Renew an EU Blue Card

The EU Blue Card is a residence permit for foreign academics. In certain circumstances, it is sufficient to provide evidence of another professional qualification instead of a completed university degree.

In order to renew your EU Blue Card, you must meet the same requirements as when you first applied:

You must hold a German university degree or a foreign university degree that is comparable to a German university degree.

Under certain conditions, you may be able to renew your EU Blue Card even if you do not hold a higher education qualification. In that case, you must have completed a so-called tertiary education programme that is equivalent to a higher education qualification and required at least three years of study.

In the case of IT specialists and managers, a formal university degree or qualification from a tertiary education programme is not required; this may be replaced by professional experience.

To renew your EU Blue Card, you must also provide evidence of a specific job offer for at least six months with a company in Germany.

Your job in Germany must pay you a minimum salary equivalent to 50 per cent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling for the statutory pension scheme, which is currently EUR 48,300 gross.

In certain occupational groups classified as ‘shortage occupations’, you can have your EU Blue Card extended even if your gross annual salary is only 45.3 per cent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling, which is currently at least EUR 43,759.80. In this case, the Federal Employment Agency must approve your employment once again. These occupational groups include, for example:

• Managers, for example, in childcare centres, the health sector or the education sector
• academic professionals in architecture, spatial planning and transport planning
• Doctors

This lower salary threshold also applies if you graduated from university less than three years ago or if you were first granted an EU Blue Card less than two years ago.