Do you qualify?
The Chancenkarte lets you move to Germany without a job offer and search for data engineering roles for up to 12 months. You need a qualifying degree (ISCED 6 or higher) and — if not fully recognised — at least 6 points.
A 4-year BSc CS, BSc IT, or BSc Statistics from a recognised Ghanaian university meets the base requirement. HNDs from Technical Universities (below ISCED 6) do not.
Which route applies to you?
| Your situation | Route |
|---|---|
| 4-year BSc from H+ institution, programme listed in anabin | Route 1: no points needed |
| 4-year BSc from H+ institution, programme not individually listed | Route 2: 6 points required |
| HND from Technical University | Not eligible as base qualification |
Route 2: points table
| Criterion | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Partial equivalence (ZAB decision) | 4 | |
| Shortage occupation (data engineering, ISCO-08 group 25) | 1 | |
| At least 2 years qualifying experience in last 5 years | 2 | Pipeline architecture scope, not only reporting |
| At least 5 years qualifying experience in last 7 years | 3 | Replaces 2-year tier |
| German A2 / B1 / B2+ | 1 / 2 / 3 | |
| English at B2 or higher (certificate required) | 1 | WAEC English is not accepted — IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge required |
| Age under 35 | 2 | |
| Age 35–39 | 1 | |
| Prior lawful German residence ≥ 6 months in last 5 years | 1 | |
| Spouse applies jointly | 1 |
Worked example: Yaw Darko, 27, data engineer, BSc Statistics UG-Legon (programme not individually listed), 3 years pipeline experience, IELTS 7.0 (C1), no German: 1 (shortage) + 2 (experience) + 2 (under 35) + 1 (English C1) = 6 points ✓
Financial requirement: the Sperrkonto
€13,092 in a blocked Sperrkonto before your appointment. Providers: Fintiba, Coracle, Expatrio. Open at least 4 weeks before your appointment.
What you can do on the Opportunity Card
- Part-time work: up to 20 hours per week on average
- Trial employment: up to 2 weeks per employer
- Freelancing: not permitted
Document checklist
- Passport (at least 2 empty pages)
- Degree certificate with MFARI apostille
- Academic transcript with MFARI apostille
- anabin printout or ZAB Statement of Comparability
- Language certificate (IELTS/TOEFL/Cambridge or Goethe-Institut/telc/ÖSD)
- Experience letters (Python, Spark, dbt, Airflow, BigQuery/Redshift/Snowflake, pipeline architecture decisions, seniority) and payslips
- Sperrkonto certificate (€13,092)
- Travel health insurance
Which German mission handles your application
German Embassy Accra — sole German mission in Ghana. Book via digital.diplo.de.
Common mistakes
WAEC English used as the language certificate. WAEC is a secondary school qualification and is not accepted as a language certificate for the Chancenkarte points table. IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, or Cambridge B2/C1 is required.
HND submitted as the base qualification. HNDs are below ISCED 6 and do not satisfy the minimum degree requirement.
Experience letters describing SQL reporting without architecture scope. Data engineering qualifying experience must show pipeline design and system ownership, not only query writing or dashboard maintenance.
Sources
- § 20a AufenthG, Bundesministerium der Justiz
- Opportunity Card: Make it in Germany
- anabin database, KMK / ZAB
Not legal advice. Verify requirements with the German Embassy Accra before applying.
See also
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