Manoj Palwe is explaining the FAQ for the Germany Opportunity Card!!
What is the Opportunity Card?
The Opportunity Card gives you a legal residence permit that allows you to look for a job in Germany without a fixed employment contract (if you come from a non-EU country). Part-time employment of up to 20 hours a week is possible, as well as a trial job for two weeks. You can also have your vocational qualification recognized retrospectively with the Opportunity Card.
The duration of stay is limited to one year. If you do not find a suitable job, there is no entitlement to an extension after the time has expired. If you have a job, a longer stay in Germany is not linked to the Opportunity Card. Find out more about this at your local Foreigners’ Registration Office.
What are the advantages of the Opportunity Card?
Applicants from non-EU countries can enter Germany more easily and look for work there more quickly. In addition, holders of the Opportunity Card have the chance to apply for a permanent residence title in Germany. Companies also benefit from this. For potential employers, the Opportunity Card greatly expands the pool of applicants.
Due to a deficit of skilled workers, Germany would have a shortage of about 16 million workers by 2060 – without immigration from abroad. (Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action) Many companies are already dependent on the support of individuals. With the Opportunity Card, both applicants and employers gain a long-term perspective on a positive development in the labour market.
How can I apply for the Opportunity Card?
You can apply for the Opportunity Card at the relevant German mission abroad in your country of origin (for example, at the German Embassy or German Consulate). If you are already in Germany, simply submit the application to the relevant local Foreigners’ Registration Office.
What is the procedure for applying for the Opportunity Card?
You can apply for the Opportunity Card at the competent German mission abroad in your country of origin. To do so, you must fill out an application and hold a valid passport. You must also have proof of your education, language skills, previous stays, etc. You must also have sufficient financial means. You can prove your financial security by means of an employment contract for a part-time job (up to 20 hours per week).
When can I apply for the Opportunity Card?
You can apply for the Opportunity Card from 01 June 2024 at the local Foreigners’ Registration Office or the relevant German mission abroad in your country of origin. It expands the previous Opportunity Card is explicitly intended to help people who do not yet have a permanent employment contract in Germany and want to look for a job locally.
How can I already prepare for the Opportunity Card?
To obtain the Opportunity Card, you must submit an application to a competent German mission abroad (for example, the German Embassy or German Consulate). To do this, you should have important documents ready, such as your passport as well as proof of language skills and your vocational training, etc. You will also need these for the next steps with the Foreigners’ Registration Office.
The basic requirements for the Opportunity Card are language skills in German (A1) or English (B2) and (at least) two years of vocational training or a university degree. You must also have sufficient financial means. Proof of this can be provided by means of an employment contract for a part-time job (up to 20 hours per week), for example. If you cannot prove that you have the necessary language skills or a professional qualification according to the rules of your country of origin, you must fulfill these criteria before applying for the Opportunity Card.
Do I need a permanent employment contract if I want to apply for the Opportunity Card?
You do not need an employment contract in Germany if you want to apply for the Opportunity Card. However, you must have sufficient language skills (German A1 or English B2) and (at least) two years of vocational training or a university degree according to the rules of your country of origin. You must also have sufficient financial means. Proof of this can be provided by means of an employment contract for a part-time job (up to 20 hours per week), for example.
After receiving the Opportunity Card, you will receive a 12-month residence permit. During this time, you may look for a suitable job here or have your professional qualification recognized retroactively. You are allowed two weeks of work on a trial basis (an unlimited number of times) as well as part-time employment of up to 20 hours per week. The hours may be distributed flexibly.
What are the criteria for the Opportunity Card?
According to the points system, you must obtain at least six points to receive the Opportunity Card. The criteria are as follows:
What are my employment options?
After receiving the Opportunity Card, you will receive a 12-month residence permit for Germany. During this period, you are allowed to look for a suitable job. Possible areas of activity are two-week trial jobs and part-time jobs with up to 20 hours per week. The trial work must be qualified or aimed at subsequent training. If you find a part-time / full-time job, you must apply to your local Foreigners’ Registration Office for another (longer) residence title for Germany. We assume that this change of residence title will be possible quickly and unbureaucratically.
