Mobility with the EU Blue Card , Date: 2023.11.18, format: Article, area: Migration and residence

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Make it in Germany: Working and Living in Germany Link to the information hotline "working and living in Germany" Source: © Make it in Germany

If you have held an EU Blue Card in another EU member state for at least 12 months, you can travel to Germany visa-free for work and stay there under certain conditions.

An EU Blue Card allows you to be mobile within the EU and visit Germany in the context of short-term or long-term mobility.

If you hold an EU Blue Card, you are also entitled to an EU long-term residence permit after five years. Both times spent in Germany, as well as periods in which you have lived in another EU Member State, will count towards this qualification period.

Further information on mobility with the EU Blue Card

Good to know!

Periods of residence in different EU Member States with an EU Blue Card are counted towards the qualification period for a permanent EU residence permit.

The legal basis

  • Section 9a of the Residence Act
  • Section 9b of the Residence Act
  • Section 18 of the Residence Act
  • Section 18c of the Residence Act
  • Section 18g AufenthG (German Residence Act) – EU Blue Card
  • Section 18h Short-term mobility for holders of an EU Blue Card
  • Section 18i Long-term mobility for holders of an EU Blue Card
  • Section 19f of the Residence Act
  • EU Directives 2003/109/EC and (EU) 2021/1883