You need an electrician and are looking abroad, for example in Serbia or Tunisia. Before the first CV lands on your desk, there is a decision that is often made too late: which legal route your candidate is to take to Germany. For electricians from countries outside the EU, three routes are the main options, and each requires something different of the applicant. We at MioTalent place workers from abroad with German businesses, and we settle this route with you before we start the search.
For electricians from abroad, the legal route decides which applicants come into question
The legal route is the provision on which the residence permit for employment is based. If it requires the equivalence of the qualification to have been established in Germany, only applicants whose qualification passes a recognition procedure come into question. If it requires professional experience and training that is state-recognised abroad, it is a different group. If it applies to only six countries, it is a different group again.
The statistics show how often the recognition bodies establish only partial equivalence. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the recognition bodies issued 5,070 positive decisions in the mechatronics, energy and electrical occupations in 2025, counted across all countries of origin. They established full equivalence in 2,607 cases and partial equivalence in 2,460 cases (Federal Statistical Office, values rounded to a multiple of three). Partially equivalent means that there are substantial differences from the German occupation in certain areas. That is not enough for the first route, because it requires an equivalent qualification.
If you choose the route only after the candidate search, you can easily end up with an applicant for whom none of the routes fits. That is why we settle the route first and search afterwards.
Route 1: As a skilled worker, your electrician needs an equivalent qualification
On the first route, your candidate comes as a skilled worker with vocational training, governed by Section 18a of the Aufenthaltsgesetz (Residence Act). Under the Act, a skilled worker is someone who holds a German vocational qualification or an equivalent foreign qualification. Before your candidate receives the visa, he therefore needs a decision that establishes full equivalence. What is recognised is the qualification, not the person.
If the recognition body finds that your candidate must still complete an adaptation or compensation measure to reach full equivalence, Section 16d of the Aufenthaltsgesetz provides for a residence permit of its own for this qualification. Among other things, your candidate needs German language skills suited to the measure.
In the workplace the occupation is called electrician; in the recognition procedure it is usually called Elektroniker. The recognition body compares the foreign qualification with a German reference occupation, such as the Elektroniker für Betriebstechnik (electronics technician for industrial engineering). How the procedure for electrical occupations works and what it costs is explained in our article on electrician recognition.
Many overlook one limit. If your candidate is already 45 or older when the permit is first issued, his salary must, under Section 18 (2) of the Aufenthaltsgesetz, reach at least 55 percent of the contribution assessment ceiling in the statutory pension insurance, unless he provides evidence of adequate retirement provision. The Federal Ministry of the Interior publishes the exact amount each year in the Bundesanzeiger (Federal Gazette).
Route 2: With professional experience and a qualification recognised abroad, the German equivalence assessment is not required
The second route is set out in Section 19c (2) of the Aufenthaltsgesetz and Section 6 of the Beschäftigungsverordnung (Employment Ordinance, BeschV). It is intended for candidates with substantial professional experience. The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA) can approve the employment if three conditions are met together.
- In the last five years, your candidate has gained at least two years of professional experience that qualifies him for the job.
- Under the Beschäftigungsverordnung, the salary reaches at least 45 percent of the contribution assessment ceiling in the statutory pension insurance. If your business is bound by a collective agreement and pays according to it, this threshold does not apply.
- His qualification is state-recognised in the country where he obtained it and required training of at least two years. A university degree recognised there or a vocational qualification from a German Chamber of Commerce Abroad (Auslandshandelskammer) is also sufficient.
This route does not require a German equivalence assessment. A German body is involved nonetheless. For a state-recognised vocational or university qualification, your candidate must, under Section 6, have a competent body in Germany confirm that his qualification meets the requirements. This confirmation belongs in the planning before the application is submitted. Electricians always need one of these qualifications, because Section 6 waives this requirement only for occupations in information and communication technology.
Route 3: The Western Balkans regulation opens any employment to nationals of six countries
The third route is set out in Section 26 (2) of the Beschäftigungsverordnung. It applies to nationals of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The regulation does not require a vocational qualification and allows approval for any employment, but only after a priority check (Vorrangprüfung) of whether applicants with priority are available for the job.
