Germany has more jobs than workers in many fields, and it has changed its immigration rules to bring in people from outside Europe. Nurses, engineers, IT specialists, electricians and other trained workers from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia can all apply.
You don’t need to know someone in Germany, and you don’t pay an agent. But you do need the right qualification, and for most routes, a job offer first.
The four main routes
1. EU Blue Card. For people with a university degree and a job offer that pays enough. In 2026 the salary is €50,700 a year, or €45,934.20 for shortage jobs such as IT, engineering, medicine and nursing, and for graduates in their first three years after their degree. IT specialists with 3 years’ experience can qualify without a degree. The Blue Card is the fastest way to permanent residence.
2. Skilled worker visa. For people with a recognised degree or at least two years of vocational training (for example, electricians, plumbers, mechanics or nurses) and a job offer in their field. There’s no fixed salary for most applicants under 45.
3. Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte). Lets you move to Germany for up to a year without a job offer to look for one, and work part-time while you search. It uses a points system. See our full guide to the Opportunity Card.
4. Recognition partnership. If your qualification is only partly recognised, an employer can hire you while you complete the missing training in Germany.
Salary figures for 2026 were published by the German government in late 2025. When we checked, the Make it in Germany page still showed the 2025 amounts (€48,300 and €43,759.80), so confirm the current figure there before you apply.
Could you qualify? A quick check
You have a good chance if you can say yes to most of these:
- I have a university degree, or at least two years of formal vocational training.
- I have worked in my field for at least two years.
- I’m learning German, or I already speak it at A2 or higher.
- My job is one Germany is short of: nursing and care, IT, engineering, skilled trades, or teaching.
If you’re missing the job offer, the Opportunity Card is built for you. If you’re missing the qualification, a German vocational training place (Ausbildung) is another way in.
Get your qualification recognised first
This is the step most people skip, and it’s the reason many visa applications fail. The German Foreign Office says that without recognition of your foreign degree or certificate, your visa application can’t be processed.
- Degrees: check whether your university and degree are listed in the anabin database. For many non-regulated jobs, that’s enough.
- Regulated jobs (nursing, medicine, teaching and some others): you need permission to practise from the German authority for that job.
- Vocational training: apply for recognition through the Recognitihai8g.com/4/12100191on in Germany portal, which shows which office handles your job.
How to apply
- Check your route on Make it in Germany, the German government’s official site for skilled workers.
- Start recognition of your qualification.
- Learn German. Even A2 makes job hunting much easier.
- Apply for jobs on the Federal Employment Agency’s job board and on Make it in Germany.
- Once you have an offer, book a national visa appointment at the German embassy in your country and bring the employer’s “Declaration regarding a contract of employment”.
Avoid the scams
Real German employers don’t charge you for a job or a visa. Be careful with anyone who promises a guaranteed job, asks for money for a “work permit”, or wants payment before an interview. Read how to spot a fake job abroad offer before you pay anyone.
Nurses should also read how nurses from Africa can work in the UK or Ireland to compare their options.