Companies based in a member state of the European Union enjoy freedom to provide services. Employees of these companies who are temporarily deployed in Germany to fulfill a contract for work and services do not need a permit under labor law. This also applies to nationals of the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Employees of these companies who do not have one of these nationalities generally require a residence permit. For this, please contact the German diplomatic mission in the sending country.
The Federal Republic of Germany has concluded intergovernmental agreements with some states. These regulate the posting and employment of workers from foreign companies on the basis of contracts for work and services. Intergovernmental agreements exist with:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- Northern Macedonia,
- Serbia and
- Turkey.
Workers from these states can work in Germany for a limited time within the framework of fixed agreed quotas for the execution of work contracts.
Before you, as a company, can employ workers from these states under a contract for work and services in Germany, these workers need a residence permit that allows them to work in Germany. The Federal Employment Agency must approve the issuance of a residence title in the form of a work contract employee card.
The approval of the residence title is generally granted for the expected duration of the work required to fulfill the work contract. The maximum duration of the approval of the residence title is usually 2 years. If the execution of the work contract takes longer than 2 years due to an unforeseeable event, the approval can be extended by up to 6 months. The consent can be granted up to a maximum duration of 3 years if it is determined from the outset that the execution of the specific contract for work will take longer than 2 years. However, this regulation only applies to employees who are new to the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Individual workers with managerial or administrative activities (such as technicians or construction managers) may be granted approval for a residence title up to a maximum duration of 4 years.
Contract workers from countries with which no intergovernmental agreements exist cannot be admitted. This does not apply to contract workers from the following countries:
- Andorra
- Australia
- Israel
- Japan
- Canada
- Republic of Korea
- Monaco
- New Zealand
- San Marino
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland within the meaning of the Freedom of Movement Act/EU
- United States of America