EU Blue Card Germany: minimum salary and the path to citizenship
Enter your gross annual salary: the calculator compares it with both thresholds and shows the route to a settlement permit and to citizenship.
Salary threshold 2026
€50,700
Your salary is €1,300 above it.
| Standard threshold (50% of the contribution ceiling) | €50,700 |
| Shortage and recent graduates (45.3%) | €45,934.20 |
| Per month over 12 salaries | €4,225.00 |
| Settlement permit after | 27 months, 21 with B1 |
Computed under s. 18g AufenthG from the 2026 pension contribution ceiling (€101,400). The lower threshold needs the Federal Employment Agency’s approval. Values for 2027: not yet published.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · BAMF question catalogue of 7 May 2025 · laws checked on 22 October 2026
For an EU Blue Card, section 18g of the Residence Act requires a gross annual salary of at least 50 percent of the contribution ceiling of the statutory pension insurance. According to the German Pension Insurance’s reference values, that ceiling is €101,400 in 2026, so the threshold is €50,700. In shortage occupations, such as medicine, engineering or IT, and for graduates whose degree is at most three years old, the lower threshold of 45.3 percent applies: €45,934.20. Blue Card holders get a settlement permit under section 18c(2) after 27 months, or after 21 months with B1 German. There is no shortcut to citizenship, though: Blue Card holders also need 5 years of residence, B1 and the test. The Blue Card is not an excluded title, so the settlement permit is not a must beforehand. The 2027 values have not been published yet.
The two salary thresholds in 2,026
Section 18g of the Residence Act sets no fixed euro amounts, only shares of the contribution ceiling. We calculate them from the figure in the German Pension Insurance’s reference values.
| Case | Share | Gross annual salary 2026 | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 50% | €50,700 | €4,225 |
| Shortage occupation or degree at most three years old | 45.3% | €45,934.20 | €3,827.85 |
| Contribution ceiling (pension insurance) | 100% | €101,400 | €8,450 |
An offer of €48,000 is therefore only enough in a shortage occupation or for recent graduates, while €52,000 is enough in any case. In shortage occupations the Federal Employment Agency also checks that working conditions match those of comparable German employees.
Is your salary enough?
Salary threshold 2026
€50,700
| Standard threshold (50% of the contribution ceiling) | €50,700 |
| Shortage and recent graduates (45.3%) | €45,934.20 |
| Per month over 12 salaries | €4,225.00 |
| Settlement permit after | 27 months, 21 with B1 |
From Blue Card to German passport
The Blue Card is issued for the length of the employment contract plus three months, up to four years. Two routes lead on from there. The settlement permit under section 18c(2) comes after 27 months of Blue Card employment with basic German, or 21 months with B1; see settlement permit. Naturalisation under section 10 StAG is possible after 5 years, and the Blue Card counts as a qualifying title.
A typical path: arrive on a Blue Card, reach B1 in the first year, settlement permit after 21 months, citizenship test in year four, citizenship application after 5 years. The requirements calculator gives your own month to apply.
What the calculator does not check
It only compares the salary. For a Blue Card you also need a German, a recognised or a comparable foreign university degree, and a concrete job offer that matches your qualification. Whether a foreign degree is comparable can be looked up in the anabin database of the Standing Conference of Education Ministers or checked by the Central Office for Foreign Education. The law has special rules for IT specialists, which are not calculated here.
Family
Spouses of Blue Card holders may join without proof of German and may work in Germany. For their own naturalisation the general rules apply later, or they naturalise together with their partner; see citizenship for spouses.