Which is right for you
The decision comes down to one question — do you already have a job offer?
- Yes, with a salary above the threshold → take the EU Blue Card. It's the higher-tier permit and the fastest route to permanent residence.
- Not yet, or still job-hunting → take the Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card), a points-based job-seeker permit that lets you move to Germany and look for work, then switch to a work permit once you're hired.
Everything below fills in the detail, but that fork is the heart of it.
The EU Blue Card — if you have a qualifying job offer
The Blue Card (§18g Aufenthaltsgesetz) is for graduates with a recognised university degree and a concrete job offer meeting a salary floor. For 2026 that floor is €50,700 gross per year in general, or €45,934.20 for shortage ("Engpass") occupations and recent graduates — both tracking the 2026 contribution-assessment ceiling of €101,400. It also offers the fastest path to a settlement permit: a Niederlassungserlaubnis after 27 months, or 21 months with B1-level German (§18c). Our EU Blue Card guide covers the application end to end.
The Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) — if you're still job-hunting
The Chancenkarte (§20a) needs no job offer. It's issued for up to a year on a points system — a minimum of 6 points across qualification, language, work experience, age, and prior ties — and you must show you can support yourself: €1,091 per month in 2026 (about €13,092 for the year), provable via a blocked account, a formal sponsor, or part-time earnings. While searching you may work up to 20 hours a week and take two-week trial jobs. See the Chancenkarte guide for the full points table.
The shared gate: getting your qualification recognised
Both routes depend on your foreign qualification being recognised. Academic degrees are checked in the anabin database; professional and regulated qualifications go through the ZAB. For the Blue Card your degree must be recognised or comparable; for the Chancenkarte, recognition is also worth points — and a full recognition can route you straight to a skilled-worker permit instead. Start this early; it's covered in qualification recognition (Anerkennung).
How to choose — and how the Opportunity Card converts
The Chancenkarte is a bridge: once you land a qualifying job you switch — inside Germany, with no re-entry — to an EU Blue Card or skilled-worker permit, and the card can be extended up to two years while you settle in. So the practical rule is simple: offer plus salary now → Blue Card; no offer yet → Opportunity Card, then convert. The figures here are drawn from the Aufenthaltsgesetz and the Auswärtiges Amt. Build your work-route plan to see your next step.