Other limits apply instead. For the first approval, your candidate must apply for the visa at the competent German mission in one of these countries. The Beschäftigungsverordnung limits these first-time approvals to up to 50,000 per calendar year, across all sectors. If your candidate has received benefits under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz (Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act) in the 24 months before the application, no approval may be granted according to the Beschäftigungsverordnung. You can read more in our article on the Western Balkans regulation.
For work in your business, neither a master craftsman’s certificate nor the legal route matters
The electrical engineering trade (Elektrotechnikerhandwerk) is listed in Annex A of the Handwerksordnung (Crafts Code), under number 25. From this, some businesses conclude that an electrician from abroad needs a Meisterbrief (master craftsman’s certificate). However, Section 1 of the Handwerksordnung only governs who may run a licensed craft (zulassungspflichtiges Handwerk) as a self-employed business. Someone who works as an employee in your business is not covered by it.
Anyone who follows this misconception rules out every applicant without a master craftsman’s title, even if Route 2 or Route 3 would be open to him.
For work in your business, the same rule applies on all three routes. Under the accident prevention regulation DGUV Vorschrift 3 of the German Social Accident Insurance (Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung), your business must ensure that electrical installations are set up, modified and maintained only by an Elektrofachkraft (qualified electrical person) or under the direction and supervision of one. As long as your new employee does not yet have this role, he therefore works on installations under supervision.
We settle the route before we present candidates to you
We clarify five questions with you before the search.
- Which countries should the applicants come from? Route 3 is only open for the six Western Balkan countries.
- Which qualification does the candidate hold, and how long did the training last?
- How many years of professional experience from the last five years does the candidate bring?
- Is your business bound by a collective agreement, and if not, does the salary reach the threshold for Route 2?
- Is the candidate 45 or older? Then the higher salary threshold applies on Route 1.
In our procedure, this decision is made before step 2, the candidate search and pre-qualification, for which we allow around 2 to 4 weeks. From the requirements analysis to arrival, we expect around 4 months. If the qualification first has to be recognised, that time is added. Our article Electricians wanted describes the situation you can expect on the German applicant market.
Free initial consultation — we will call you back, when suits you? In 15 minutes we talk about your open position and about which legal route comes into question for your applicants.
Information for orientation only, not legal advice.
Sources
- Federal Ministry of Justice: Aufenthaltsgesetz, Sections 16d, 18, 18a and 19c. 2026. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufenthg_2004/__18.html (retrieved 04.10.2026).
- Federal Ministry of Justice: Beschäftigungsverordnung, Sections 6 and 26. 2026. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/beschv_2013/__6.html and https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/beschv_2013/__26.html (retrieved 04.10.2026).
- Federal Ministry of Justice: Handwerksordnung, Section 1 and Annex A. 2026. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/hwo/__1.html (retrieved 04.10.2026).
- Federal Statistical Office: Statistical Report. Recognition of foreign professional qualifications 2025. 2026. https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bildung-Forschung-Kultur/Berufliche-Bildung/Publikationen/Downloads-Berufliche-Bildung/statistischer-bericht-auslaendische-berufsqualifikation-5212301257005.html (retrieved 04.10.2026).
- DIHK Service GmbH, Unternehmen Berufsanerkennung: Was bedeutet eine teilweise Gleichwertigkeit? n.d. https://www.unternehmen-berufsanerkennung.de/fragen-antworten/was-bedeutet-eine-teilweise-gleichwertigkeit-eines-auslaendischen-berufsabschlusses-und-deutschen-referenzberufs (retrieved 04.10.2026).
- Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung: DGUV Vorschrift 3, Elektrische Anlagen und Betriebsmittel. 1997. https://publikationen.dguv.de/regelwerk/dguv-vorschriften/1052/elektrische-anlagen-und-betriebsmittel (retrieved 04.10.2026).
