EU Blue Card 2026: the employer’s salary commitment

The salary is the employer’s commitment

The EU Blue Card is a residence title under § 18g of the German Residence Act for a university-level skilled worker. The single lever the employer holds is the gross annual salary written into the contract. Meet the applicable threshold and the role qualifies; fall below it and the same role does not, regardless of the candidate’s degree. So the threshold reads as a budget commitment you make, not as a test the candidate passes.

The thresholds rose for 2026 and took effect on 1 January 2026. They are set in § 18g AufenthG as a percentage of the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze in the general pension insurance, which is why they move each year. Pages that still quote earlier figures understate what you have to commit, so check the year on any source you rely on.

The two bands for 2026

The reduced band sits below the general one for a reason: it opens the Blue Card to shortage occupations and recent graduates at a lower pay level, in exchange for the Federal Employment Agency checking the offer. The approval is the procedural cost of choosing the lower number.

Choosing the reduced band triggers BA approval

If you offer between €45,934.20 and €50,700 and rely on the reduced band, the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) must give its approval (Zustimmung) before the Blue Card is issued. At or above €50,700 in the general band, that step does not apply to the salary level. The approval checks that the pay and conditions match those of comparable domestic employees; it is not a labour-market priority test, which was abolished for skilled workers.

Two facts make the reduced band usable. ICT professionals, including software developers and engineers, data engineers and DevOps engineers, count as a shortage occupation, so the €45,934.20 floor is available for technology roles. And the graduate route gives the reduced band to anyone within three years of completing their degree, regardless of the occupation. A recent graduate outside IT still reaches the lower floor through that route.

The contract has to match the role and run six months

The salary does not stand alone. The employment contract must match the candidate’s qualification and must run for at least six months (§ 18g(3) AufenthG). A short probationary letter or a role that does not fit the degree undercuts the application even when the number is right. Budget the salary and write a qualifying contract as one commitment.

Worked example

Two hires at one company, both software engineers, land in different bands because of the salary the employer commits to and the candidate’s stage.

• Aarav, senior backend engineer.The employer offers €58,000 gross per year on a permanent contract. That is above the 2026 general threshold of €50,700, so the offer sits in the general band and the employer does not need to invoke any shortage classification or seek Federal Employment Agency approval on the salary level. The €58,000 here is the employer’s own offer, not an official figure.
• Priya, new-graduate backend engineer.The employer offers €46,500 gross per year. That is below the general threshold but above the 2026 reduced threshold of €45,934.20. The role is an IT shortage occupation, and Priya is within three years of her degree, so the reduced band applies. Because it is the reduced band, the contract needs the Federal Employment Agency’s approval (Zustimmung) before the Blue Card is issued. The €46,500 here is the employer’s own offer, not an official figure.

The only official numbers in that example are the thresholds, €50,700 and €45,934.20. The salaries the employer offers are the variables you set against them.

How this fits the rest of the hire

The salary commitment is one of three levers the employer holds. The others are the Federal Employment Agency declaration that goes with the offer and, optionally, the accelerated procedure that compresses the timeline. We cover those in two companion pages: what a German employer actually has to do to sponsor a foreign hire, and the accelerated skilled-worker procedure (§ 81a). Germany has no employer sponsor licence, so once the salary and contract are right, the remaining steps are procedural rather than gatekept.

When you still want a lawyer, and how we help

Many Blue Card hires are run by the employer’s HR team directly. Bring in an immigration lawyer when the qualification needs a ZAB Zeugnisbewertung before it counts, when the role sits at the edge of the shortage list, or when you want the reduced-band approval managed for you. We connect you with vetted immigration lawyers for exactly this, and the candidates we send already have their Blue Card or Chancenkarte eligibility checked against the 2026 thresholds, so you commit to a salary knowing which band it lands in.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All factual claims on this page are sourced from German government and federal publications only:

• § 18g AufenthG: EU Blue Card and salary thresholds, Bundesministerium der Justiz
• EU Blue Card, Make it in Germany, Federal Government
• Beschäftigung von Fachkräften aus dem Ausland, Bundesagentur für Arbeit

We are not a law firm. This page provides general information only, not legal advice. The Blue Card salary thresholds are republished each year and German immigration law changes, and practice varies between foreigners authorities and missions. Always verify current figures with the relevant Ausländerbehörde and German mission before committing to a contract.