BAMF
Chancenkarte Extended: Validity Raised to 24 Months
The amended § 20a AufenthG extends the Opportunity Card validity from 12 to 24 months, providing more time for qualified applicants to find employment in Germany.
Built by Migration Specialists
Germany Immigration & Visa Eligibility CheckExpertise Engineered.
Your Path to Germany, Decoded.
Thousands of hours of migration expertise and authority insights, condensed into a high-precision rule engine. No guesswork. Just clarity.
Software-assisted screening — not legal advice.
Statutory basis
What are you planning?
Select the path that matches your situation. Each check runs against the relevant legal provisions.
Work & Employment
Skilled worker visa, EU Blue Card, ICT permit, Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte)
Check eligibilityStudy & Research
Student visa, blocked account, recognition of degrees, researcher permits
Check eligibilityFamily Reunion
Spouse visa, family reunification, marriage and registered partnership
Check eligibilityCitizenship
Naturalisation, dual citizenship, Einbürgerungstest
Check eligibilityWhat you get
Not a form.
A guided expert check.
Most tools give you a generic checklist. MigrationCheck works like a conversation with a migration specialist. You will be guided through questions that already surface hints and links, weigh all scenarios within each path, provide individual remarks per answer, a likelihood prognosis, and a personalised step-by-step guide to your next move.
Select your path & answer guided questions
Start by selecting your path or purpose: Work, Study, Au Pair, Family Reunion, and more. The check then guides you through a curated question sequence. Each question already surfaces contextual hints, authority links, and practical notes, so you gain clarity as you go, not just at the end.
Multi-path engine evaluates your situation
Your answers are evaluated against all scenarios within your selected path. The engine maps which statutory criteria you meet and identifies where specific routes such as the EU Blue Card or Skilled Worker visa are applicable.
Remarks, prognosis & your personal guide
Every question yields a specific Remark & Recommendation. You receive an overall likelihood assessment, for example 'Your chances of working in Germany are good', plus a 'Guide me' step-by-step plan tailored to your selected path. A positive result reflects statutory eligibility criteria; it does not guarantee BAMF approval.
Expert-Led Logic
How Our MigrationCheck Works
Our rule engine isn’t just code. It’s the result of thousands of hours of expert discussions, covering the nuances and edge cases of German immigration law that generic tools miss.
- 01
Choose Your Path & Answer Guided Questions
Start by selecting your path or purpose: Work, Study, Au Pair, Family Reunion, and more. A curated question sequence follows. Each question already includes contextual hints, authority links, and practical notes relevant to your situation.
- 02
Multi-Path Engine Analyses Your Case
Your answers are evaluated against all scenarios within your selected path. The engine weighs every applicable condition and statutory requirement, recognising where routes such as the EU Blue Card or Skilled Worker visa may apply. Curated by migration specialists; not a generic lookup.
- 03
Prognosis, Remarks & Your Step-by-Step Guide
Each answer generates a specific Remark & Recommendation. You receive an overall likelihood assessment, e.g. 'Your chances of working in Germany are good', and a 'Guide me' plan with concrete next steps tailored to your path.
Synchronized · Database current with BMI / BAMF / AufenthG · Last update: 7 April 2026
Ready to see your options?
While we provide the collective intelligence of migration specialists in a digital format, this tool serves for advanced eligibility screening and does not replace individual legal counsel.
Optional Upgrade
Beyond the Engine:
Professional Support.
The rule engine gives you precision.Our specialists give you strategy.
Full Service
The Personal Guide
Your dedicated navigator through German authorities.
End-to-end support from eligibility check through to application submission. A specialist manages your document checklist, liaises with Ausländerbehörde offices, so nothing falls through the cracks.
For complex relocation situations where the stakes are high.
Learn more
Strategic Advice
Expert Consultations
Clarity on which route. Confidence in the interview room.
Two 1-on-1 session formats: a path-finding consultation to identify the visa category with the highest success potential for your situation, and interview coaching to prepare you for the official appointment and handle difficult questions.
Group Q&A sessions included. Bookable directly from your dashboard.
Learn more
Both are accessed through your dashboard — detailed checks on demand, professional services when the situation calls for them.
