If you have strong practical professional knowledge, you can obtain a residence permit to work in the field of information and communication technology (IT industry).

To do this, you must have worked in IT for at least three years in the last seven years and have acquired strong skills and knowledge of your job. In addition, the issuance of such a residence permit requires that there is an employment contract or a concrete job offer with a certain minimum salary.

You do not need to have completed any qualified vocational training or studies. Recognition of your qualification acquired abroad is also not required. It can be helpful if, in addition to your several years of professional experience, you also have relevant theoretical knowledge (e.g. through certificates or references).

Before the residence permit is issued, the Federal Employment Agency must approve the employment. This also examines whether certain requirements can be waived. The Federal Employment Agency gives its approval for a maximum of four years.

The residence permit is issued for a limited period of time. Their validity depends on your employment contract or the period of validity of the approval of the Federal Employment Agency.

Under certain circumstances, the Foreigners' Registration Office may oblige you to participate in an integration course. This will then be noted on your residence permit.

If you are an employer and would like to hire an IT specialist from abroad, you can apply to the Foreigners' Registration Office for the accelerated skilled worker procedure on behalf of the foreigner, which can be used to facilitate and accelerate the entry of skilled workers.