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How do I get a German Blue Card from India?

You need three things for a German EU Blue Card from India: a university degree that Germany recognises, a binding job offer for at least six months in a job matching the degree, and a salary above the annual threshold, which is lower for shortage occupations and recent graduates. The threshold resets every January.

The conditions

The EU Blue Card is Germany's residence permit for graduates with a job. There is no points test and no language test. The conditions are:

  1. A recognised degree. Your Indian degree must appear as comparable in the anabin database, or be assessed by the Central Office for Foreign Education. Most degrees from recognised Indian universities are listed; check before you apply for jobs.
  2. A job offer or contract for at least six months, in a role that requires your degree.
  3. A salary above the threshold. Germany sets a general threshold and a lower one for shortage occupations, which include IT specialists, engineers, doctors, nurses and teachers, and for graduates within three years of finishing. The figures are reset every January and are on the Make it in Germany page.

IT specialists without a degree can qualify on three years of relevant experience in the last seven, at the lower threshold.

In practice, from India

  • Get your degree checked in anabin first. If it is not listed, request an assessment; that takes weeks and employers will ask.
  • Find the job. The Blue Card follows the offer, not the other way round. We share German vacancies where we have them and say which employers we know; nobody can promise the offer itself.
  • Apply for the visa at the German mission in India with the contract, degree, passport and health insurance. Processing is commonly a few weeks once the appointment is secured.
  • After arrival, convert the visa into the Blue Card at the local foreigners' office.

What it gives you

Family reunion with your spouse allowed to work, and a route to permanent settlement after 27 months, or 21 months with German at B1. That timeline is why the Blue Card, not the Opportunity Card, is the route we recommend to anyone who already has an offer.

Sources

Checked against these on by Zehla AZ, Head of Sales. Immigration rules change without notice — if you are reading this much later, check them again.