Data Integrity
Expert-Verified LogicWhy You Can Trust Our Rule Engine
The law is written in statutes. How it is applied is learned in practice — across Ausländerbehörden, embassies, and years of real cases. This engine carries both.
Official Sources Only
Every data point traces to official sources: BAMF, BMI, and federal statute (AufenthG, BeschV, StAG). Our specialists have manually mapped these complex statutes into a logical framework, reflecting available official guidance on administrative practice.
48-Hour Update Cycle
Legislative amendments are tracked continuously. Our migration experts review every change for its practical impact before it is integrated into the engine's logic, typically within 48 hours of official publication.
No Interpretation — Citations Only
We provide automated data-matching, not legal advice. The logic is engineered by senior consultants to navigate you through official requirements, providing verbatim citations so you can see which provisions are cited as relevant.
Built on Real Cases, Not Just Statutes
Years of hands-on casework at Ausländerbehörden, embassies, and BAMF offices shaped this engine. The rejections, the procedural quirks, the undocumented exceptions: all embedded in the logic, not learned from legal texts alone.
The Measure of Our Work
Not built from manuals.
Built from the cases that manuals couldn’t predict.
- 1,000s
Paths Found
Real cases, real authorities, real outcomes: people who came with a question and left with a route to Germany.
- 10+
Years in the Field
Ausländerbehörden, embassies, BAMF: a decade of casework encoded into every decision path.
- Parallel
Pathway Analysis
Every applicable route evaluated simultaneously. No option left unexamined.
Every figure reflects a design decision. Precision is not a claim. It is a constraint.
Our Track Record
The Evolution of Expertise:
Years in the Making.
- 2015 – 2018
Foundational Expertise
Years of migration consulting practice establish a deep body of casework. Complex profiles, contested decisions, authority negotiations, and the ability to find viable paths where others saw none.
- 2019 – 2022
Institutional Knowledge
Thousands of cases across Ausländerbehörden, BAMF offices, and visa embassies. Procedural patterns, administrative exceptions, and overlooked routes are documented. The kind of knowledge that only accumulates in the field.
- 2023 – 2024
Platform Development
The accumulated casework is engineered into a precision rule engine for the first time. German immigration statutes (AufenthG, BeschV, StAG) are mapped into a logic framework by the same specialists who worked the cases.
- 2025 – Present
Continuous Enhancement
Ongoing integration of legislative amendments, Bundesgesetzblatt tracking, and live case feedback. Every rule update is human-reviewed before deployment. The expertise stays current.
Built incrementally, never rushed. Every rule in the engine has a human author and a legal citation.
Legislative Updates
Latest Changes to German Immigration Law
Editorial summaries for reference — always verify against the official source linked below each item.
BeschV
Positive List Update: 24 New Shortage Occupations Added
The Bundesagentur für Arbeit revised its positive list under § 6 BeschV. Healthcare, IT, and skilled trade roles have been added, exempting them from the standard labour-market test.
BMI
StAG Reform: Dual Citizenship & 5-Year Residency Fully In Force
The Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz reform reduces the standard naturalisation residency to 5 years and removes the requirement to relinquish prior nationality. The previously available 3-year fast track was abolished on 30 October 2025.
For Non-EU Citizens
All Pathways CoveredGermany Immigration:
Eight Routes. One Platform.
Work, study, family, or citizenship: each route to Germany operates under distinct legal provisions. This platform covers all of them, with logic built from the statutes and the cases behind them.
Work
- EU Blue Card
- Chancenkarte
- Arbeitsvisum
The broadest category — covering the Opportunity Card, EU Blue Card, skilled worker permit, and shortage occupation routes. Multiple pathways exist within, depending on qualification and job offer.
Study
- student visa
- Sperrkonto
- postgraduate
For undergraduate and postgraduate education at German universities. Public institutions are largely tuition-free for non-EU students. Requires admission letter and a blocked account (Sperrkonto).
Apprenticeship
- Ausbildungsvisum
- vocational training
- Fachkraft
Vocational training (Ausbildung) addresses Germany's skilled-worker shortage directly. Non-EU nationals with a confirmed training contract may apply for a dedicated apprenticeship visa.
