Germany for research

OpenLast checked 2026-11-03

No salary test. For a public institute the gate is one document.

This is the easiest skilled route Germany operates, and it is the one least accurately described elsewhere. The researcher permit sets no minimum salary — we searched the provision for the German words for salary, pay and minimum salary and none of them appears in it. It also needs no approval from the Federal Employment Agency. What it needs is a hosting agreement with a research establishment, plus that establishment's written undertaking to cover certain costs — and that undertaking falls away entirely where the institute is mainly publicly financed, which covers German state universities and the Max Planck, Helmholtz, Leibniz and Fraunhofer institutes. So for most readers the requirement reduces to a single thing: find an institute that will host you. Nothing else on this site is that simple. The authority must decide within 60 days where the institute is a recognised one. The part worth planning around is what happens afterwards. Time on a researcher permit counts toward an accelerated settlement permit — three years instead of five, or two with a German degree. Time on a student permit does not, even if you are doing a doctorate. Whether your PhD is admitted as study or as research depends on one thing: whether you hold a contract or a scholarship. Your offer letter decides your immigration status, not your job title, and it is worth asking the institute to structure it as employment before you accept.

Where you stand

Make this page about you

1. What is your path?

2. Which country are you applying from?

0 paths are named in Germany's official demand list, ranked below.

What Germany wants, in its own order

This order is the official shortage analysis, not our opinion. The source is linked under the list.

The routes

Each route below is a separate permit with its own hard requirements. Failing any one requirement means that route is closed to you, however strong the rest of your case is.

Researcher permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis für Forscher, § 18d AufenthG)

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A hosting agreement with a research establishment replaces the salary test entirely. No labour-market approval, and a binding 60-day decision for recognised institutes.

Who this is for

Postdoctoral researchers with an offer from a German institute or university
Doctoral candidates who hold an employment contract rather than a scholarship
Researchers whose pay would fall below the Blue Card salary line, where this route does not care
Anyone who will also teach: the provision authorises teaching alongside research

You must have every one of these

A valid hosting agreement (Aufnahmevereinbarung) with a research establishment — or an equivalent contract, which means an ordinary employment contract also satisfies it
The establishment's written undertaking to cover certain costs. This falls away where the institute is mainly publicly financed, which covers state universities and the large public research societies
The appointment runs for at least one year, or at least two years within an EU mobility programme
No minimum salary, and no approval from the Federal Employment Agency
No German language requirement in the provision itself. The working language is set by the vacancy, not by the law

How long it lastsAt least one year, tied to the research project.Work allowedResearch at the host establishment, and teaching as well. Mobility to other EU states is provided for separately.Government feeEUR 100

Source: § 18d AufenthG — residence permit for researchers (Federal Office of Justice) (checked 2026-11-03) · § 38a AufenthV — recognition of research establishments (checked 2026-11-03) · § 45 AufenthV — residence permit fees (checked 2026-11-03)

Short research stay in Germany on another EU state's permit (§ 18e AufenthG)

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If you already hold a researcher permit from another EU state, you may research in Germany for up to 180 days in any 360 without a German residence title at all.

Who this is for

Researchers already holding an EU researcher permit elsewhere in the Union
Collaborations, fellowships and lab visits shorter than six months

You must have every one of these

A valid researcher permit issued by another EU member state
The German host institution notifies the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, which issues a declaratory certificate
The 180 days is a rolling cap within any 360-day period, not a fresh allowance for each trip

How long it lastsUp to 180 days in any 360.

Source: § 18e AufenthG — short-term mobility for researchers (checked 2026-11-03)

Permit for mobile researchers (§ 18f AufenthG)

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For stays longer than 180 days on the strength of another EU state's researcher permit. Apply at least 30 days ahead and the short-stay allowance bridges the wait.

Who this is for

Researchers moving to a German host for between six months and a year

You must have every one of these

A researcher permit from another EU member state
A hosting agreement with the German establishment
Apply at least 30 days before the short-stay allowance runs out, and you may keep working while the decision is pending

How long it lastsMore than 180 days, up to one year.

Source: § 18f AufenthG — residence permit for mobile researchers (checked 2026-11-03)

Staying on to find work (§ 20 AufenthG)

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Eighteen months to look for work after the research ends — and the Act states flatly that this cannot be extended beyond it.

Who this is for

Researchers whose project has finished and who want to stay in Germany

You must have every one of these

You completed the research for which the permit was granted
Eighteen months, and the provision expressly rules out any extension past that ceiling. Plan the exit from the day you arrive

How long it lasts18 months, non-extendable.

Source: § 20 AufenthG — permit to seek work after study or research (checked 2026-11-03)

What it actually costs

National visa

EUR 75 for an adult and EUR 37.50 for a minor — but holders of a public scholarship are exempt, and the exemption extends to a spouse or partner and minor children included in the funding. A DAAD or Humboldt award may mean the family pays nothing.

Source: Federal Foreign Office — national visa fees and exemptions (checked 2026-11-03)

EUR 37.5 to EUR 75You pay

Residence permit issued at the immigration office

Source: § 45 AufenthV — residence permit fees (checked 2026-11-03)

EUR 100You pay

Extending the residence permit beyond three months

Source: § 45 AufenthV — residence permit fees (checked 2026-11-03)

EUR 93You pay

Total to budgetEUR 230.5 to EUR 268

Where a blocked account appears above, that is your own money and it comes back to you monthly after arrival. It is not a fee to anyone. No agent needs to hold it for you.

How long it really takes

3 to 9 months

Two different clocks, and they are often confused. The 60-day deadline binds the German authority deciding the residence permit where the host is a recognised institute. It does not bind the embassy issuing your national visa, for which the Federal Foreign Office states only 'several months' and which normally needs the immigration office's approval first. We could not source a figure specific to research visas, so we are not printing one.