The Big Blue Card and the Small Blue Card: What the Two Tiers Actually Require

If you’ve spent any time researching the Blue Card Germany process, you’ll know there are two salary thresholds. Most people find them quickly, work out which one applies to their situation, and move on.

What most online guides don’t explain clearly is that these two thresholds don’t just represent two different numbers. They represent two genuinely different routes, with different requirements. And if you’re on the lower threshold route, there is one additional condition that applies which a lot of applicants don’t know about until they’re already deep in the process.

This guide explains both routes clearly, what each one requires, and what to prepare for before you apply.

The Standard Route: €50,700

The standard Blue Card threshold for 2026 is €50,700 gross per year. This applies to most professions where there is no recognised shortage.

If your job offer meets or exceeds this figure, the salary side of your application is clean. No third-party approval of your employment is required. Your employer offers the job, your qualification is assessed, your salary meets the threshold, and the process proceeds.

This is the more straightforward of the two routes on the administrative side, which is worth factoring in if your salary gives you a choice.

The Reduced Route: €45,934.20

The lower threshold of €45,934.20 applies to three groups.

Shortage occupation professionals. Germany maintains an official list of shortage occupations for the Blue Card, which includes most STEM fields, engineering, healthcare professionals (doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses), construction and distribution managers, IT and communications managers, teachers and educators, and others. The full list is published at make-it-in-germany.com.

Recent graduates. If you received your last degree or equivalent qualification within the last three years, you can apply at the lower threshold in any profession, not just shortage occupations. This provision was introduced deliberately to attract early-career international talent.

IT professionals without a formal degree. If you have at least three years of professional IT experience within the last seven years, at university graduate level, and a job offer in the German IT sector, you can apply for the Blue Card without a university degree. This route has been available since the 2023 Skilled Immigration Act reforms.

The Condition Most Guides Miss: BA (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) Approval

Here is where the two routes diverge in a way that matters for how you prepare your application.

For every applicant using the lower threshold route, regardless of whether you’re applying as a shortage occupation professional, a recent graduate, or an IT professional without a degree, the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) must approve your employment.

This is confirmed on make-it-in-germany.com for shortage occupations and stated explicitly for recent graduates: “The approval of the Federal Employment Agency is also required for the visa procedure.”

The important reassurance: you do not manage this yourself. The approval is acquired during the visa procedure. You don’t make a separate application or contact the agency directly. What it means practically is that your employment will be assessed as part of the process.

The approval is granted when two conditions are met. First, the working conditions for you are comparable to those of a German employee in the same role. Second, the employment is appropriate for the qualification or experience you bring.

For well-structured applications from genuine candidates in legitimate roles, this approval is routinely granted. But it is a step that exists, and it’s worth knowing about, because it means the lower threshold route involves an additional layer of assessment that the standard route does not.

What This Means in Practice

The BA approval requirement is not a reason to avoid the lower threshold route. For most applicants it is a routine part of the process. But it does have practical implications for how you prepare.

Your role description matters. The job title and description in your contract should accurately reflect what you will actually do, and should correspond to your qualifications or experience. A vague job description in a role that doesn’t clearly connect to your field is the kind of thing that can slow down or complicate the assessment.

Your contract terms matter. The BA is assessing whether your working conditions are comparable to those of a German employee. Standard German employment terms, appropriate salary for the role, and a contract period of at least six months are all important.

Your documentation matters. For the shortage occupation route, your qualifications need to be clearly presented. For the IT experience route, your three years of relevant experience needs to be evidenced, through employment records, references, or other verifiable documentation.

None of this is onerous for a well-prepared application. It’s simply worth approaching the lower threshold route knowing the full picture of what is being assessed.

A Practical Checklist Before You Apply

Before you begin your Blue Card application on the lower threshold route, it’s worth checking the following.

• Your gross annual salary meets or exceeds €45,934.20, as verified against the current year’s threshold at make-it-in-germany.com.
• Your profession appears on the shortage occupations list, or you graduated within the last three years, or you meet the IT experience criteria.
• Your employment contract runs for at least six months and reflects standard German terms.
• Your job description clearly connects to your qualifications or documented experience.
• Your supporting documents, degree certificates, transcripts, or employment records, are complete and in order.

Ready to Work Through the Full Process?

The Blue Card is the visa that opens the door. Once you’re in Germany, the process continues: Anmeldung, health insurance, bank account, settling your family if they’re coming with you. Each step has its own timing and its own requirements.

If you want to work through the Blue Card application process at your own pace, our Berlin Bound course covers the full journey from visa application to temporary housing to settling-in, in Berlin, including a step-by-step video guide to apply for the Blue Card itself.

→ Berlin Bound course.

If you’re ready to plan the wider move, our team at Archer Relocation has been helping professionals settle in Berlin since 2015.

→ Get in touch.

All figures as of 2026. Always verify current requirements at make-it-in-germany.com before applying.

Archer Relocation has been providing relocation services to families, individuals and companies in Berlin since early 2015. Managing Director, Emily Archer, founded the company desiring to use her first-hand experience as an expat to make the relocation process as smooth as possible for others moving to Berlin.  Read other useful information about moving to and living in Berlin, such as ‘How to Find a Berlin Apartment’, on our Berlin Blog.  

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