Do you have to advertise the job in Germany first? The priority check explained

Do you have to advertise a job in Germany before hiring someone from abroad?

You are not required to publish the post on a specific job portal in order to hire someone from abroad. The priority check is a check carried out by the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit), not an advertising duty for your company. The agency itself states that a priority check only takes place where the Employment Ordinance expressly provides for it.

That does not mean the labour market is out of the picture. Under § 39 of the Residence Act the agency examines your offer before it approves the employment. Where the law orders a priority check, the agency looks at whether German workers, or foreign nationals with equal legal access to work, are available for the job. The decision is taken by the agency in the individual case.

What is the priority check, and who carries it out?

The priority check asks whether preferential workers are available for the job you want to fill from abroad. Preferential means German employees and foreign nationals who are legally on equal footing with them when taking up work. EU citizens fall into this group through the free movement of workers, so no work approval is needed for them at all.

The check is run by the Federal Employment Agency as part of its approval of the employment. The German mission abroad then decides on the visa. Two authorities, two separate decisions — neither of them can be promised by an employer or by a recruiter.

Wording in the Residence Act matters here. The priority element applies only where this check is provided for by law or statutory ordinance. Outside those cases the approval is issued without a priority check, unless the Employment Ordinance says otherwise.

Does the priority check apply to hires from Albania and Kosovo?

The priority check has been suspended since 3 November 2023 (legal position as of 1 September 2026). For nationals of Albania and Kosovo the relevant route is the Western Balkans Regulation in § 26 (2) of the Employment Ordinance. It allows approvals for any employment, not only for recognised skilled work, and it caps the number of approvals at 50,000 per calendar year.

A suspended priority check does not make an approval automatic. The Federal Employment Agency still decides in the individual case, and the application for the residence title is made at the competent German mission abroad in one of those states.

One condition depends on age. For applicants aged 45 and over, the first approval under the Western Balkans Regulation requires a gross annual salary of at least 55 per cent of the contribution assessment ceiling of the general pension insurance — 55,770 euros in 2026 — or proof of adequate old-age provision. Legal position as of 1 September 2026.

What the Federal Employment Agency always checks: pay and working conditions

Pay and working conditions are examined in every approval procedure, with or without a priority check. Under § 39 of the Residence Act the agency may approve employment only if the foreign worker is not employed on less favourable terms than comparable domestic employees. Collective agreements, sector minimum wages and the pay that is customary for the job and the region are the yardstick.

Gross hourly minimum wages for 2026 (legal position as of 1 September 2026):

Working time, holiday entitlement and job description count as well, not only the hourly rate. If your contract for a worker from abroad is weaker than what a local colleague gets for the same work, that is the point where an application runs into trouble. You can see where this step sits in the overall process.

What can stop an approval even when no priority check applies

Two grounds in § 40 of the Residence Act lead to refusal of the approval. The approval must be refused if the employment relationship came about through unlawful placement or recruitment. It must also be refused if the person is to work as a temporary agency worker under the rules on employee leasing.

Further grounds are at the agency's discretion, for example where an employer has breached obligations under social security, tax or employment law. For the Western Balkans route there is an additional bar: no approval is given if the applicant received benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act in the 24 months before the application. Legal position as of 1 September 2026.

An approval can also be withdrawn later. § 41 of the Residence Act allows withdrawal, among other reasons, where the person is employed on less favourable conditions than comparable domestic workers. Clean paperwork at the start protects you months after the arrival.

What to prepare instead of a job advertisement

Put your effort into the employment documents rather than into a formal posting. The Federal Employment Agency needs a concrete job offer with pay, working time and duties. The declaration on the employment relationship (Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis) is the form in which you set these details out for the agency.

An advance approval (Vorabzustimmung) is voluntary, and it shortens the procedure considerably. You apply for it as the employer, and it is valid for nine months from the day it is issued. No one can promise you a processing time — see why hiring from abroad takes time for the steps involved.

One warning on the recruitment side: serious placement never asks applicants for money in advance. Hirenord charges no advance payment to candidates, and the fee for a placement is agreed in writing with the employer beforehand. If you want to check a partner yourself, use our guide on how to spot a legitimate agency.

If you are looking to fill a role with a worker from Albania or Kosovo, you can register as an employer and tell us what the job involves.