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Work permits

1 storyUpdated 7 October 2026, 15:07 UTC

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Where things stand

DevelopingGermany EU Blue Card salary threshold: 2024, 2025 and 2026, and how it is set
The Blue Card salary floor is 50 percent of the pension ceiling, which is 101 400 euros in 2026. It is 45.3 percent for shortage jobs and recent graduates.

Key facts

Under section 18g of the Residence Act, a university-educated skilled worker gets an EU Blue Card without approval from the Federal Employment Agency if the salary is at least 50 percent of the annual contribution ceiling of the general pension scheme. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice), Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice), Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)
A lower floor of 45.3 percent of the ceiling applies, with the Federal Employment Agency's approval, to people in listed occupation groups and to those who obtained their degree no more than three years before applying. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
For 2026 the ceiling is 101 400 euros a year, or 8 450 euros a month. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)

Timeline

1 January 2026For 2026 the ceiling is 101 400 euros a year, or 8 450 euros a month. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
1 January 2025For 2025 the ceiling rose to 96 600 euros a year. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
1 January 2024For 2024 the pension contribution ceiling was set at 90 600 euros a year. Gesetze im Internet (Federal Ministry of Justice)
18 August 2023The 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. Bundesgesetzblatt (Federal Law Gazette), Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)

Stories in this record

DevelopingWork and study in Germany

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

Now The Blue Card salary floor is 50 percent of the pension ceiling, which is 101 400 euros in 2026. It is 45.3 percent for shortage jobs and recent graduates.

Last changed 7 October 2026 · 1 version · Verified 7 October 2026