Accountants and the German Blue Card: 2026 salary rules

Blue Card salary minimum for 2026

The Federal Foreign Office table for 2026 (page dated 9 January 2026) lists a minimum gross salary of €50,700 a year for the standard EU Blue Card (§ 18g(1) sentence 1 AufenthG, which is 50% of the pension contribution ceiling). It lists €45,934.20 for the lower threshold in § 18g(1) sentence 2 and (2), which is 45.3% of the ceiling. The Ministry of the Interior announces the minimum salaries for each calendar year in the Bundesanzeiger by 31 December of the previous year (§ 18g(7)), so check the figure for the year you apply. The Blue Card under § 18g(1) is for a skilled worker with an academic qualification and a job that matches that qualification.

Auswärtiges Amt (German Foreign Office), embassy Belgrade: Mindestgehalt (in Euro) - Arbeitsmigration 2026 Gesetze im Internet: § 18g AufenthG (Blaue Karte EU)

Is accountancy on the lower-threshold list?

The lower threshold in § 18g(1) sentence 2 applies on one of two grounds. Either the job is in one of the occupation groups 132, 133, 134, 21, 221, 222, 225, 226, 23 or 25 of the ISCO-08 classification, or the degree was obtained no more than three years before applying. Both grounds need the approval of the Federal Employment Agency. In ISCO-08, accountants are unit group 2411, inside group 24 (business and administration professionals), and group 24 is not among the groups listed in § 18g. That is our reading of two official texts, not an official statement about any particular job; the authority decides how your actual job is classified. The recent-degree ground does not depend on the occupation.

Gesetze im Internet: § 18g AufenthG (Blaue Karte EU) International Labour Organization: ISCO-08, International Standard Classification of Occupations, Volume I (structure)

Visa and residence-permit fees

The Federal Foreign Office lists EUR 75 as the fee for a national visa for longer stays. The fee for issuing a residence permit or an EU Blue Card in Germany is a separate charge set in § 45 of the Residence Ordinance (AufenthV) at 100 euros. Fees can change; confirm the amount with the authority that handles your application.

Federal Foreign Office: Visa fees Gesetze im Internet: § 45 AufenthV (Gebühren für die Aufenthaltserlaubnis, die Blaue Karte EU ...)

Settlement permit timelines

Under § 18c(2) AufenthG a Blue Card holder is to receive a settlement permit after at least 27 months of employment under § 18g, with pension contributions for that period, the further conditions of § 9(2) and simple German. The Act defines simple German as level A1 (§ 2(9)). The 27 months shorten to 21 months with sufficient German, which the Act defines as level B1 (§ 2(11)). On the general skilled-worker route § 18c(1) requires three years holding a permit under §§ 18a, 18b, 18d or § 18g, 36 months of pension contributions, sufficient German and further conditions. Each list of conditions is longer than this summary.

Gesetze im Internet: § 18c AufenthG (Niederlassungserlaubnis für Fachkräfte) Gesetze im Internet: § 2 AufenthG (Begriffsbestimmungen), language-level definitions

What this article does not establish

It gives no salary ranges for accountants, no processing times, and no statements about professional titles or whether your qualification is recognised in Germany, because no official source for them is used here. Ask the competent embassy or Ausländerbehörde for current processing times, and check qualification recognition with the recognition authority before applying.