Volunteer
- FSJ
- Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr
- BFD
The Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr (FSJ) offers a structured one-year volunteering pathway. Open to non-EU nationals who understand the value of contributing before settling.
Marriage
- Ehegattenvisum
- marriage visa
- A1 German
For non-EU nationals marrying their fiancé(e) who lives in Germany. A1 German language proof is generally required prior to visa issuance at the responsible embassy.
Family Reunion
- § 27 AufenthG
- spouse
- dependent children
Join your spouse, child, or parent already residing in Germany. Eligibility under §§ 27–36 AufenthG depends on the sponsor's permit type, income, and available housing.
Au Pair
- Au-Pair-Visum
- host family
- cultural exchange
A cultural exchange pathway for non-EU nationals aged 18–26. The Au Pair visa grants up to 12 months of residence within a German host family, with language course participation required.
Start a Business
- Selbstständigkeit
- Freiberufler
- startup Germany
For entrepreneurs and liberal professionals with a viable concept. The self-employment visa requires demonstrating economic viability and financial self-sufficiency to the Ausländerbehörde.
Most Asked
- Can I work in Germany without a job offer?
- Yes. The Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte, § 20a AufenthG), available since 1 June 2024, lets qualifying non-EU nationals enter Germany to search for work without a prior employment offer. There are two routes: applicants with a fully equivalent recognised qualification qualify directly; all others need a foreign degree or two-year vocational qualification plus A1 German or B2 English, and must score at least 6 points across criteria such as qualification recognition, language skills, professional experience, age, and connection to Germany. The permit is valid for up to one year, during which holders may take on secondary employment for up to 20 hours per week.
- What is the minimum salary for the EU Blue Card in Germany?
- For 2026, the minimum gross annual salary is 50,700 € for most occupations. STEM occupations — scientists, mathematicians, engineers, doctors, and IT specialists — qualify at the reduced threshold of 45,934.20 €.
- How long does a Germany work visa take to process?
- Processing times vary by embassy and nationality: typically 4–12 weeks from application to visa issuance. Appointments at the local Ausländerbehörde after entry are often the longer variable in the timeline.
Expert Answers
Senior-ReviewedFrequently asked questions
- What will I know at the end of the check?
- Your result identifies which visa pathways apply to your profile and at what likelihood, not as a generic overview, but as a specific assessment based on your answers. Each question generates an individual Remark & Recommendation. You receive an overall prognosis and a step-by-step Guide tailored to your path. The clarity of a specialist consultation, without the appointment.
- How is the data kept current?
- Our team of migration specialists monitors the Bundesgesetzblatt and official BAMF and BMI publications continuously. Every legislative amendment to the Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG), Beschäftigungsverordnung (BeschV), and Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz (StAG) is reviewed by a human expert for its practical impact before being integrated into the engine. As a rule, material changes are reflected within 48 hours of official publication.
- What makes this different from a generic immigration guide?
- Generic guides give you static information. MigrationCheck works like a conversation with a migration specialist: guided questions that surface hints and links in real time, a multi-path engine that recognises parallel visa options simultaneously, individual Remarks & Recommendations per answer, a likelihood prognosis, and a personalised step-by-step guide. The underlying logic encodes thousands of hours of specialist discussions, covering the edge cases and administrative nuances that standard checklists miss.
- Which nationalities are supported?
- The check covers all third-country nationals (non-EU/EEA). EU and EEA citizens benefit from freedom of movement under EU law and do not require a German residence permit for work or study purposes.
- What happens after my eligibility check?
- Throughout the check, each question comes with contextual hints and authority links, so you gain clarity as you go. At the end, every question yields a specific Remark & Recommendation. You receive an overall likelihood assessment with a plain-language result (e.g. 'Your chances of studying in Germany are fair') and a 'Guide me' step-by-step plan tailored to your path, for instance a complete guide to obtaining the Opportunity Card. For complex situations, our Personal Guide service provides individual expert support from assessment through to submission.
Still have a complex edge case? Our Personal Guide service provides individual support beyond the automated check.
Learn about Personal Guide