Are you allowed to work in Germany? Work Permits explained.
As with other EU member states any EU National is allowed to live and work in Germany without a permit.
Nationals of non-EU countries are only allowed to work in Germany if their residency permit explicitly allows them to do so. As a general rule non-EU nationals only have access to a job if no German or EU National is available to fill the position. In reality this means that unskilled or low skilled non-EU workers have very few options when it comes to finding work in Germany.
On the other hand well-qualified individuals can come to Germany as legal immigrants and do have the prospect of gaining long-term residency here. Under recent rules people with university degrees comparable to German degrees can, under the Blue Card system, gain access to employment. They must prove their qualifications and show that they have a serious job offer and the job must provide an income of over €46,400 per annum. Highly qualified mathematicians, IT workers, Scientists and Doctors can also apply under the Blue Card scheme provided they have similar job offers and minimum salaries of €36,192 (Jan 2014).
As with some other EU states self employed individuals may be granted a residence permit if the business is deemed to be in Germany’s economic interest, this obviously is subjective and must be assessed by the foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) who will contact the relevant trade authority.
