Germany · Employment
Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte)
Open
Last verified July 2026
Open. Introduced under the 2023–24 Skilled Immigration Act as Germany's points-based job-search permit.
A points-based, no-job-offer entry to the EU's largest labour market is genuinely useful — but as an option, not a destination. It buys 12 months to convert into a real permit.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- Modest permit fees plus proof of roughly EUR 1,091 per month of self-sufficiency for the search period
- Timeline
- 1–3 months — Grants a 12-month stay to look for work
- Physical presence
- Requires presence in Germany to job-hunt; part-time work of up to 20 hours a week is permitted
- Family
- family reunification is restricted on this permit — it is a search visa, not a settlement route
- Permanent residency
- None directly — you must convert to a Blue Card or skilled worker permit and start the clock there
- Citizenship
- None directly
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- recognised foreign qualification, or 6 points under the criteriaproof of financial self-sufficiency of roughly EUR 1,091 per monthbasic German (A1) or English (B2) in most cases
What can go wrong
- It does not lead to settlement on its own and the time does not build a meaningful clock. Convert or leave.
- You need 6 points on the criteria (qualification, experience, language, age, German ties) or a fully recognised qualification.
- Self-sufficiency of roughly EUR 1,091 a month must be evidenced, typically via a blocked account.
- Family reunification is constrained, which makes it unsuitable for a family relocation as a first step.