Employer vs. authorities when hiring from abroad: who decides what

Which three decisions by authorities stand between your job offer and the first working day?

Three separate public decisions can stand between your job offer and the first working day in Germany. Each body looks at a different question. None of them decides what another one decides. You can see the full sequence on our page on how the process works.

• Labour market approval: the Federal Employment Agency decides on the approval for the employment you have described. For this you must give information about the employment relationship, in particular pay, working hours and other working conditions (§ 39 AufenthG). The approval can be issued with restrictions.
• Visa: the German mission abroad, embassy or consulate general, decides on the visa application. A visa for a longer stay or for employment is, where required, only possible after prior approval by the foreigners authority involved.
• Recognition of a qualification: where a foreign qualification has to be assessed, the competent body runs that procedure. Which body is competent depends on the occupation.

What do you as the employer decide yourself when hiring from abroad?

You decide everything that concerns the job itself. No authority picks your candidate, sets your pay or writes your contract. These points stay with you:

• which position you fill and which applicant you choose
• pay, working hours, start date and the written employment contract
• whether you apply for an advance approval before the visa application is made
• which documents you supply, for example a detailed job description with the working conditions and the required qualification
• whether you grant a power of attorney so that someone acts in the procedure for you
• how you organise arrival, induction and the first weeks in the team

For certain residence purposes, § 81a AufenthG allows the employer to apply for an accelerated skilled worker procedure at the competent foreigners authority, with a power of attorney from the foreign national. Employer and foreigners authority conclude an agreement for this. The provision lists the residence purposes it covers. Whether a specific hire falls under one of them is for the competent foreigners authority to decide.

The priority check has been suspended since 3 November 2023 (legal position as at 1 September 2026). That does not make any decision certain. Read more on whether you have to advertise the job in Germany first.

What does the Federal Employment Agency decide, and what do you have to supply?

The Federal Employment Agency decides whether it approves the employment you have described, in the individual case and on the documents submitted. It does not choose your candidate and does not set your pay.

For the approval you have to give information about the employment relationship. § 39 AufenthG names pay, working hours and other working conditions. The approval can be issued with restrictions. If the agency asks an employer who employs or has employed a foreign national for information, that information has to be given within one month.

You can apply for an advance approval, the Vorabzustimmung, before the visa application. Applying for it is voluntary (legal position as at 1 September 2026). The Federal Employment Agency names the documents for the application: a detailed job description with the working conditions and the required qualification, and proof of the applicant's qualification. The application form is the declaration on the employment relationship, the Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis, with details on employee, employer, job title and tasks.

You then forward the advance approval together with the declaration on the employment relationship to your future employee. These documents are submitted at the German mission abroad.

What does the German mission abroad decide, and what does the worker have to do there?

The German mission abroad decides on the visa application for your future employee. The application is made in person at the competent mission, in principle before entry into Germany. You cannot file it in the worker's place.

The worker brings documents on the qualification and on the intended job. The Federal Foreign Office names a concrete job offer, a job description and a draft employment contract, plus documents on the planned accommodation. Missions with a high number of applications work with appointment booking systems.

For nationals of Albania and Kosovo, the application for the residence title has to be filed at the competent German mission in that country. § 26 (2) BeschV provides a separate possibility of approval for any employment for nationals of these states. The Federal Employment Agency decides on that approval. Why these steps add up in time is explained on our page on why hiring from abroad takes so long.

Who decides whether a foreign qualification is recognised, and who files that application?

The competent body decides on the recognition of a foreign qualification. That can be an authority, a public office or a chamber. Which one is competent depends on the occupation. Neither you as the employer nor the Federal Employment Agency makes this decision.

The recognition application is filed by the worker. It can also be filed from abroad, before entry into Germany. As the employer you can support the process, for example by collecting the job details the body asks about.

Recognition, labour market approval and visa are three separate procedures with three different decision-makers. A positive outcome in one of them does not settle the others. Plan them as parallel tracks, not as one queue.

What duties stay with you once the worker has arrived in Germany?

Before the first working day you have to check the residence title yourself. A foreign national may only be employed, or commissioned with paid services or work, if he or she holds a residence title and no prohibition or restriction stands in the way (§ 4a AufenthG). Keep a copy of the residence title or the work permit, in electronic or paper form, for the duration of the employment.

Customs checks employment. The Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit, the financial control of undeclared work, examines among other things whether foreign nationals are employed lawfully. Customs also publishes what follows if the rules are not observed.

If your new employee has no German social insurance number yet, you apply for it. The application is made together with the registration to social insurance, through your payroll program or the SV-Meldeportal. Required are the name, the birth name where applicable, place of birth, date of birth, sex and nationality.

Where does a private recruiter fit into this division of roles?

Hirenord is a private recruitment agency, not a German authority and not a mission abroad. We do not sell visas and we cannot guarantee a visa, an advance approval or a residence title. The Federal Employment Agency decides on the approval, the competent German mission decides on the visa. What we do for employers is preparation and coordination:

• finding candidates in Albania and Kosovo and pre-selecting suitable applicants
• checking basic applicant documents and organising interviews
• support with employment contracts and employment documents
• preparing the declaration on the employment relationship
• support in the advance approval procedure, and filing applications in the employer's name where a power of attorney exists and the law permits it
• communication with worker and employer, and support in preparing the entry

The placement fee is in most cases paid by the employer, as a commission per placed worker. The amount depends on the scope and is agreed in writing beforehand; there is no flat rate. The claim arises only when the employment contract is concluded. Where statutory rules provide for a lower maximum fee or exclude a fee, those rules apply exclusively.

We ask applicants for no advance payment. If a provider asks a candidate for money up front, treat that as a warning sign. Official fees are paid to the authorities, not to an agency. Our page on how to check whether a recruitment agency is legitimate lists what you can verify yourself. If you want to fill a position with a worker from Albania or Kosovo, you can register as an employer and describe the role.