General information

Foreigners’ access to the labour market is regulated by the Residence Act and the Employment Regulation. In the past years, several measures have been taken to liberalize access to the German labour market. The most recent change has been the implementation of new regulations on the immigration of skilled workers on 01.03.2020.

In general, access to the German labour market is limited to skilled workers (academic or vocational education) and certain occupational groups and normally requires the approval of the employment authorities.

Usually the qualifications have to be recognized in Germany, however there is exceptions for certain occupational groups mentioned in the Employment Regulation.

Please ensure that your application documents are complete! Incomplete applications can cause delays or may result in rejection of the visa application.

This checklist is regularly updated but makes no claim to be complete.
Further documentation can at all times be requested or provided by the applicant, in support of the application.

Prepare your application

Please do not staple the documents and renounce paper clips.

• original duly completed visa application form and Declaration in accordance with Section 53 and 54 of the Residence Act
  

The following documents need to be presented in original and 1 copy:

• passport (at least 2 free pages, not older than 10 years)
• for non-Singaporeans: proof of legal residence in Singapore (e.g. EP;DP; Student Pass), incl. printout of your current Singaporean residence permit validity (no QR-Code)
• recent passport photograph (not older than 3 months) according to biometric specifications (see sample photos below)
• health insurance (travel health insurance) valid at least for the first 3 months of the stay
• work contract/ binding job offer with details of:
  • detailed job description
  • working hours
  • salary
  • duration of employment
  • if applicable, additional confirmation letter of local employer if you are send to Germany by a Singapore based company stating your employment status, duration and whether the stay is paid by the local company or German Company.
• Curriculum vitae of professional career,
• proof of qualifications for the specific job, e.g. certificates, diplomas, university Degrees
• proof of the recognition of the qualification in form of ANABIN-excerpt or Recognition Confirmation (“Anerkennungsbescheid”)

• Declaration of Employment (“Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis”), to be filled out by your employer in Germany – Make-it-in-Germany
• If applicable pre-approval from the German employment agency (“Vorabzustimmung”)
• for first-time applicants above 45 years: minimum annual salary of 46.860 Euro or adequate provision for old age

• if applicable, proof of German language knowledge

• fee for the processing of the visa application is the equivalent of EURO 75.00 to be paid in SGD, either by cash or credit card (Visa- and Mastercard only)

Information on the visa process

Please do not send unrequested documents to the Visa Department, especially not before applying for the visa, as those cannot be kept. Please submit all documents when applying in person at the Embassy.
Foreign documents issued in other languages than English or German have to be submitted with an official Translation.
Foreign public documents need to be duly legalized by the competent German Embassy in the issuing country, or, if applicable, provided with an Apostille. For documents from some countries, individual document verification might be necessary, that process would require more time and an additional fee.
The processing of the visa application is usually 6-8 weeks, upon submission of complete documents, sometimes longer.
You will be contacted as soon as the application has been decided.
Please note that questions regarding the status of your visa application cannot be answered.
It is recommended that at no time a flight ticket should be purchased until a visa has been granted.

Book your Appointment

To submit your application, please book an appointment and appear in person at the Visa Department.

There your complete application documents including the visa fee will be accepted, a short interview will be conducted and biometric data registered.

The appointment needs to be booked through the appointment system of the Embassy.