AliceG72

Switching from Chancenkarte to Employment Permit

I have a question in regards to the process of switching residence permit within Germany. I am a UK citizen, currently living in Germany under the Chancenkarte (specifically with a recognised university degree if that matters!). I got my visa from the UK embassy in June, moved here, and then got my residence permit from the Essen immigration office.

My question is, what exactly is the process when it comes to switching to full time employment? If I was offered a full time job, do I need to reapply for the correct visa (if so, can I do this here or does it have to be back in England), or can I just apply for a change of residence permit at the same Immigration Office? It's very hard to get a straight answer online, and even harder to get advice from the office!

Also, if I have a German job offer, do I still need to prove B1 German language level? Will this be a part of the above new visa/residence permit application, or do they not care about language level if you have a job offer?

Finally (sorry!), does the job have to be related to my degree? Or can it be any field?

Vielen Dank!

2 Comments

Reply (2)

h.heidari

Hi AliceG72! Welcome to our Forum!

Great questions! Lots of people are dealing with this right now with the Chancenkarte since it’s still really new in practice at many Ausländerbehörden.

You do not need to leave Germany to apply for a visa after securing a job. If you get a job offer, you can switch to a different residence permit directly at your local Ausländerbehörde. For more info on follow this link to make-it-in-germany.de.
German language (B1 etc.) is usually not required if you already have a valid job offer that fulfills the rules for the permit.
The job should generally be connected to your degree / qualification for most skilled worker options. You can read more details on handbookgermany.de.

Also important: depending on the salary of the job offer, you can apply for different types of work permits — e.g. EU Blue Card (higher salary threshold) or the regular skilled worker visa (§18b).

Let me know if you have more questions!

AliceG72

Thank you so much! Your answers have been so helpful.

The only thing I'm still a little confused about is "the job should generally be connected to your degree/qualification". In my case, my Chancenkarte was approved using my University Degree, which is Philosophy, but we covered a wide range of topics including business management (for example) during the degree. How would I 'prove' that a German job offer is related to my degree? And do the immigration offices actually 'care' about this? Or are they likely to approve a change in residence permit for any job offer? I also have the equivalent of an Ausbildung in Team Management and Leadership - again, not sure how to 'prove' that future job offers are related to this!

Also, I have come across some job offers that are also Ausbildung themselves - am I allowed to apply for these, and would this be covered under the normal 'employment residence permit' we're talking about, or would I have to go down a different path to convert from Chancenkarte an Ausbildung? Thank you in advance, it's so difficult to find these answers !

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