Switch from the job-seeker permit to an EU Blue Card in Germany early?

If you finished your degree in Germany, hold the post-study job-seeker permit and have just signed a full-time job, switching to an EU Blue Card or a skilled worker permit early usually makes sense, even with a year left on your current card. The main reason is time: the route to a permanent settlement permit in the Residence Act counts years spent on a skilled worker permit or a Blue Card, and the job-seeker permit is not on that list. Your current permit also ends at a fixed point and cannot be extended past its maximum, so you will have to change it anyway. The questions are which permit to ask for and when to file.

This page follows the English translation of the German Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz) published on the federal law portal gesetze-im-internet.de. The translation includes amendments up to the Act of 8 May 2024, and only the German text is legally binding, so check the current rules with your local foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) before you file.

What your current permit is

Graduates of a German university get a temporary residence permit "in order to look for a job" under section 20 of the Residence Act. Section 20 (2) says the permit is granted for up to 18 months for graduates and adds that it "may not be extended beyond these maximum periods". In other words, the permit has a hard end date. Section 4a (3) says every residence title must state whether you may work and with what restrictions, so the wording on your card is what tells you whether full-time work is allowed today.

If your card allows you to work, starting the new job is not the problem. The problem is what happens next: the permit runs out on a date that does not move, and the time on it builds nothing toward settling in Germany.

Why switching early helps

Section 18c (1) sets the conditions for a permanent settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) for skilled workers. Among them:

• you have held a residence title under sections 18a, 18b, 18d or 18g for three years;
• you have a job that meets the requirements of those sections;
• you have paid into the statutory pension insurance for at least 36 months;
• you have a sufficient command of German.

The same paragraph says the three years drop to two, and the 36 months of contributions drop to 24, if you completed a course of study or vocational training in Germany. As a German graduate, that shorter path applies to you.

The list in section 18c (1) names sections 18a, 18b, 18d and 18g. Section 20, the job-seeker permit, is not one of them. Read plainly, the clock for this route starts when you hold a skilled worker permit (section 18b) or a Blue Card (section 18g), not while you work on the job-seeker card. Every month you wait is a month later for permanent residence. Ask the Ausländerbehörde how they count your time if you want certainty for your case.

For Blue Card holders, section 18c (2) is shorter still: a permanent settlement permit after at least 27 months of employment under section 18g with pension contributions for that period and basic German skills, reduced to 21 months with a sufficient command of German.

Blue Card or skilled worker permit

Both are for people with a university degree. The difference is mostly salary.

Skilled worker permit, section 18b. Section 18b grants skilled workers with a university degree a temporary residence permit "to take up any skilled employment". There is no salary floor in that section.

EU Blue Card, section 18g. Section 18g (1) grants a Blue Card for employment commensurate with your qualification if your salary is at least 50 per cent of the annual earnings ceiling of the general pension scheme. A lower threshold of 45.3 per cent applies, with approval of the Federal Employment Agency, to certain occupation groups and to people who obtained their degree no more than three years before applying. If you graduated recently, the lower threshold may be the one that applies to you. The earnings ceiling changes each year, so ask the authority for the current figure rather than relying on an old one. The general rules are in the EU Blue Card in 2026.

Two other Blue Card rules matter here:

• section 18g (3) requires a concrete job offer of at least six months;
• section 18g (4) says a Blue Card holder does not need the foreigners authority's permission to change jobs, although during the first 12 months the authority may suspend a job change for 30 days and refuse it if the new job no longer meets the Blue Card requirements. See changing jobs in Germany on a residence permit.

If your salary clears the threshold, the Blue Card gives you the faster settlement route and more freedom to change employer. If it does not, the section 18b permit is the route.

How to make the switch

1. Read your current card. Check the employment wording printed on it, as required by section 4a (3), so you know what you may do while the change is pending.
2. Get the documents from your employer. The authority will look at your contract, your salary and the job description to decide whether it matches your degree and, for the Blue Card, whether the salary clears the threshold.
3. Book an appointment or apply online with your Ausländerbehörde. Procedures, forms and waiting times differ by city, so check your local authority's page.
4. Apply well before your current permit ends. Do not let the job-seeker permit run out while you wait for an appointment. What happens if the application is refused is covered separately.
5. Keep proof of pension contributions. Section 18c counts months of statutory pension insurance contributions, and those come from your payslips.

Country specifics

Germany has two Blue Card salary thresholds in law, 50 and 45.3 per cent of the pension scheme's annual earnings ceiling, and a separate shortcut to permanent residence for people who studied in Germany. The second point is easy to miss: section 18c (1) cuts the time from three years to two, and the contributions from 36 to 24 months, for graduates of German institutions.

Read next

• Changing jobs in Germany on a residence permit: when you need the immigration office
• Blue Card refused in Germany: does § 81(4) AufenthG still protect you?
• Working hours for international students in Germany

FAQ

Can I keep working on the job-seeker permit until it expires?

If the work wording on your card allows it, yes. But section 20 (2) says the permit cannot be extended past its maximum, so you will need a new permit before the end date anyway.

Does time on the job-seeker permit count toward permanent residence?

Section 18c (1) counts time on permits under sections 18a, 18b, 18d and 18g. Section 20 is not listed, so on a plain reading it does not count for that route.

Is the Blue Card better than the section 18b permit?

If your salary clears the threshold, the Blue Card has a shorter route to settlement, 27 or 21 months under section 18c (2), and no need for permission to change jobs.

What salary do I need for a Blue Card?

At least 50 per cent of the annual earnings ceiling of the general pension scheme, or 45.3 per cent if you graduated no more than three years ago or work in certain listed occupations.

Does my job offer need a minimum length?

For the Blue Card, section 18g (3) requires a job offer of at least six months.

Who decides my application?

Your local foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde). Check its website for forms and appointments.

How Jobsy fits

We build Jobsy, a job search service for Europe that searches for you: you say what work you want, and Jobsy finds employers and recruitment agencies in Germany and five other countries, from a base of more than 2.6 million employers and recruitment and staffing agencies. It does not handle residence permits, so the switch described above stays between you and the Ausländerbehörde. The first result is free, and Jobsy Active, which keeps the search going, costs €6.70 a month.

Sources

• Gesetze im Internet: Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz), English translation