Jurisdiction and procedure for applying for the Opportunity Card
Where and how you apply for the Opportunity Card depends on your current location.
1. You are currently not in Germany
Follow the standard application procedure
You are required to submit an application for the Opportunity Card to the relevant German diplomatic mission abroad in your home country or directly in your current country of residence (if it is not Germany). Make sure to include all the required documentation.
An electronic procedure has already been introduced at some foreign German missions for some residence permits. You can find an overview of the status of digitalization on the Federal Foreign Office website.
The respective diplomatic mission provides information on its own website about the procedure, documents to be submitted, waiting times, etc.
The diplomatic mission abroad forwards the application – if necessary (Section 31 Residence Ordinance) – to the immigration authorities responsible for your intended German city of residence and – if necessary – to the Federal Employment Agency for internal approval.
The internal involvement of the Federal Employment Agency can be avoided through the advance approval procedure (Section 36 Para. 3 Employment Ordinance).
The diplomatic mission abroad makes the sole decision on issuing the entry visa, regardless of the results of the examination by the respective immigration office.
Summary of the standard application procedure for the Opportunity Card in Germany
The standard procedure might differ depending on your home country. Please check with the German embassy
- Submit an application to the German embassy in your country
- The Embassy will forward the documentation to the immigration office in your intended German city of residence
- The foreign mission will make a decision
Follow the expedited application procedure
In addition to the standard procedure, there is the so-called expedited procedure. It is applicable if you are applying for a visa to be issued
- for vocational training (§ 16a)
- for measures to recognize foreign vocational training (§ 16d)
- or as a skilled worker or particularly highly qualified skilled worker (§§ 18a, b, c paragraphs III, g).
The procedure can also be used for qualified employees (see Section 2 Paragraph 12b Residence Act) and for professional drivers Professional drivers according to Section 24a BschV, and when applying for an opportunity card. The German company that wants to employ you applies for a residence permit on your behalf. An agreement is concluded between the company and the immigration authorities, which, among other things, sets out obligations to cooperate and binding completion deadlines for the individual procedural steps.
As part of the accelerated skilled worker process, the immigration authority is obliged to
- inform the employer to coordinate cooperation with the diplomatic mission abroad
- the Federal Employment Agency
- and the body responsible for determining the equivalence of professional qualifications
If the requirements for issuing a visa are met, the immigration authorities will issue their advance approval immediately. The responsible authority is the immigration authority, which is responsible for the business premises where the foreigner is to be employed (Section 31 IV AufenthVO). The Federal Employment Agency has a deadline of one week for approval; if it does not meet the deadline, approval is deemed to have been given.
After submitting the advance approval from the immigration authority, the foreign mission is obliged to make an appointment for the visa application within three weeks and to make a decision on it within a further three weeks after the application has been submitted. Since the waiting time at the diplomatic missions abroad can otherwise be up to one and a half years, this could result in significant advantages over the regular procedure.
The procedure costs 411.00 euros, which must be paid by the company.
Summary of the expedited application procedure for the Opportunity Card in Germany
The procedure might vary depending on your qualification
- You grant your German company power of attorney (templates are available online)
- The company concludes an agreement with the responsible immigration authority for the location of its business premises and pays the 411 euros.
- The immigration authority checks and, if necessary, initiates recognition procedures and, if necessary, obtains approval from the Federal Employment Agency.
- Immediate advance approval for visa issuance
- You submit the advance approval to the diplomatic mission abroad → appointment within three weeks
- The foreign mission will make a decision within three weeks of the appointment
2. You are currently in Germany
If you are already in Germany legally, your application for the Opportunity Card can be submitted directly to the local immigration authority, depending on which residence permit you currently hold.
The local immigration offices have been accepting the applications since November 18, 2023 (should there be any more changes, they will be communicated in March of 2024).
The local jurisdiction is determined by the your actual or intended place of residence. All extensions must be applied for at the local immigration authority.