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Opportunity Card

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Article

  1. General information
  2. Preparing your application
  3. Important notes on the visa procedure
  4. Processing
  5. Book your appointment
  6. Additional information
  7. Additional content

General information

Are you looking for a job in Germany?
OR do you want to require the necessary permission to exercise your profession in Germany?
Do you have a university degree or a vocational training?
Do you speak German or English?

In this case the Opportunity Card is a way for you to find a job in Germany without having to speak German or already having a job offer.

The Opportunity Card is issued for a maximum of one year, to find a job or to require the necessary permission to exercise your profession in Germany.

Use the → Self-Check to check directly whether you meet the requirements or not.

The Opportunity Card can be obtained in two ways:

Option A Option B
Skilled worker acc. to
Section 18 III Residence Act
 Not a skilled worker acc. to
Section 18 III Residence Act
Applicants who can provide proof of a completed qualification in Germany, or full equivalence of foreign qualifications and are therefore considered “skilled workers” can receive the Opportunity Card.

Applicants without equivalent qualifications must provide the following:

  • Foreign university degree (officially recognized in the issuing country) OR
  • at least two years of vocational training (officially recognized in the issuing country) OR
  • Vocational qualification issued by one of the German Chambers of Commerce abroad

  • in addition, either basic German (level A1) or English language skills (level B2) are required

If these requirements are met, you can collect different points for following criteria such as:
  • recognition of qualifications in Germany
  • language skills
  • professional experience
  • age and your connection to Germany
  • as well as the potential of the partner or spouse moving with you

In order to receive the Opportunity Card, at least 6 points must be achieved.
You can find more detailed information about the Opportunity Card points system here.

The Opportunity Card is issued for a maximum of one year, provided you can support yourself for this period. During your time looking for a job in Germany, you can complete work trials or engage in secondary employment for a maximum of 20 hours per week.

Preparing your application

You should start preparing your application as soon as you have plans for your long-term stay in Germany. Prepare your application according to below list and submit the original documents with one copy when applying for a visa:

  • Copy of your valid and personally signed passport with at least two completely empty pages
  • a completed and personally signed national visa application form (please use the online application form VIDEX)
  • 2 recent biometric passport photos (not older than 3 months)
  • Saudi ID or Iqama or Saudi Arabian Visa & Entry Stamp (Exit/Re-entry Visa)
  • If applicable: Cover letter. It should outline what fields and jobs you are interested in in Germany, where you want to apply and where you want to live in Germany (including details of accommodation and how you will support yourself). And, if applicable, what additional training you plan to complete to have your foreign professional qualifications recognised.
  • Financing: to stay in Germany, each applicant must generally have at least €1,091 per month (as of 2025) available, which is a total of 13.092 € given the Opportunity Card’s standard validity period of 12 months. Ideally, you can prove this through bank statements and a so-called blocked account. Alternatively, the financing can also be proven through a part-time job in Germany or a formal declaration of commitment.
  • Visa application fee of €75 payable in Saudi Riyals, in cash only
  • Private health insurance (so-called incoming travel insurance) valid in the entire Schengen area for the entire period of validity of the Opportunity Card, minimum coverage of €30,000 (proof to be provided at the latest when collecting the visa!)

Besides the documents listed above, the following requirements are determined by whether you are a “skilled worker” acc. to the Section 18 III Residence Act or not.

Option A
Skilled worker acc. to
Section 18 III Residence Act
 Option B
Not a skilled worker acc. to
Section 18 III Residence Act
If you are considered a skilled worker acc. to Section 18 III Residence Act and you do not need to collect points to get the Opportunity Card. Please provide proof of your qualification as a skilled worker in the form of:

If you are not a skilled worker (see above for definition), you have to meet and prove the following requirements:
  • Certificate of vocational training in Germany OR
  • Certificate of degree from a university in Germany OR
  • Recognition of the equivalence of the foreign vocational qualification from the respective agency responsible for recognition OR
  • Recognition of equivalence of the foreign university degree (printout from the anabin database for your university degree) OR
  • Statement of comparability by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) OR
  • Permission to exercise a profession issued by the authority responsible for recognising qualifications, or assurance of permission to exercise a profession (for example, for medical professions: decision of the licensing authority in the federal territory, i.e. assurance of permission to exercise a profession or issuing of medical licence.

You can find out more about recognition here www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de
  • If applicable: proof of your knowledge of German or English
  • Certificate (original document + copy) of your knowledge of the German language – at least A1

    AND/OR
  • Certificate (original document + copy) of your knowledge of the English language – at least B2! The issuer of the certificate must be certified by the Association of Language Testers in Europe(ALTE); alternatively, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is also accepted.
  • If applicable: evidence of previous professional experience, e.g., job references, curriculum vitae, employer certificates, etc.
 Note: The documents listed above are also relevant for calculating your points for the opportunity card! You can be awarded points for knowledge of German and English at certain levels, as well as for partial recognition of your foreign vocational qualification. Additionally, you can collect points for the opportunity card (details on the number of points awarded are available on our website and at Make it in Germany) by proving the following:

  • Proof of your professional experience in the last 5 or 7 years insofar as this is connected to your vocational qualification: employment references, curriculum vitae, confirmation of employment from your employer, etc.

  • If you have been legally resident in Germany for an uninterrupted period of at least 6 months in the last 5 years (short stays under the Schengen Agreement do not count!), please prove this by providing suitable documents, for example,
    - valid rental contracts
    - terms of employment, service contracts, etc.
    - passports with visas and entry stamps

  • Does your spouse/registered partner also want to apply for an opportunity card – or have they already done so – to then enter Germany together with you? If yes, one of you can collect 1 additional point for the Opportunity Card. Please enclose proof of the Opportunity Card application submitted by your spouse/partner.

Important notes on the visa procedure

Please do not send unrequested documents to the German Mission, especially not before applying for the visa, as those cannot be kept. Please submit all documents when applying in person at the Mission. Incomplete applications will be rejected or denied.

The German Missions reserve the right to request additional documents.

Processing

The processing of the visa application for the Opportunity Card usually takes 4 weeks, sometimes longer.
The German Mission decides on your application based on the provided documents. You will be contacted as soon as the application has been decided. Please note that questions regarding the status of your visa application cannot be answered. Due to data protection regulation, no status updates can be given via phone.

Book your appointment

Alternative way:

To submit your application, please book an appointment and appear in person at the German Embassy in Riyadh. The Embassy will accept your complete application documents including the visa fee. We will conduct a short interview with you and register your biometric data. New appointments are released on a regular basis.

Please book an appointment through the online system of the Embassy in Riyadh.


Additional information

General information, e.g. on the recognition of foreign qualifications, on employment opportunities in Germany or on social security issues, can also be found on the website of the Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung (ZAV) , at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and on the EURES portal (European Employment Services).

General information on migration of skilled workers can be found at “make-it-in-germany”.

If you have any additional question that has not been answered in this article, you can use the contact form to get in touch with us directly.

Please refrain from questions that are explained on this website.

Additional content

VIDEX (Online-Application Form)

The processing fee for a Schengen visa is 90 €.

The processing fee for a national visa is 75 €.

Visa fees

Overview "Visa service"
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