater detail.

With offices in Frankfurt, Newland Chase Germany provides corporations and individuals operating in Germany with complete support for all their immigration and visa needs – inbound to Germany and outbound to more than 190 countries around the world. Our full spectrum of services allows us to manage all of your business visa and employee immigration needs.

Germany’s migration laws are complex and constantly changing. Newland Chase’s team of highly qualified specialists provides unparalleled expertise in the complexities of German immigration rules and regulations. Our team of German immigration specialists provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive advice and expertise to clients across all sectors, delivering tailored solutions customized to our clients’ business needs.

 

  • Germany Immigration Management

    We provide support in all areas of German immigration for corporations and individuals – from short-term work authorization and temporary residency to long-term work authorization, permanent residency, and citizenship, including both company employees and accompanying family members. Our approach covers you from comprehensive guidance and pre-planning of new assignments and immigration options to completion of all in-country requirements to ongoing compliance monitoring.

    For up-to-date information on the most common work authorization routes in Germany, see Immigration Summary tab.

  • Comprehensive Global Immigration Management

    For corporations and individuals located in Germany, we also provide support in all areas of immigration to more than 190 countries around the world. Our German team is part of the larger Newland Chase global team of 1,700+ expert immigration and visa professionals – specializing in everything from short-term work assignments and temporary residency to long-term work assignments, permanent residency, and citizenship throughout the world.

  • Business Traveler Management

    Business Visas are a key component of a globally mobile workforce – allowing individuals to enter Germany and other countries for non-work business activities. Business visas typically apply to business meetings, seminars, conferences, trade shows, limited sales activities, contract negotiations, and some supervisory activities. Newland Chase Germany offers comprehensive services for business travelers both inbound to Germany and outbound to more than 190 countries.

    Our services include everything from personalized assessment of the activities and destination for visa compliance to obtaining the proper visas to tracking of the number and length of stays of your business travelers for legal compliance.

  • Immigration Policy and Compliance

    Our Germany immigration experts offer an extensive suite of advisory services and immigration compliance strategies to ensure that your organization and employees remain compliant with all German immigration and visa requirements. Our services include strategic guidance on immigration plans, development and implementation of immigration policies, sponsor compliance, education and training, audit support (including mock audits), and immigration compliance technology solutions.

  • Consulting and Advisory Services

    Our German immigration experts act as trusted business advisors – supporting you in virtually any unique or complex immigration-related matter. Our Germany team is able to manage the scope of immigration in large-scale projects and employee moves, as well as guide you through the immigration complexities involved in corporate restructuring and mergers and acquisitions.

Immigration Summary

Please note: Newland Chase is in the process of reviewing and adding new processes for Germany. More updates should be expected shortly.

A Residence Permit for Employment Purposes is required for non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals to work and reside in Germany. Locally hired employees under this status may renew without restriction. An expedited procedure is available.

Prior to entry, the foreign national’s foreign qualification is verified for equivalence (vocational qualifications) or comparability (academic qualifications) through the so-called recognition procedure. Professional qualifications may also require recognition. This procedure may take several months.

IT specialists with a firm job offer in the IT sector in Germany meeting the minimum required gross annual salary of EUR 49,680, with proof of at least three years of experience in the IT sector ever the last seven years, and at least B1 level German language skills can obtain a residence permit without having their foreign qualifications officially recognised.

A residence permit for employment can be obtained for preferred nationals who are on assignment to Germany for up to three years, and remain on home contract and payroll. A posted worker notification may be required, depending on the industry and posting type. the authorities would expect to see at least six months of seniority with the sending company prior to transfer.

For companies which qualify for the International Personnel Exchange programme, the residence permit process for assignment is somewhat expedited, as the four-week local labour market search can be waived. The assignment must be seen as contributing to the international character and development within the international market of the group of companies. In particular, the German company must also send German employees from the German office to overseas offices. However, note that if the applicant qualifies for the EU ICT, this process cannot be followed. A posted worker notification may be required, depending on the industry and posting type.

The Intra-Company Transfer Permit (EU Directive 2014/66) is only applicable to assignees falling into management/specialist or trainee categories sent to Germany for over 90 days from outside the EEA and has a maximum total duration of stay of three years for managers and specialists and one year for trainees. The applicant must have been employed by the sending company for a minimum of six months. If an applicant meets qualifying criteria for this process, he/she may not apply under an alternative route for assignees. A posted worker notification may be required, depending on the industry and posting type.

ICT permits under Directive 2014/66 allow mobility within EU member states - i.e. work permission is not required for EU ICT permit holders to work in other member states for less than 90 days and a streamlined Mobile ICT permit application may be applicable if working in other member states for longer than 90 days.

The Blue Card (Blaue Karte) is applicable to highly-skilled employees with a local job offer and a salary at least two thirds of the German pension fund contribution ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze der deutschen Rentenversicherung), which changes slightly every year.

The Blue Card regulation also applies to skilled employees in shortage occupations (‘Mangelberufe’ - scientists, mathematicians, engineers, doctors in human medicine, academic specialists in IT and communication) with an annual salary of at least 52% of the German pension fund contribution ceiling. For shortage occupations, the labour authorities must check that the employment conditions match the local standards, and the employer must submit an official format job description.

The Van der Elst is a process whereby a third country national who is employed and contracted by a home entity in the EEA country and sent to provide temporary services to another EEA country no longer requires a work permit. However, a visa may be issued for up to one year. A residence permit will only be required if the period of stay is extended beyond the initial visa validity.

Employees sent to Germany on Temporary Assignment for less than 90 days within a 180 day period, to fit, install, maintain or repair machines, equipment, computer programmes, or other technical systems for a client or a branch office of their own company must submit a labour notification. This process usually applies where the assignee is being sent to fulfil foreign contractual obligations to a German client company. There must be an existing service agreement or purchase order in place between the employing company and the client. Assignees must remain on foreign payroll and contract. A posted worker notification may be required, depending on the industry and posting type.

EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who will be working in Germany for longer than three months should register with the town hall. Swiss nationals should also register with their local foreign office and obtain a residence card (Aufenthaltserlaubnis-CH). For assignees on home country contract, posted worker notification may be required, depending on the industry and posting type.

'Preferred nationals' (nationals of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States) can either enter Germany as a tourist and apply for the residence permit in-country, or enter with a D visa obtained at the relevant German consulate with jurisdiction over their place of residence. Note that for the first option, work is not permitted until the application has been submitted and a temporary residence permit obtained. Therefore, in major cities such as Frankfurt, Munich or Dresden, where appointments to apply for residence permits in-country take around six months, it is advisable to enter Germany on a D visa to allow work from the time of entry.

Our Germany team members are highly qualified and dedicated professionals with extensive experience in all aspects of German immigration. They come from the best of legal, consulting, in-house corporate and government backgrounds and bring a breadth of experience and insight both in immigration and a multitude of industry sectors. With a dedication to service and a consultative approach, our people act as your trusted advisors and partners in achieving your business goals in Germany.

 

Frank Jura

Managing Director, Germany and Austria

Germany