Change of employer at the Ausländerbehörde: what to consider and how to proceed
You found a new job as a foreigner living in Germany with a residence permit or blue card? First of all congrats!
To make sure nothing stands in your way of starting your new job, make sure to follow the correct governmental procedures. Unfortunately, many individuals are highly confused about the correct way of handling the change of employer process. And it is true - this process is quite confusing. Today we are shedding some light into the dark!
1. For blue card holders:
Since November 18 2023, holders of a Blue Card EU are no longer dependent on explicit permission from the Foreigners' Registration Office (according to § 18g para. 4 AufenthG) if they want to change their workplace. However, they still need to inform the authority about any change of employer within the first 12 months. The authority can then temporarily suspend the change for 30 days and examine it more closely during this period. If the change is not rejected after the 30 days, it is automatically considered accepted. This is also true for people who are currently holding a Fiktion.
2. For residence permit holders:
Take a look at your Aufenthaltstitel and your Zusatzblatt. In one of them it should state what you are allowed to do, e.g. “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt”, meaning you are allowed to take up employment.
In most cases the description is a little bit more detailed. Often the company and the role is mentioned as well, e.g. “Erwerbstätigkeit erlaubt nur als Financial Controller bei Firma XY”. This means that you may only work as a Financial Controller at company XY.
How to interpret the results
Especially when the employer and/or company is specifically mentioned, it means that you should generally adhere to it. Meaning if you want to switch your job, make sure to go through the change of employer process by submitting your data to the foreigners’ hall which is responsible for you and wait for the final approval. In bigger cities, like Munich or Berlin you can request an updated Aufenthaltstitel or Zusatzblatt by submitting your data at the foreigner halls’ portal or to the designated E-Mail address.
In case neither employer nor the job title is mentioned in your Aufenthaltstitel, we made good experiences by simply submitting a letter to the foreigners’ hall informing them about the change of employer. In most cases, we hear back from the foreigners’ hall quite quickly within 2-3 weeks, saying that they have read and acknowledged your case. If you do not hear back from the foreigners’ hall, try submitting your request via FAX.
Which documents are needed?
For receiving consent from the foreigners’ hall on taking up a new employment, you will need the following documents:
declaration of employment (Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis)
your new work contract
a copy of your passport
the city registration (this is crucial as otherwise they won’t be able to support you)
Aufenthaltstitel and Zusatzblatt
Your degree and Anabin statement (for IT people without a degree, letter of reference from your former employers is sufficient)
If you need support, contact us under hello@jetztpat.com.
Christine is a co-founder of Jetztpat. She was raised in the so-called Schwabenländle but fell in love with travelling to random places very early in life. After living in Japan and Taiwan for several years, she finally went back home to stay in the German beer capital (where she survives by drinking wine). If she is not watching her favorite Japanese Netflix show aggretsuko, you can find her Googling answers to the real questions in life.