How to Change Jobs With a Blue Card in Germany

You have a Blue Card, you got a better offer, and now you are scared that switching jobs will cost you your residence permit. Good news: the rules are easier than most people think. Here is what you really have to do.

The short answer

1. You do not need permission from the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners' office) to change jobs with a Blue Card.
2. In your first 12 months of Blue Card employment, you must report the change to the Ausländerbehörde without delay.
3. After 12 months, you do not need to report a job change at all. Munich says this clearly on its official page.

The 12 months count from the day you started working with your Blue Card, not from the day you arrived in Germany.

What can happen in the first 12 months

The law (§ 18g Abs. 4 AufenthG, the Residence Act) allows the office to put your job change on hold for 30 days and to refuse it in that time, if the new job does not meet the Blue Card requirements. That mostly means a job that fits your qualification and pays at least the Blue Card minimum salary for that year. If the office does this, you get a written notice.

If you do not report the change, or you report it too late, your Blue Card can be revoked. So do not skip this step.

What you need

1. Proof that your old job has ended or will end, for example your termination letter or an Aufhebungsvertrag (termination agreement).
2. Your new employment contract with a clear job description. In Berlin a draft contract is also accepted.
3. The form "Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis" (declaration on the employment relationship), filled in and signed by your new employer.
4. Your passport.

The steps

1. Check the new salary. The Blue Card minimum salary changes every year. Make it in Germany publishes the current amounts. If your new salary is below it, talk to the Ausländerbehörde before you sign anything.
2. Get the form to your new employer early. HR teams are used to it, but it can take a few days to come back signed.
3. Send the notification. In Munich, use the online service "Arbeitsplatzwechsel" on the city website, or send it by post. In Berlin, use the online form "Aufenthaltstitel zur Beschäftigung, Arbeitgeberwechsel". It is free there. In other cities, search your city's site for "Blaue Karte Arbeitgeberwechsel".
4. Start your new job. Munich says clearly that you can start right away. You do not wait for an answer.
5. Keep your proof. Save the confirmation email or PDF and a copy of everything you sent.

Tips

1. Report early, not after. "Without delay" means as soon as the change is clear. Münster even recommends telling the office at least three weeks before the new job starts.
2. Changes in the same job can count too. If your salary drops or your role changes a lot in the first 12 months, that can also affect the Blue Card requirements, so report it.
3. This is only for the Blue Card. Other work permits, for example under § 18a or § 18b AufenthG, have their own rules. Check your city's page for those.

In my experience, the slow part is usually not the office. It is waiting for paperwork from HR. So ask for the form on the day you sign the offer.

Checked in October 2026. Rules change, so please check your city's official page before you act. This is not legal advice.

Sources

1. § 18g AufenthG, Blaue Karte EU (German)
2. Stadt München: Aufenthaltserlaubnis and Blue Card job change (German)
3. Stadt München: Online services of the Ausländerbehörde (German)
4. Service Berlin: Aufenthaltstitel zur Beschäftigung, Wechsel des Arbeitgebers (German)
5. Make it in Germany: Questions and answers about the EU Blue Card (PDF)
6. Stadt Münster: Blaue Karte EU (German)
7. German Embassy Canada: Change of employer and employment relationship (PDF)