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Germany EU Blue Card salary threshold: 2024, 2025 and 2026, and how it is set

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  1. Version 1Current · created

    Record created.

    • Timeline added: The current Blue Card rules come from the Act on the Further Development of Skilled Immigration, published in the Federal Law Gazette in August 2023, which BAMF says expanded the Blue Card rules again.
    • Timeline added: For 2024 the pension contribution ceiling was set at 90 600 euros a year.
    • Timeline added: For 2025 the ceiling rose to 96 600 euros a year.
    • Timeline added: For 2026 the ceiling is 101 400 euros a year, or 8 450 euros a month.
    • Confirmed: The listed occupation groups are 132, 133, 134, 21, 221, 222, 225, 226, 23 and 25 of the international ISCO-08 classification.
    • Confirmed: Without a degree, a Blue Card is possible only in ISCO-08 groups 133 or 25, with a salary of at least 45.3 percent of the ceiling and at least three years of relevant experience gained in the last seven years.
    • Confirmed: For 2024 the pension contribution ceiling was set at 90 600 euros a year.
    • Confirmed: For 2025 the ceiling rose to 96 600 euros a year.
    • Confirmed: The current Blue Card rules come from the Act on the Further Development of Skilled Immigration, published in the Federal Law Gazette in August 2023, which BAMF says expanded the Blue Card rules again.
    • Confirmed: A Blue Card is normally issued for four years, or for the length of the employment contract plus three months if that is shorter. The job offer must be for at least six months.
    • Confirmed: In the first twelve months of employment, the immigration office can suspend a change of job for 30 days and refuse it within that period.
    • Confirmed: Blue Card holders can get a permanent settlement permit after 27 months of qualifying work and pension contributions with basic German, or after 21 months with German at level B1.
    • Confirmed: Spouses of Blue Card holders do not need to show German skills to get a residence permit, and may work immediately without restriction.
    • Confirmed: Nationals of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the UK and the US can enter without a visa and apply for the Blue Card in Germany within three months; they may start work once it is issued.
    • Confirmed: Someone who has held a Blue Card in another EU country for at least 12 months can enter Germany without a visa and must apply for a German Blue Card within one month.
    • Confirmed: BAMF says there is a legal entitlement to a Blue Card when the conditions are met, and that it can be applied for in every EU country except Denmark and Ireland, with salary rules that differ by country.
    • Confirmed: BAMF says Indian nationals received more than a quarter of all first-time Blue Cards issued in Germany in 2023, by far the largest group.
    • Source added: Act on the Residence, Economic Activity and Integration of Foreigners in the Federal Territory¹ (Residence Act – AufenthG) (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: § 18g AufenthG - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: The EU Blue Card (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF))
    • Source added: § 4 SVBezGrV 2024 - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: § 4 SVBezGrV 2025 - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: § 4 SVBezGrV 2026 - Einzelnorm (Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice))
    • Source added: Bundesgesetzblatt Teil I - Gesetz zur Weiterentwicklung der Fachkräfteeinwanderung - Bundesgesetzblatt (Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette))
    • Source added: Zahlen zur Blauen Karte EU (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF))