{ "country": { "code": "DE", "name": "Germany" }, "route": { "id": "de-chancenkarte", "name": "Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte, § 20a)", "kind": "seek", "summary": "A one-year card to come and look for work, with part-time work of up to 20 hours a week. If your qualification is fully recognised in Germany you get it directly; otherwise you need six points from the official table. Having an offer does not stop you applying — but with an offer the work routes may fit you directly, so compare them.", "info_url": "https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/kurzmeldungen/EN/2024/05/chancenkarte.html", "scope": { "value": "every-deciding-rule-asked", "reason": "Every rule that decides this route is a question you answer, the points included. What the card lets you do once you hold it — the weekly hour limit — sits beside the rules below, and it is a limit on the card rather than a condition of getting it, so nothing this route turns on goes unasked.", "not_asked": [] }, "criteria": [ { "field": "citizenship", "op": "eq", "value": "third_country" }, { "field": "destination", "op": "in", "values": [ "de", "all" ] }, { "field": "qualification", "op": "in", "values": [ "vocational", "degree" ], "source": { "source_url": "https://kairo.diplo.de/resource/blob/2664804/5e952d2720a91e83a475a3e02452f1cf/250122-deu-merkblatt-chancenkarte-data.pdf", "quote": "einen ausländischen Hochschulabschluss, einen mindestens zweijährigen Berufsabschluss (jeweils im Ausbildungsstaat staatlich anerkannt)", "retrieved_at": "2026-09-02" } }, { "op": "any", "label": "a language to start with", "short_reason": "German at A1 (beginner) or better, or English at B2 (upper intermediate) or better", "paths": [ { "label": "German A1+", "criteria": [ { "field": "german", "op": "in", "values": [ "a1", "a2", "b1", "b2plus" ] } ] }, { "label": "English B2+", "criteria": [ { "field": "english", "op": "in", "values": [ "b2", "c1" ] } ] } ], "source": { "source_url": "https://www.buzer.de/20a_AufenthG.htm", "quote": "der Ausländer a) mindestens einfache deutsche Sprachkenntnisse nachweist oder b) englische Sprachkenntnisse mindestens auf dem Niveau B2 des Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmens für Sprachen nachweist.", "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07", "legal_basis": "§ 20a Abs. 1 Satz 3 Nr. 2 AufenthG" } }, { "field": "funds_eur_month", "op": "gte", "threshold_label": "living costs", "threshold": { "amount": 1091, "currency": "EUR", "source_url": "https://kairo.diplo.de/resource/blob/2664804/5e952d2720a91e83a475a3e02452f1cf/250122-deu-merkblatt-chancenkarte-data.pdf", "quote": "Für den Aufenthalt in Deutschland müssen Ihnen monatlich mindestens 1.091 Euro zur Verfügung stehen.", "retrieved_at": "2026-09-02", "legal_basis": "§ 20a AufenthG (Lebensunterhalt)", "history": [] } }, { "op": "any", "label": "a recognised qualification, or points", "paths": [ { "label": "fully recognised (direct)", "criteria": [ { "field": "recognition_de", "op": "eq", "value": "recognized", "source": { "source_url": "https://www.buzer.de/20a_AufenthG.htm", "quote": "Die Chancenkarte kann einem Ausländer erteilt werden, wenn 1. er eine Fachkraft ist", "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07", "legal_basis": "§ 20a Abs. 3 Nr. 1 AufenthG" } } ] }, { "label": "points route", "criteria": [ { "op": "points", "required": { "value": 6, "unit": "points", "source_url": "https://www.buzer.de/Anlage_AufenthG.htm", "quote": "Die Mindestpunktzahl beträgt sechs Punkte.", "retrieved_at": "2026-09-02", "legal_basis": "Anlage zu § 20a Abs. 3 Nr. 2, § 20b AufenthG", "history": [] }, "table": { "source_url": "https://www.buzer.de/Anlage_AufenthG.htm", "quote": "Die Mindestpunktzahl beträgt sechs Punkte.", "retrieved_at": "2026-09-02", "legal_basis": "§ 20b AufenthG + Anlage", "items": [ { "field": "recognition_de", "points": { "partial": 4 } }, { "field": "german", "points": { "a2": 1, "b1": 2, "b2plus": 3 } }, { "field": "english", "points": { "c1": 1 } }, { "rows": [ { "field": "experience_5y", "value": "2plus", "points": 2 }, { "field": "experience_7y", "value": "5plus", "points": 3 } ] }, { "field": "occupation_shortage", "points": { "yes": 1 } }, { "field": "age_band", "points": { "u30": 2, "a30to35": 2, "a35to40": 1 } }, { "field": "de_stay6m", "points": { "yes": 1 } }, { "field": "partner_ck", "points": { "yes": 1 } } ], "history": [ { "retrieved_at": "2026-09-02", "quote": "Die Mindestpunktzahl beträgt sechs Punkte.", "source_url": "https://www.buzer.de/Anlage_AufenthG.htm", "reason": "rule-rekeyed", "checked_at": "2026-09-17", "note": "s25 (v1.1 critique F2): the experience item read {field: experience, points: {y2in5: 2, y5in7: 3}} before; after, one item with two rows — experience_5y = 2plus for 2 points (§ 20b Abs. 1 Nr. 7) and experience_7y = 5plus for 3 points (Nr. 6) — one item, so the reader scores the higher row and never the sum." } ] } } ] } ] } ], "statements": [ { "id": "work-limited-to-twenty-hours", "kind": "caveat", "text": "The card allows work of up to 20 hours a week on average, plus trial work of up to two weeks at a time. That is a limit on what it lets you do, not a condition of getting it — weigh it against a work route with a full-time job.", "source": { "source_url": "https://www.buzer.de/20a_AufenthG.htm", "quote": "Die Chancenkarte berechtigt nur dazu, 1. eine Beschäftigung von durchschnittlich insgesamt höchstens 20 Stunden je Woche auszuüben und 2. eine Probebeschäftigung für jeweils höchstens zwei Wochen auszuüben", "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07", "legal_basis": "§ 20a Absatz 2 AufenthG (consolidated mirror, buzer.de)", "history": [] } } ] }, "page": "https://permitrulebook.com/germany/opportunity-card/", "dataset_version": "2026.09.18", "schema_version": "0.8.2", "licence": "CC BY 4.0", "source": "https://github.com/OytunOnal/permit-rulebook-data", "rules_read": "2026-09-17" }