Do you qualify?
The Chancenkarte lets you move to Germany without a job offer and search for cloud 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 Diplôme d'Ingénieur in Réseaux & Systèmes, Génie Informatique, or Génie Électrique (5 years, ISCED 7) meets the base requirement. A 3-year Licence LMD in Informatique or Réseaux at ISCED 6 also qualifies. OFPPT diplomas do not.
Which route applies to you?
| Your situation | Route |
|---|---|
| Diplôme d'Ingénieur (INPT, EMI, ENSA Oujda), programme listed in anabin | Route 1: no points needed |
| Diplôme d'Ingénieur or Licence LMD, programme not listed | Route 2: 6 points required |
| OFPPT diploma | Not eligible |
Route 2: points table
| Criterion | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Partial equivalence (ZAB decision) | 4 | |
| Shortage occupation (cloud engineering, ISCO-08 group 25) | 1 | |
| At least 2 years qualifying experience in last 5 years | 2 | Architecture/design scope required |
| 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 | French and Arabic do not award points |
| 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: Meriem Filali, 31, cloud engineer, INPT Ingénieur (programme not individually listed), 4 years AWS platform engineering, IELTS 7.0 (C1), German A2: 1 (shortage) + 2 (experience) + 2 (under 35) + 1 (English) + 1 (German A2) = 7 points ✓
Financial requirement: the Sperrkonto
€13,092 in a blocked Sperrkonto before your appointment. Open at least 4 weeks early (Fintiba, Coracle, Expatrio).
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 Moroccan MFA apostille
- Academic transcript with Moroccan MFA apostille
- anabin printout or ZAB Statement of Comparability
- Language certificate (IELTS/TOEFL/Cambridge or Goethe-Institut/telc/ÖSD)
- Experience letters (IaC: Terraform/Pulumi/CDK; cloud platforms: AWS/GCP/Azure; multi-region architecture, FinOps, security posture, seniority) and payslips. Cloud certifications as supporting attachments only — they do not contribute to points.
- Sperrkonto certificate (€13,092)
- Travel health insurance
Which German mission handles your application
Embassy Rabat and Consulate General Casablanca. Jurisdiction follows your registered address. Book via digital.diplo.de.
Common mistakes
Counting cloud certifications toward points or as a degree substitute. AWS SAP, Azure Expert, GCP Pro Cloud Architect are professional credentials — they do not affect the points table and do not substitute for the base degree requirement.
Experience letters describing only operational tasks. Provisioning servers and monitoring alerts is not engineering design at university level. Describe architecture decisions, capacity planning, IaC authorship, and system ownership.
Opening the Sperrkonto too late. Providers take 1–2 weeks. Plan for 4 weeks minimum before your appointment.
Sources
- § 20a AufenthG, Bundesministerium der Justiz
- Opportunity Card: Make it in Germany
- anabin database, KMK / ZAB
Not legal advice. Verify requirements with the relevant German mission before applying.
See also
Request a lawyer consultation
Leave your details and we will connect you with a vetted immigration lawyer when available. GermanyTalent is not a law firm — this site provides general information only, not legal advice.