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Registered nurse in Germany
Nursing is a regulated profession: full recognition of the qualification is required before you can work as a registered nurse rather than an assistant.
Source for this ranking: Anerkennung in Deutschland — recognition statistics 2024 (checked 2026-11-03)
Can you go?
EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU)
OpenA residence permit for university graduates with a qualifying job offer above a set salary threshold.
Germany names registered nurse at No. 5 of 5 in its own shortage analysis. That is a ranking, and a ranking is not a job offer. It tells you the demand is real; it does not tell you that you will be hired.
Source: Make it in Germany — EU Blue Card (Federal Government portal) (checked 2026-11-03) · § 18g AufenthG — EU Blue Card salary thresholds (Federal Office of Justice) (checked 2026-11-03)
What do you need?
In the order you should actually do them. The first item is the longest one, so it goes first.
- 1
The language, at B2
B2 is the level stated in our sources for this work. It is the longest item on your list. Start it before you spend money on anything else.
- 2
Recognition of your qualification
Your qualification must be formally assessed against the Germany standard before you can work in this job. Start it early: it runs for months and it gates everything after it.
- 3
Every requirement of the EU Blue Card
Each line below is a hard condition. Missing one closes this route.
- A university degree recognised or comparable in Germany, or for IT specialists, substantial relevant professional experience
- A concrete German job offer or employment contract matching your qualification
- Gross annual salary of at least EUR 50,700 (2026 general threshold)
- Or at least EUR 45,934.20 if you work in a listed shortage occupation, are an IT specialist without a degree, or graduated less than three years ago — but this lower threshold additionally requires the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, which the general threshold does not
- The listed shortage occupations are broader than STEM and healthcare: they also include several manager categories, architecture and planning, veterinarians, dentists, pharmacists, nursing and midwifery, and teachers
- No German language requirement for the permit itself
Source: Anerkennung in Deutschland — recognition statistics 2024 (checked 2026-11-03) · Make it in Germany — EU Blue Card (Federal Government portal) (checked 2026-11-03) · § 18g AufenthG — EU Blue Card salary thresholds (Federal Office of Justice) (checked 2026-11-03)
How long will it take?
4 to 12 months
With an offer in hand this is the quickest of the three tracks: degree comparability and the visa appointment are the main waits. Without an offer, add the job search itself, which from outside Germany is where most of the time goes.
How much will it cost?
Published costs for Germany on this track. Your largest single item is normally german course to b1 (optional for the permit, decisive for your career).
The same EUR 75 whichever route you apply on. Minors pay half. The residence permit issued after you arrive costs up to EUR 100 more.
Source: Federal Foreign Office — visa fees (checked 2026-11-03)
EUR 75You payStart this before you start job hunting. It gates everything downstream.
Source: Make it in Germany — Opportunity Card (Federal Government portal) (checked 2026-11-03)
EUR 200 to EUR 600You payNot required for the Blue Card. Required for permanent residence sooner, and for being promoted.
Source: Make it in Germany — Opportunity Card (Federal Government portal) (checked 2026-11-03)
EUR 1,500 to EUR 5,000Sometimes the employer paysWhere 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, and no agent needs to hold it for you.
What changes because of where you are from
Germany's rules are the same for everyone. What changes is how you prove your documents are genuine. Pick your country.
What do you do first?
Check where you actually stand, today
Free, no sign-up, no email. Built from the official requirements on this page. It will tell you what is blocking you as a registered nurse and the fastest thing you can change. If the answer is no, it says no.
Start the checkCompare this against your other option
Most people are choosing between two things. This shows the two side by side on the lines that differ.
Registered nurse in Germany, against something else
3 of 6 lines differSide one
Side two
The longest item on anybody's list. It decides your start date more than the visa does.
No German is legally required for the Blue Card. In practice, German decides whether you are promoted, not whether you are hired.
If recognition is required by law, you cannot work in the job until it is finished.
Where this sits in the country's own official shortage analysis.
Whether the country is taking new applicants from overseas right now.
Everything the published cost list adds up to, including deposits that come back to you.
Start to arrival, as the official timeline note states it. Not the visa stamp alone.
“Lower bar” means fewer requirements or less time or money on that one line only. It is not advice on which is better for you. Money and timeline figures are the whole published range for that country and track, not for this path alone.
Sources: Make it in Germany — EU Blue Card (Federal Government portal) (checked 2026-11-03) · § 18g AufenthG — EU Blue Card salary thresholds (Federal Office of Justice) (checked 2026-11-03) · Anerkennung in Deutschland — recognition statistics 2024 (checked 2026-11-03)
Where to go next
Also searched as
- staff nurse
- Pflegefachkraft