Germany Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte): who qualifies, funds and the online application

The Opportunity Card is a residence permit that lets you live in Germany while you look for a job, or while you take part in measures to get a foreign qualification recognised ¹. It has been in force since 1 June 2024 ⁸.

While you search, the law lets you work up to 20 hours a week on average and do trial work of up to two weeks with each employer ¹. Once you find a qualified job, you normally switch to a work permit. The card itself can be extended only if you do not meet the conditions for another permit for work ¹.

The card is issued for up to one year at first. If you have an employment contract or a binding job offer for qualified work and the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) agrees, you can extend it for up to two more years as a follow-up card. No further extension is possible. A new search card is only possible after you have spent at least as long outside Germany, or in Germany on another permit, as you spent on the previous card ¹.

Route 1: recognised skilled worker. If your foreign vocational or academic qualification is fully recognised in Germany, you qualify without points ¹. The London mission explains this as a degree, or a vocational qualification of at least two years, that is fully recognised, checked in the anabin database or through a recognition procedure ⁴.

Route 2: points. Without full recognition you need all of these ¹:

• a foreign vocational qualification of at least two years, or a university degree, recognised by the state where you obtained it (a qualification from a German chamber of commerce abroad also counts);
• basic German (A1) or English at B2 level;
• at least six points on the points table ³.

Points come from partial recognition of your qualification, a shortage occupation, work experience, German and English level, age, previous stays in Germany and a partner who applies with you ². Partial recognition is worth the most: 4 points ³. The full table, with worked examples, is in our points calculator.

In both routes you must also show that you can support yourself ¹.

German missions ask for at least 1,091 EUR a month per applicant, which is 13,092 EUR for a twelve-month card ^{4 8}. The Rome embassy states the same monthly amount and explains that it follows the maximum BAföG student grant ⁷. The amount changes when that rate changes, and the London mission marks it "subject to change" ⁴.

The London mission accepts three kinds of proof ⁴:

• a German blocked account (Sperrkonto) holding at least 1,091 EUR a month;
• a formal declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) signed by someone in Germany;
• a part-time employment contract with a net salary of at least 1,091 EUR a month.

The German missions in Canada ask for an original declaration of commitment under sections 66 and 68 of the Residence Act, marked as fully verified on the second page, and for a blocked account confirmation that shows both the total and the monthly amount ⁶. Open the blocked account well before you apply ⁶.

You will see older figures online, such as 1,027 EUR a month. That was an earlier rate, and one mission page still shows both numbers ⁸. Use the figure on your own mission's page on the day you apply.

From 1 October 2026, German missions such as the Embassy in Cairo and the missions in London and Edinburgh accept Opportunity Card applications only through the Federal Foreign Office's Consular Services Portal (Auslandsportal), at digital.diplo.de/visa ^{5 4}.

In practice this means:

• you fill in the form and upload your documents on the portal;
• the documents are checked online before your appointment, in London and Cairo by the service provider TLScontact ^{4 5};
• you attend in person to give your biometrics; applicants without a portal appointment are turned away in London ⁴.

The London mission says most applications are processed within two to three weeks after biometrics ⁴. The German missions in Canada tell you to allow about four weeks ⁶.

Citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States can enter Germany without a visa and apply for the card there, according to the London mission ⁴. The same page warns that this can be difficult for the Opportunity Card: in Berlin you cannot apply locally unless you previously held a visa for employment, study or vocational training, so contact the immigration office first ⁴. Everyone else applies for a national visa at the German mission responsible for their place of residence.