After your apprenticeship: residence as a skilled worker, job search and settlement permit

After vocational training in Germany, your next residence title depends on whether you already have a job or still need to look for one. With a job, the residence permit for skilled workers with vocational training applies; without one, the residence permit to look for work. Later, a permanent settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) is possible 1237.

Who needs this

• If you successfully completed qualified vocational training in Germany while holding a permit under section 16a of the Residence Act, you receive a job-search residence permit on application, provided your livelihood is secured. Separate rules apply after assistant or helper training in health and care 3.
• A skilled worker with vocational training (Fachkraft mit Berufsausbildung) has completed qualified vocational training in Germany or holds an equivalent foreign qualification. A residence title for employment requires a concrete job offer and, as a rule, approval from the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit); if the occupation requires a licence to practise, it must have been granted or promised 1.

Step by step

1. If you have found a job in your trained occupation, apply for the residence permit for employment as a skilled worker (section 18a) 17.
2. If you are still looking, apply for the job-search residence permit (section 20). It allows any gainful activity, including self-employment 367.
3. If you find a suitable job during the search, you can switch to the skilled-worker permit before it expires. If you do not find an appropriate job, you generally have to leave Germany 7.
4. Later you can apply for a settlement permit as a skilled worker. In general this requires three years with a title under sections 18a, 18b, 18d or 18g, a suitable job, at least 36 months of pension contributions or comparable provision, sufficient German and other statutory conditions. After successfully completing vocational training in Germany, the periods shorten to two years and 24 months 2.

Documents

• For the employment title: employment contract or concrete job offer, proof of qualification (German vocational qualification after at least two years of training, or a recognition decision), the employment declaration completed by your employer and, if needed, the licence to practise 5.
• For the job search: training certificate, passport or passport copies, current residence permit, and proof of residence or rental contract, secured livelihood and health insurance 67.

Cost and time

• The job-search permit after qualified vocational training is valid for up to 18 months; it cannot be extended beyond that. After assistant or helper training in health and care it is up to twelve months, with a one-off extension of up to six months if your livelihood is secured 3.
• The skilled-worker permit under section 18a is issued for four years; if the employment or the agency's approval is shorter, for that period plus six months, at most four years 1.

Deadlines

• If you are 45 or older when you first receive a title under section 18a, your salary must generally be at least 55 percent of the annual contribution ceiling of the statutory pension insurance, or you must prove adequate retirement provision; exceptions are possible in the public interest 1.

City by city

• Berlin: you submit both applications only online to the State Office for Immigration (Landesamt für Einwanderung, LEA) and pay the fee before submitting. You can apply for the employment title at the earliest four months before your D visa or current residence permit expires. The salary threshold from age 45 is at least €4,647.50 gross per month in 2026 56.
• Berlin: the job-search permit costs €56 as a sticker or €100 as an electronic residence title; for Turkish nationals €27.60 up to age 24 and €46 from age 24. A digital passport photo at the self-service terminal costs €6 extra. An electronic residence title is ready for collection 4 to 6 weeks after your appointment 6.
• Münster: an appointment is required for issue and extension. The fee for the job-search permit is up to €100. The up to 18 months are counted from the day you completed training lasting at least two years 7.