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Employment, training and jobseeker visa

An concept Image of a we´re hiring note

An concept Image of a we´re hiring note © colourbox

20.06.2025 - Article

On this website you find information on visa for working in Germany. This includes the visa categories employment, vocational training, job seeking, research, self-employment, freelancing, voluntary service, au-pair and recognition measures for foreign qualifications.

Make it in Germany

Das Portal der Bundesregierung für Fachkräfte aus dem Ausland
Make it in Germany © Make it in Germany

If your are interested in working and living in Germany, you find extensive information on the Make it in Germany web page.

The page includes information on the legal bases of employment visa, routes to have your Pakistani qualification recognised and a large database of job listings.

Please consult this web page carefully before launching your application - good preparation will save you time afterwards.

A new way to apply for employment visa

The German Missions in Pakistan are changing the way to apply for employment visa and introduce the Consular Services Portal.

The changes at a glance:

  • All applications will be registered at the Federal Foreign Office's Consular Services Portal.
  • Instead of lists of required documents on our website, the portal will guide you in an interactive questionnaire to the documents you have to submit.
  • You will have to pre-submit these documents as digital scans on the portal.
  • Your uploads will be scrutinised for missing documents or other gaps in your presentation.
  • Only receiving our pre-approval you will be able to book an appointment for the necessary personal appearance at the visa section.

The system will guide you as to which documents to present and in which order to bring them to the Embassy. Please keep to this order carefully, as this will speed up the final application at the Embassy and enable more applicants to present their applications.

Islamabad: Apply online via the Consular Services portal

Applications for most types of work visa are now made online through the Consular Services Portal. You can apply on the Portal if you are seeking to work in Germany based on a confirmed employment contract, whether you qualify for this with your university degree, your vocational training degree or based on your work experience. This includes au pair agreements and employment for speciality cooks. It further includes vocational training in Germany (Ausbildung)

Applications for research visa, voluntary service and self employment are not yet included in the Consular Services Portal. See below for these.

Applicants with a § 81a pre-approval: Priority registration

Applicants with a pre-approval under § 81a Residence Act can have their applications considered with priority.

Fachkraft-Stellenanzeige, Symbolfoto
Fachkraeftemangel, Symbolfoto © dpa / blickwinkel

  1. Register on our dedicated priority lists for § 81a pre-approvals. You find the priority list under this link.
  2. Register at the same time on the Consular Services Portal and complete your application on the portal in the usual way.

This will allow us to identify your application and process it on the Consular Services Portal with priority.

You must still fulfil all steps on the portal, in order for your application to progress.

§ 81a pre-approval holders, Blue Card EU and research visa applicants: taking your family

Applicants with §81a pre-approval and applicants for Blue Card EU and research visa, can place the applications of accompanying family members alongside their own application.

Family
§ 81a pre-approval, EU Blue Card and researchers: apply with your family © Auswärtiges Amt

The Consular Services Portal does at this stage not allow for specific registration of these cases. Therefore, please proceed as follows:

  1. Complete your own application in the usual way on the Consular Services Portal. Once your application is complete, your can choose an appointment date.
  2. When registering for the appointment date, state how many family members are going to apply with you.
  3. Ahead of the appointment, prepare the applications of your family members in paper. You find the details for that application on the family reunion page.

Research, voluntary service and self employment

For technical reasons, research visa applications, as well as applications for self employment and voluntary service in Germany can at this point not be launched on the Consular Services Portal.

Please register for an appointment in the regular way and bring all required documents to your appointment in a well-ordered manner.

Please make sure to bring all required documents with you and be on time on your application day. Further information about how to access the Embassy can be found at this link.

Karachi: register on the waiting list

For the time being, the German Consulate General in Karachi is maintaining the pre-existing appointment system. Please register for an appointment in the regular way and bring all required documents to your appointment in a well-ordered manner.

To gurantee a fair appointment allocation to all applicants, please be aware that if you register for/book an appointment in the wrong visa category and/or at the wrong mission, you will be turned away and your application will not be accepted on your appointment day. In that case, you will have to register for/book a new appointment in the correct visa category.

Please make sure to bring all required documents with you and be on time on your application day. Further information about how to access the Consulate General can be found at this link.

Work Visa Categories and Checklists

You have a recognized university degree and already found a job in Germany? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

EU Blue Card

You have a recognized university degree and already found a job in Germany? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

Employment for Skilled Workers Holding a University Degree (NO EU Blue Card)

You have a recognized vocational qualification and already found a job in Germany? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

Employment for Skilled Workers with Vocational Qualification

You have found a vocational training programme in Germany? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

Vocational Training

You have a recognized university degree or vocational qualification and would like to find a job in Germany? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

Opportunity Card (Jobseeking)

You have a hosting agreement or work contract with a research institute in Germany?

Research

You would like to start a business or work as a freelancer in Germany?

Self-Employment, Freelancing

You would like to do a voluntary service in Germany?

Voluntary Service

You would like to do an au-pair in Germany? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

Au-Pair

You would like to work as a Speciality Cook in Germany? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

Employment for Speciality Cook

You have an assessment note by a competent authority in Germany and would like your professional qualification to be recognized? This page contains information for applications at the German Consulate-General Karachi.

Recognition Measure for a Foreign Qualification

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