Ausbildung in Germany for Foreigners 2026: Paid Training, the Visa, and What Comes After

What an Ausbildung Actually Is

Germany has about 325 state-recognised training occupations, according to the education ministers' conference. Each one has a fixed curriculum, a final exam set by a chamber (IHK, Handwerkskammer and others), and a certificate every German employer reads the same way. That certificate is why the route matters for immigration: it makes you a qualified skilled worker in German law, with no recognition process afterwards.

There are two kinds, and the difference decides whether you get paid:

Nursing deserves its own note because so many of our readers ask about it. Under the nursing professions act (§ 19 PflBG) the hospital or care provider that trains you must pay you for the whole training, so it behaves like a dual Ausbildung even though much of it happens at a nursing school. If you are already a qualified nurse, you don't need an Ausbildung at all; the recognition route is faster.

How Much Do You Earn During an Ausbildung?

In-company training has a legal pay floor, the Mindestausbildungsvergütung, set by the year your training starts. For training starting in 2026, the Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB) lists:

That's the minimum, not the norm. Many companies pay more, especially those bound by a collective agreement. For training that starts in 2027 the first-year floor rises to €764.

Now the honest part. A first-year wage is not much to live on in Munich or Frankfurt, and it matters for your visa, because the embassy checks whether your training wage covers your living costs. The line for 2026 is €1,048 gross (€822 net) a month. A company paying only the first-year minimum is below it, so you'd have to show extra money for the gap.

Two Ways In: Contract First, or Come and Search

The usual route is to find a place from home and come on the training visa (§ 16a AufenthG). The second option is a permit to come to Germany and search for a training place on the ground (§ 17 AufenthG). Here is how they compare:

Which one fits? If you can get interviews by video, contract first is cheaper and safer: you arrive with a wage and a plan. The search permit makes sense if you're under 35, already at B1, and can afford to fund up to 9 months in Germany, because companies, especially small craft businesses, often prefer to meet someone and see them work for a few days before signing. The trial-work allowance exists exactly for that.

One catch with the search permit: if it runs out without a place, you can only get a new one after spending at least as long outside Germany as you spent inside. Treat the 9 months as one serious attempt, not a first look.

Where to Find an Ausbildung Place

The biggest listing is the Federal Employment Agency's job search filtered to training places. For school-based training, use its separate vocational training search. Filter by trade and region, then look at company websites directly: many smaller businesses only advertise on their own page.

• Apply where the shortage is. Crafts, care, hospitality and logistics have far more places than applicants in many regions; office and IT training places are more competitive.
• Apply early. Most training years start in late summer, and larger companies fill places many months before.
• Write in German. A German CV and a short, specific cover letter in German is itself proof of the B1 you claim.
• Look beyond the big cities. A place in a smaller town often pays the same and the rent is a fraction.

The application itself works like any German job application; our job hunting guide covers the Lebenslauf, the cover letter and the interview.

The Ausbildung Visa, Step by Step

The details of the money check come from Make it in Germany's 2026 overview, and the step-by-step requirements from its vocational training visa page. Many German missions now accept applications through the Federal Foreign Office's online portal; check your mission's website for whether yours does and which documents it wants translated. For the general shape of a German visa file, see our visa documents guide.

Health insurance is the one thing people over-prepare for. A paid trainee is compulsorily insured in public health insurance under § 5 SGB V, through the employer, from the first day of the contract. You only need separate cover for the gap between landing and that first day, and for the search permit. Our health insurance guide explains the options.

The First Months: What Nobody Tells You

The other surprise is how much of German adult life starts at once: Anmeldung, a bank account for your wage, a tax ID for your payslip, the residence permit appointment. Your employer needs some of these before it can pay you, so do them in your first two weeks.

And if it goes wrong: if your training ends early for reasons that are not your fault, say the company closes, the law gives you up to 6 months to find another training place before your permit is withdrawn (§ 16a Abs. 4 AufenthG). Tell the Ausländerbehörde quickly rather than waiting for a letter.

After the Ausbildung: Job, Permit, Permanent Residence

This is where the route pays off. A German training certificate is the strongest qualification you can hold in German immigration law, and the path after it is short:

• Job search: up to 18 months after you qualify (§ 20 AufenthG). Care and health assistants get 12 months, extendable once by six.
• Skilled-worker permit: once you have a job that matches your qualification, the Ausländerbehörde switches you over, no recognition procedure needed.
• Permanent residence: after 2 years on a skilled-worker permit and 24 months of pension contributions, with B1 German and the Living in Germany test. The standard route for people trained abroad takes 3 years.

The settlement rules are on Make it in Germany's settlement permit page, and the job-search period in § 20 AufenthG. From there, citizenship is possible after 5 years of residence in total.

Is an Ausbildung Right for You?

If you're choosing between an Ausbildung and university, the student visa guide shows the other side: free tuition but no wage, and a €11,904 blocked account up front.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Guides

Browse all guides →