VisaGerman employers must apply to hire workers under the short-term quota
Nationality, previous work periods and collective-agreement coverage determine which employment procedure fits.
Official announcement date: not established (undated guidance)
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Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Check the correct quota before promising a recruitment place
Employers in Germany planning a temporary staffing increase can examine the short-term quota employment route for workers from outside the EU. The Federal Employment Agency, or BA, publishes an annual quota of 25,000 approvals or work permits and a separate 1,500-place allocation for Georgian nationals under the bilateral migration partnership. These published ceilings are not a promise that a place remains for a particular application.
The current BA page excludes agricultural harvest-helper jobs and temporary agency work. It describes a route independent of formal qualifications, but employment must still meet its conditions. Its remaining-quota field did not render as a readable number in the material examined. Ask BA about availability for the actual role before committing to travel or a fixed start date. This is a current-rule guide, not a newly announced quota increase.
Choose work permission or visa approval using nationality and duration
Section 15d of the Employment Ordinance distinguishes two procedures. BA may issue a work permit for up to 90 days in a 180-day period for nationals listed in Annex II of the EU visa regulation. For a longer stay, or a national of an Annex I visa-required country, BA instead gives approval in connection with a residence title. The employment must regularly provide at least 30 hours weekly.
The law caps employment under this provision at eight months within twelve months. It makes the employer responsible for applying to BA for the work permit and requires the worker to hold it no later than starting employment. Visa-free travel eligibility therefore does not itself authorise a first shift. Identify the intended duration and the correct nationality category before submitting the request; the application needs the procedure that actually fits the worker.
Establish collective-agreement coverage and the application documents
BA’s March 2024 information sheet says the employer must be legally bound by a collective agreement, or covered by one declared generally binding, governing pay for the proposed work. Merely inserting a reference to a collective agreement in an individual contract is insufficient. Employment must follow the applicable collectively agreed conditions, and the employer pays the necessary outward and return travel costs.
The sheet distinguishes its filing methods. For online applications, it says the collective agreement is normally the document uploaded alongside the information entered online. Other submission methods require the Declaration of Employment, Supplement D and the valid collective agreement. Prepare the information underlying those forms even when the online system captures it directly. A shorter online upload list does not mean the employer no longer has to demonstrate the substantive conditions.
Count earlier employment when completing Supplement D
The official Supplement D asks about previous German employment as well as the proposed period. It separately checks the 90-day limit in 180 days and the eight-month limit within twelve months. Its note says the second question must be answered even when the first answer is yes. Do not count only the days in the new offer if earlier employment also falls inside the relevant period.
The form also records nationality-related visa-free eligibility, whether the role is agricultural harvest work, employer-paid travel and the establishment’s use of this route in no more than ten months within twelve. That last question concerns months of employing workers under the route, not simply the length of this applicant’s contract. The employer or authorised representative dates and signs the declaration. Check those answers against previous staffing periods before certifying them.
Keep the employer’s BA process separate from the worker’s visa
For a case requiring a national visa, the federal visa application guide directs the worker to the German mission responsible for the country of residence and its checklist. It describes the Consular Services Portal and, where unavailable, the Videx route. Identity and nationality evidence, normally a valid passport, and the purpose-specific documents remain necessary; BA involvement does not replace the consular application.
The guide lists a standard €75 long-stay visa fee, with possible reductions or exemptions, and says it is not refunded after refusal. This is the visa charge, not the employer’s travel-cost obligation or a quoted fee for BA processing. Appointment waits vary by location. Agree the employment start only after checking the necessary permission sequence; no reviewed page guarantees an approval date or an available quota place.
