Chancenkarte from Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Ecuador: requirements, funds and how to apply

The Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) is a residence permit to look for a job in Germany or to complete the procedures for recognising your foreign degree ¹. It is first granted for a period of up to one year ¹.

While you hold it you can work an average of up to 20 hours per week in total, and do trial jobs of up to two weeks each ¹. If you find a skilled job, the law allows it to be extended for up to two more years when you have a contract or a binding offer and the Federal Employment Agency approves ¹. The Embassy in Quito states that, if you find an employer while the card is valid, you do not need to leave Germany to change your permit ¹¹.

The law also allows the Government to set an annual cap on cards for people who are still outside Germany ¹. Check your embassy's page before paying any expense.

Route 1: you are a skilled worker (Fachkraft). If your university degree or your vocational training is equivalent to a German one, you need neither points nor a language certificate: you only show the funds ^{1 5}. The Embassy in Bogotá accepts as proof, among others, the evaluation in the anabin database when your degree is listed as equivalent and your university has the H+ category, or an evaluation by the ZAB (Central Office for Foreign Education) ⁵. For regulated professions, which the Embassy illustrates with doctors and engineers, you need the licence to practise or the promise that you will be given it ⁵.

Route 2: points system. If your degree is not recognised as equivalent, you first meet three basic requirements ^{1 8}:

• A foreign university degree or a vocational training of at least two years, recognised by the State of the country where you obtained them, or a diploma from a German Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK). The law requires a competent German office to confirm that recognition ¹; for this the Embassy in Bogotá asks for a ZAB certificate ⁵.
• German at least A1 or English at least B2.
• Funds for your stay.

Then you need to add up at least 6 points ³.

The points table is in the annex of the Residence Act (AufenthG) and the criteria in its section 20b ^{3 2}. The German levels correspond to the Common European Framework: A2, B1 and B2 ⁴.

Criterion	Points
Partial recognition of your qualification by a German authority	4
German B2	3
German B1	2
German A2	1
English C1	1
5 years of experience in your field in the last 7	3
2 years of experience in your field in the last 5	2
Occupation with a shortage of staff in Germany	1
Age up to 35	2
Age 36 to 40	1
Legal stay of 6 consecutive months in Germany in the last 5 years	1
Your spouse or registered partner also applies for the Chancenkarte	1

The German language points do not add up: only the highest level counts ². The same applies to experience and to age ². Short stays on a Schengen visa do not count for the previous stay point ⁵.

Synthetic example: a 30-year-old engineer with German B1 and five years of experience gets 2 for language, 3 for experience and 2 for age: 7 points. Always do the official self-check on Make it in Germany, which the embassies in Lima and Bogotá ask for before the appointment ^{8 6}.

The Embassy in Bogotá requires in 2026 at least 1,091 euros per month, that is 13,092 euros for the usual 12 months ⁵. The Embassy in Quito publishes the same monthly figure for the Chancenkarte ¹². Some older pages, including one from Lima from 2024, show different figures: use your embassy's figure on the day you apply ⁸.

You have two ways to prove it:

• Blocked account (Sperrkonto) at a bank authorised to operate in Germany ¹². You must open it before filing the application and hand in the bank's official confirmation with the total amount deposited and the monthly amount available. A transfer receipt without that confirmation is not valid ⁵.
• Declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) under sections 66 and 68 of the AufenthG, signed by a person who takes on your expenses, in original and copy ^{5 8}.

If you already have a contract or a binding offer for a permitted part-time job, with hours and salary, that income can reduce the amount you must block ⁵. The guide on the blocked account explains how the monthly payout works.

You apply at the embassy of the country where you usually live. If you are not a national of that country, the embassy asks for proof of your residence there: Lima requires habitual residence in Peru, which it defines as an expected stay of at least 6 months ⁹, and Quito asks for a copy of your Ecuadorian cédula or residence visa ¹¹.

Embassy	How it starts	Fee
Bogotá	Since November 2025, first online in the Auslandsportal; the appointment comes after the review 7	75 euros in Colombian pesos 5
Mexico City	Since 17 February 2025, first in the Auslandsportal; then an appointment with BLS International 10	See the embassy's fees page
Quito	Only electronically, in the Auslandsportal 11	75 euros, in US dollars in cash 11
Lima	The national visas page describes an appointment in the embassy's appointment system 9	Paid when you file, in soles 9

In the Auslandsportal you upload the form and the documents, the embassy checks that they are complete and sends you a link to book the appointment. At the appointment they only verify your identity, take fingerprints and a photo, and you pay the fee ⁷. The Federal Foreign Office reports that all visa offices have been connected to the portal since 1 January 2025 ¹³.