For German employers
What a German employer must actually do to sponsor a foreign hire
Germany has no employer sponsor licence. To hire a non-EU skilled worker you need three things: a written employment contract at the right salary, the one form you fill out (the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis), and, where the role requires it, the labour-market approval the authorities obtain for you during the process.
Read in Deutsch. For German companies hiring their first non-EU skilled worker.
In short
A German employer needs three things to sponsor a non-EU hire: (1) a written employment contract at or above the applicable salary threshold, (2) the completed Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis (the Bundesagentur für Arbeit declaration form the employer fills out), and (3) where the role or threshold requires it, the Zustimmung der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (labour-market approval), which the visa authority obtains internally. There is no sponsor licence to acquire first. The candidate handles their own qualification recognition and the consulate appointment.
At a glance
- Sponsor licence
- None exists in Germany
- Employer duty 1
- Written contract at the right salary threshold
- Employer duty 2
- Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis (you fill it out)
- Employer duty 3
- BA Zustimmung where required (obtained during the process)
- BA response window
- Deemed granted if silent for two weeks (§ 36(2) BeschV)
- Blue Card salary 2026
- €50,700 general, €45,934.20 shortage / new graduate
- Candidate's job
- Qualification recognition and the consulate appointment
Hiring a non-EU skilled worker?
Tell us the role, seniority, stack, city, and salary. We send matched, visa-checked candidates and, where you want it, connect you with an immigration lawyer who can handle the Bundesagentur für Arbeit and Ausländerbehörde side for you.
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There is no sponsor licence to acquire
If you have hired in the UK or US, your first instinct is to look for the equivalent of a licensed-sponsor register or an H-1B petition. Germany has neither. There is no register to join, no quota, and no lottery. Any German employer can hire a third-country skilled worker on a qualifying contract, and labour-market access is granted on the basis of that concrete job offer with comparable conditions, not on any prior employer accreditation. The Bundesagentur für Arbeit sets this out on its employer page for hiring skilled workers from abroad.
What replaces the licence is three concrete duties. The rest of the process (recognition of the foreign qualification, booking and attending the consulate appointment) belongs to the candidate or the authorities. The split below is the part most guides never assemble in one place.
Your three duties
1. A written employment contract at the right salary threshold
You need a written employment contract (or a firm, signed job offer) for a concrete role at the salary the residence title requires. For an EU Blue Card under § 18g AufenthG, the 2026 gross annual salary must be at least €50,700 in general, or €45,934.20 for shortage occupations (which include IT and engineering) and for graduates within three years of their degree. The contract must match the qualification and run for at least the required minimum term (six months for the Blue Card under § 18g(3) AufenthG). See our Blue Card salary page for employers for how the two bands work.
2. The Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis (the form you fill out)
This is the one form the employer literally completes. The Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis(declaration of the employment relationship) is the document the Bundesagentur für Arbeit marks “to be completed for workers from third countries”. You enter the role, salary, working hours, and contract terms. It is what lets the Bundesagentur für Arbeit confirm that the pay and conditions are comparable to those of domestic employees. HR teams searching for welches Formular are looking for this one.
3. The Zustimmung der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (where required)
The Zustimmungis the Bundesagentur für Arbeit’s labour-market approval. It is not the visa and it is not something you apply for at a separate counter: the authority issuing the residence title asks the Bundesagentur für Arbeit for it during the process, using your completed declaration. It is required where the role or the chosen salary band calls for it (for example, a Blue Card in the reduced shortage band), and it is granted routinely once pay and conditions check out. You can also have it issued in advance as a Vorabzustimmung to speed up the visa.
The two-week silent-approval rule. Under § 36(2) sentence 1 BeschV, the Zustimmung is deemed granted if the Bundesagentur für Arbeit does not tell the requesting authority within two weeks of receiving the request that the information is insufficient or that the employer has not supplied the required details in time. In accelerated-procedure cases (§ 81a AufenthG) and certain Blue Card change cases (§ 18g(4) AufenthG) the window shortens to one week (§ 36(2) sentence 2 BeschV). This is why completing the declaration in full matters: a complete, accurate form is what starts that clock cleanly.
Your job vs not your job
The clearest way to see the German model is to split who does what. The employer’s side is short:
| Who | Does what |
|---|---|
| Employer (your job) | Issues a written contract at the right salary, completes the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis, and supplies company documents. Optionally requests a Vorabzustimmung or starts the §81a accelerated procedure. |
| Candidate | Gets their foreign qualification recognised (Anerkennung / anabin or a ZAB Zeugnisbewertung), gathers personal documents, books and attends the consulate appointment, and pays the national visa fee. |
| Bundesagentur für Arbeit | Checks pay and conditions against comparable domestic employees and issues the Zustimmung. Deemed granted if it stays silent for two weeks (§ 36(2) BeschV). |
| German consulate / Ausländerbehörde | Issues the visa or residence title to the candidate once the labour-market side is cleared. The employer does not attend. |
Want a candidate whose eligibility is already checked?
Submit a hiring brief and we send visa-checked profiles whose eligibility under § 18g and § 20b AufenthG is already confirmed, so the contract and the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis start from a clean base.