You are eligible for the “EU Blue Card” if you meet the minimum salary threshold of 55,200 euros gross per year (source: Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community) and if you can prove that you have a completed university degree. Special rules apply to certain professions (doctors, skilled workers in engineering, natural sciences and mathematics, and IT professionals): Here, an annual gross salary of 43,056 euros is sufficient (source: Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community). IT workers do not have to provide proof of their education for employment in Germany. They only need a concrete job offer with an annual gross salary of at least 52,560 euros.
What does it mean that my vocational training must be state-recognized?
For a recognition partnership or to receive the Opportunity Card, you must prove that your vocational qualification is recognized by the state. The recognition does not necessarily have to have taken place in your country of origin, but in the country where you completed your training. “State-recognised” here means that your qualification is based on state legislation and was awarded to you by an authorized person. Certificates can either be based on vocational training (of at least two years) or a university degree.
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What special rules apply to IT professionals?
As a foreign IT professional, you do not need to have a university degree or formal vocational training to obtain the “EU Blue Card”. Only “non-formal qualifications”, i.e. two years of professional experience (at an academic level), must be proven by a certificate from the employer, for example. A fixed employment contract is required, stipulating a gross annual income of more than 40,000 euros. In the case of collective bargaining agreements, a lower income is also sufficient as proof.
What are the rules for a 20-hour part-time job?
With the Opportunity Card, you are allowed to carry out a part-time job of up to 20 hours a week. Working hours can be arranged flexibly. This regulation remains in force even if you complete a language course in Germany or study here. Participants on a language course therefore have another way of supplementing their living expenses. Stays in the form of a student exchange are excluded from this.
To receive the Opportunity Card, you must have sufficient financial means. Proof of this can be provided, for example, by means of an employment contract for such part-time employment, which you conclude before applying for an Opportunity Card.
Is self-employment also possible under the Opportunity Card?
Self-employment within the scope of the Opportunity Card is possible if you apply for a change to another residence title at the local Foreigners’ Registration Office. Within the framework of the Opportunity Card, employment of up to 20 hours per week and a two-week trial job (an unlimited number of times) are permitted.
What rules apply to trial employment?
With the Opportunity Card, you are allowed to do an unlimited number of trial jobs lasting up to two weeks each. The trial work must be qualified employment or aimed at the possibility of subsequent training so that you can achieve possible follow-up residence titles. In principle, you can switch between different trial jobs without any problems.
Is the number of Opportunity Cards limited per year?
The German authorities can issue as many Opportunity Cards as they wish. However, this may change if the demand is high. If there is too much demand for Opportunity Cards, the authorities are permitted to impose a specific quota.
From which countries may I apply for the Opportunity Card?
If you are a person from a non-EU country (“third country”), you may apply for the Opportunity Card. To do this, you must submit an application to the German mission in your country of origin and provide evidence in the form of language skills and professional experience. You can obtain the Opportunity Card via a points system.
Is there the possibility of later admission of family members within the framework of the Opportunity Card?
As the holder of an Opportunity Card, you are not automatically entitled to have your family join you. This is only possible if you change from the Opportunity Card to another residence title. If you apply for the Opportunity Card together with your spouse, children may come to Germany with you.
How long does the process take to get an Opportunity Card?
It can take several weeks or months from the time you apply to the relevant Foreigners’ Registration Office or the German mission abroad in your country of origin until you are granted a residence permit in Germany with the Opportunity Card. The German authorities undertake to process the permit as quickly as possible and to check your documents as soon as possible.
How does the transition from the Opportunity Card to a permanent residence permit work?
You have to apply for another permit or for a permanent residence title in Germany at the local Foreigners’ Registration Office. You can change from the Opportunity Card to a follow-up residence title if you meet the criteria for the other residence titles. This could be language skills or specialist knowledge in your profession. If you have found a part-time or full-time job in Germany via the Opportunity Card, this counts as a criterion for extending your stay in Germany. Changing to a residence title for regular employment is uncomplicated.
Can I extend the Opportunity Card?
The duration of stay in Germany with the Opportunity Card is exactly one year. An extension is possible by up to two years under certain circumstances. If you have already held the Opportunity Card but left Germany thereafter, you can apply again (after a break of at least one year).
What financial means do I have to prove?
In order to prove sufficient financial means for the Opportunity Card, you usually have to present sufficient bank balances or regular proof of income. In doing so, you must prove that you have sufficient funds to secure your livelihood and, if applicable, that of your family members in Germany without having to rely on public funds from Germany.
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