aprk91

Rejaction contract blue card

Hi everyone,

I applied for the EU Blue Card and had my appointment in Hamburg. The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) rejected my contract because the salary does not meet the local standard (Hamburg), but is in the range necesary for a blue card.

Does anyone know if I can switch my application to a residence permit under §18b AufenthG (qualified employment) instead of the Blue Card? Or I gonna have the same problem?

Thanks a lot for any advice!

8 Comments

Reply (8)

David_JMDdigital_hub

Dear apalencia91,

I am sorry to hear that they rejected you application.

Do I understand you right, that your appointment in Hamburg was with the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde)?

How exactly did you get the information about the reason of rejection, do you have any proof?

I would like to ask you to carefully read the following information to double check if there might be another reason/problem for your situation:

https://handbookgermany.de/en/eu-blue-card

Please let me know, if this was helpful for you.

All the best, David.

aprk91

Hallo David,

thanks for your answer,

Yes I had my appointment in the Ausländerbehörde.
Like a described, was the Bundesagentur für Arbeit who rejacted my "Arbeitvetrag", my blue card application is no yet completed rejacted.
I get that information , becuse the Ausländerbehörde sent me a e-mail with the answer of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit.
And also they give me the opportunity to upload a new "Arbeitvetrag" with the correct conditions (salary), (but actually my salary it is within the minimum required)
but like they said: does not meet the local standard (in Hamburg)

my question is:
Does anyone know if I can switch my application to a residence permit under §18b AufenthG (qualified employment) instead of the Blue Card? Or I gonna have the same problem with the salary?

I already ask the same to the "Ausländerbehörde" and Im courrently waiting for the answer, and I also wanted a second opinion, or if someane had this experience.

thank you for your help

David_JMDdigital_hub

Updated:

Dear aprk91,

the salary must be minimum 48.300 Euro or 43.759,83 (shortage occupations). Could you please check your contract if its like that?

If its lower it might help to show the "recection" to the employer aiming to get a higher salary. If they really want you to work for them, it might be possible.

And could you please mention the exact jobtitle? So we could check the type and if its shortage occupation or not).

For 18b I can tell you in general, that the salary also must be a industry-standard income. If it´s lower you also might get a rejection. If You are older than 45, there are other/diferent requirements.

You can also contact the local welcome center, they also might help you in this case:

https://welcome.hamburg.com/contact-us

All the best, David.

aprk91

Updated:

Thanks for the reply.
My profession is "electrical engineer." I understand is a shortage occupation.

thanks, probably I will go in this days to the Ausländerbehörde and ask my concern.

sabi0403

Updated:

Hello aprk91,

I hope you are doing well.

I am in a similar situation to yours. My Blue Card work permit application for Hamburg was also rejected. The reason given by the The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) is the same: my salary is considered below the local salary standard in Hamburg (ortsübliche Gehalt).

I am an engineer, and my occupation also falls under a shortage occupation. My offered salary is above the Blue Card threshold of 45,934 Euro per year.

Could you please share your experience or guide me on how you handled this situation? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

aprk91

Updated:

Sure! I completely understand your situation and the feeling of being in limbo, especially when there isn’t much clear information available. This is how I handled it step by step:

I first went to the Welcome Center, but they couldn’t give me a clear answer and advised me to go to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit instead.
I then went to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, but they also couldn’t provide a definitive answer and told me to call their hotline.
After that, I sent an email to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit, and they replied that they assess salaries based on the ranges published in the Entgeltatlas:
https://web.arbeitsagentur.de/entgeltatlas/
In parallel, I spoke with my employer. Since my annual salary was not increased, they updated the job description and responsibilities in my contract so that they aligned with what is expected for my role according to the Entgeltatlas salary benchmarks.
I submitted the updated contract again.
In the end, my application was approved, but I was granted a §18b visa instead of the Blue Card (§18g). (Everything is within the same application. I never requested a change to version 18b or anything like that.)

sabi0403

Thank you so much for your prompt response! Your guidance is really helpful and has given me a much clearer idea of how to move forward. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.

aprk91

No problem, I know what it is.

Another Tipp that I just now discover:
this is the phone of the area responsible for approving contracts in the Bundesagent für Arbeit. They answer very fast and nice.
Nummer: 0228 713 2000

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