Ever since Germany started the Chancenkarte — the “opportunity card” — one sentence has been going round our WhatsApp groups: “Now you can go to Germany without a job.” That sentence is half true, and in immigration a half-truth often costs more than a whole lie.
The truth is that this card really is granted without a job offer, and it allows you to stay in Germany for one year and look for work. And the part that goes missing is that the card is not for everyone, and that even for the person who does get it, if he arrives empty-handed that year passes very quickly.
So let us sit down and look at the whole calculation: who is eligible, how the points are made up, how the application goes, and what to think about before taking the card.
First the basics, then the points
Before you start counting points there are two conditions from which nobody gets an exemption.
The first is qualification: either a university degree, or at least two years of vocational training that is recognised in the system of your own country. This is where the biggest misunderstanding sits, the one that makes people waste money and months: with no education or skill at all, this card is not granted. If you have neither a degree nor a two-year certificate, then the Chancenkarte is not your route — no matter how much an agent assures you. Your route is Ausbildung, and we have a separate full article on that.
The second condition is language: German A1 or English B2, and in both cases a certificate from a recognised institution. Nobody accepts a spoken claim.
One thing fewer people know: those whose qualification is fully recognised in Germany — that is, whose degree has been formally compared with the German system — can get the card even without points. For everyone else, the calculation below applies.
The points calculation — you need six
This table looks dry, but it is the heart of this whole card, so do not skim it. Read it with your own situation in front of you and add up as you go — the target is six points.
| Item | Points |
|---|---|
| Partial recognition of the qualification in Germany, or permission for a German regulated profession | 4 |
| Qualification in a shortage occupation | 1 |
| Experience: 2 years in your own field within the last 5 years | 2 |
| Experience: 5 years within the last 7 years | 3 |
| German A2 / B1 / B2 or above | 1 / 2 / 3 |
| English C1 | 1 |
| Age under 35 | 2 |
| Age 35–40 | 1 |
| Six months of legal stay in Germany within the last 5 years | 1 |
| The spouse also meets the Chancenkarte conditions | 1 |
Now see how these add up in practice. Suppose there is a twenty-nine-year-old electrician who has a three-year diploma, four years of experience and a German A2 certificate. His calculation will look like this: 2 for being under thirty-five, 2 for more than two years of experience in his field, 1 for German A2, and if his occupation is on the shortage occupation list, another 1. Six in total — the condition is met. (Remember that the basic condition of German A1 or English B2 is a separate thing, and it will have to be shown in any case.)
Notice which item carried the most weight in that example. Age is not in your hands, and the experience was built in the past — so the one box you can change today is language. As soon as you move from A2 to B1 one point is added, and at B2 it becomes three. For many people the figure of six is one language exam away.
Proof of funds — the second big condition
Once the points are complete, the next question is money, because the state wants to see how you will support yourself during the year of looking for work. There are two ways to do this. One is a blocked account, in which, on a rough estimate, an amount of around twelve to thirteen thousand euros has to be kept — this limit changes every year, so check the current figure on the embassy’s list. The other way is to prove that you will cover your own costs with part-time work, because the card allows twenty hours of work per week, and in addition “trial work” of up to two weeks.
This trial work provision is particularly useful: a company can try you out for two weeks, and many times the discussion about a permanent contract starts right there.
The application process
There is nothing hidden in the paperwork; only the order matters:
- Gather the documents: degree or diploma (attested), language certificates, experience letters, passport and proof of funds.
- Apply at the German embassy or consulate in your own country — or, if you are already living legally in Germany, at the Ausländerbehörde.
- The decision can take weeks to months, and there may also be an interview.
- Once you get the card, you have one year in Germany. When you find a job it converts into a work permit or a Blue Card, and where the job is a suitable one there are also routes to extend the card.
Think about this before taking the card
Honesty is needed here. A year sounds long, but in Germany, with the winter months, the search for housing, the paperwork and the rounds of interviews all added together, this year passes very quickly. And if you do not find a job by the end of the year, you go back. So do not make it a gamble; make a plan.
In practice this means that before you go you should look at the German job market in your own field, get your CV made in the German style, and start applications on LinkedIn, StepStone and Indeed. Interviews can happen even before you arrive, and the person who lands with four or five contacts from day one is far ahead of the one who lands empty-handed.
The second point, and this is the most important one: language is what decides. You may get the card at A1, but you do not get a job at A1 — especially in the skilled trades, where everything at the workplace happens in German. Do not waste the months of waiting for the card; use those same months to take your language up to B1. This is the same advice that is repeated on every German route, and there is a reason for it.
Third, start the recognition (Anerkennung) process for your degree early. Even partial recognition gives four points — the single biggest box in the table — and this same thing also opens the door to a job. Checking the status of your degree with anabin and ZAB is free, and you can do it today.
And a last point, a comparison for those with degrees: if you can get a job offer, then a straight work visa or Blue Card is better. The Chancenkarte is made for those who have to go into the market and search for themselves, not for those who already have an offer in hand.
Three sentences that are the sign of a fraud
Lies spread fastest around anything new. Stop immediately at all three of these:
- “We will make up the points for you.” Points are counted from documents, not from what somebody says. Fake experience letters are caught at the verification stage, and after that it is not only this application that suffers — your future record is damaged too.
- “Take your family with you on the Chancenkarte.” Wrong. Family does not go with you on this card. After you find a job and your status becomes stable, the route to family reunion certainly does open, but not from day one — and the agent who makes this promise is selling something that does not exist at all.
- “It is for every labourer.” No. The basic condition is a degree or two years of vocational training. For those who do not have this, Germany’s real, and much better, route is Ausbildung — where you are paid during the training.
Check your information here
The details of the points and the financial limits keep changing, so before any decision look at these two official sources yourself — both are free:
- Official information and the points check: make-it-in-germany.com
- The status of your degree: anabin.kmk.org
The table and the example given above are there to explain to you how the system works — they are not a decision on your case, and this article is not legal advice either. The rules about the points conditions, the amount in the blocked account and the duration of the card keep changing over time, and every application is judged according to its own documents. Before paying a fee or handing money to anyone, confirm your own situation from the embassy’s current checklist and from the official website mentioned.