Submit a hiring brief →Germany vs the UK and US
The single fact a US- or UK-experienced HR person needs to hear plainly: there is no sponsor licence in Germany. The comparison makes the German model concrete.
| UK / US model | Germany | |
|---|---|---|
| Prior employer accreditation | UK licensed-sponsor register; US petition regime | None. Hire on a qualifying contract |
| Quota or lottery | US H-1B annual cap and lottery | None for skilled workers |
| Labour-market priority check | Resident-labour-market tests in some routes | Abolished for skilled workers since 1 March 2020 |
| The form the employer files | Sponsor management / petition filings | Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis |
| Government approval step | Sponsor licence then certificate / petition approval | BA Zustimmung, deemed granted if silent for two weeks |
You do not have to prove no EU candidate was available
For qualified skilled workers the labour-market priority check (Vorrangprüfung) was abolished with the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz, in force since 1 March 2020. You do not have to advertise the role to EU candidates first or prove none was available. What survives is the comparability check: the Bundesagentur für Arbeit confirms that pay and working conditions match those of comparable domestic employees, which is exactly what the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis documents.
If you want to compress the timeline
The three duties above are the standard route, and it costs the employer no government fee. Where speed matters, or the role needs formal qualification recognition first, you can open the accelerated skilled-worker procedure under § 81a AufenthG. There the employer drives the German side from inside Germany and, once a pre-approval issues, the consulate works to two fixed three-week clocks. We cover it in detail on the accelerated procedure page.
When you still want a lawyer, and how we help
Many hires are handled by the employer’s HR team directly: a contract, the declaration, and the authority correspondence. Bring in an immigration lawyer when the role is regulated and recognition is uncertain, when the qualification needs a ZAB Zeugnisbewertung first, or when you want someone to manage the authorities end to end. We connect you with vetted immigration lawyers for exactly this, and the candidates we send already have their Blue Card or Chancenkarte eligibility checked, so the contract and the declaration start from a clean base.
Start with a candidate, not paperwork
Submit a hiring brief in five minutes. We send matched, visa-checked profiles and, where you want it, an immigration lawyer who handles the Bundesagentur für Arbeit and Ausländerbehörde for you.
Submit a hiring brief →Founding-employer access is free while we build the candidate pool.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a sponsor licence to hire a non-EU worker in Germany?
No. Germany has no employer sponsor licence and no register to join. Unlike the UK licensed-sponsor system or the US H-1B petition, any German employer can hire a third-country skilled worker on a qualifying contract. Your duties reduce to a compliant contract at the right salary, the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis, and, where required, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit's labour-market approval (Zustimmung).
Which form does the employer actually fill out?
The Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis (declaration of the employment relationship), the form the Bundesagentur für Arbeit marks 'to be completed for workers from third countries'. The employer completes it with the role, salary, working hours, and contract terms. It is the document that lets the Bundesagentur für Arbeit check that pay and conditions match comparable domestic employees.
What is the difference between the Zustimmung and the visa?
They are two separate things. The Zustimmung is the Bundesagentur für Arbeit's labour-market approval, an internal step obtained during the process. The visa is the residence title the German consulate issues to the worker. The Zustimmung does not let anyone work on its own; it clears the labour-market side so the consulate can issue the visa.
How long does the Bundesagentur für Arbeit have to respond?
Two weeks. Under § 36(2) sentence 1 BeschV, the Zustimmung is deemed granted if the Bundesagentur für Arbeit does not tell the requesting authority within two weeks of receiving the request that the information is insufficient or that the employer has not supplied the required details in time. In accelerated-procedure cases (§ 81a AufenthG) and certain Blue Card change cases (§ 18g(4) AufenthG) the window shortens to one week (§ 36(2) sentence 2 BeschV).
Do I have to prove no EU candidate was available?
No. For qualified skilled workers the labour-market priority check (Vorrangprüfung) was abolished with the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz, in force since 1 March 2020. The Bundesagentur für Arbeit still checks that pay and working conditions are comparable to those of domestic employees, which is what the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis documents.
What salary do I have to offer an EU Blue Card hire?
For 2026 the gross annual salary must be at least €50,700 in general, or €45,934.20 for shortage occupations (including IT and engineering) and for graduates within three years of their degree. These figures are set by § 18g AufenthG. Below the general threshold the hire needs the Bundesagentur für Arbeit's Zustimmung, which is granted routinely in the reduced band.
Sources
All factual claims on this page are sourced from German government publications only:
- § 36 BeschV: Erteilung der Zustimmung (two-week deemed-approval rule), Bundesministerium der Justiz
- § 18g AufenthG: EU Blue Card salary thresholds, Bundesministerium der Justiz
- Beschäftigung von Fachkräften aus dem Ausland, Bundesagentur für Arbeit
- Vorabzustimmung und Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis, Bundesagentur für Arbeit
- Das Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz, Make it in Germany, Federal Government
We are not a law firm. This page provides general information only, not legal advice. German immigration law and procedural fees change, and practice varies between foreigners authorities and missions. Always verify current rules with the relevant Ausländerbehörde, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, and the German mission before acting.
Last reviewed: 3 June 2026. Sources: Bundesagentur für Arbeit, gesetze-im-internet.de (§ 36 BeschV, § 18g AufenthG), Make it in Germany.