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Opportunity Card (§§20a, 20b Residence Act)

17.12.2024 - Article

Documents and certificates are to be provided in German or English. Should your documents be issued in any other language, please provide the original with an official translation into German or English.

Certificates, diplomas, etc. must be presented in the original with apostille/legalisation.

Your passport and Civil ID will be returned to you after having been checked by the Visa Section. All other original documents will be returned to you once your application has been processed.

Missing documentation delays the procedure and can result in your application being rejected.

Forged or falsified documents, will result in an immediate refusal of your visa application and a possible entry ban.

General Information
Further information on the Opportunity card is available via the portal for qualified professionals “Make-it-in-Germany”. Foreign nationals who are interested in the new Opportunity card can do a self-check to see if they are eligible to apply.

There are two options to apply for an Opportunity card:

Option 1: You have a foreign professional or academic qualification that is fully recognised in Germany. Alternatively, you obtained your university degree or professional qualification in Germany.

Option 2: You have successfully completed a foreign academic degree or a foreign vocational training (minimum 2 years), that is recognized by country where you obtained it but not or only partially recognized in Germany AND score a minimum of six points in the points system.

Opportunity cards are issued initially as job search opportunity cards for a maximum of one year. The card allows you to look for gainful employment in Germany, i.e. you can seek employment or become self-employed.

While you are looking for employment, you are allowed to have one or more part-time jobs (secondary employment) totalling 20 hours a week. You can also do job trials for a maximum of two weeks per employer as part of your job search. The aim of the job trial must be either to obtain qualified employment, an apprenticeship or a qualification programme.

Once you have done the self-check on the website, please prepare the following documents for your visa application and book an application appointment.

List of required documents:

  1. National Visa Application form
    One duly filled (in English or German) and signed application form. Please use the VIDEX application form for National visas in order to speed up the application process and to reduce your waiting time.
  2. Visa fees
    The visa fee for applicants from the age of 18 or older is 75,- Euros, for applicants up to the age of 17 is 37,50- Euros. The fee is to be paid in cash in KWD (according to the current Embassy exchange rate) at the Visa Section when applying.
  3. Passport
    Valid, non-damaged, signed by the passport holder if he/she is above the age of 10, issued within the past 10 years, minimum of two empty pages.
    Please provide your original passport as well as any previous passports (if available) together with one copy of the data page.
  4. Biometric photo
    One recent (not older than 6 months) biometrical passport photograph with a white background (3.5 cm x 4.5 cm). The photo has to show the facial features from the chin to the hairline as well as the left and right half of the face. Please see the sample chart for passport photos on the website.
  5. Proof of residence in Kuwait
    Colored copy (front and back) of your valid Kuwaiti Civil ID.
  6. Letter of Motivation
    Detailed letter of Motivation from the applicant him/her-self, providing information on the planned course of action to secure a job (sector, region, intended place of residence/accommodation etc.). Please also provide any additional evidence of further preparations made to find a job in Germany.
  7. Curriculum Vitae
    Applicant’s Curriculum Vitae, showing academic and professional background.
  8. Proof of Finance
    You need to have a minimum of 1.091,- Euros/month at your disposal.
    You can proof sufficient financial means by:
    a) Blocked account at a German Bank with a blocked amount of 13.092,- Euro per year

    b) Formal obligation according to §§66-68 AufenthG (Act on the Residence, Economic Activity and Integration of Foreigners in the Federal Territory) for the entire duration of stay, by a person with permanent residence in Germany

    c) Private bank account of the applicant which is fully accessible from Germany at all times

    In the case of financing in the form of a blocked account: Please open the blocked account in good time before you apply for a visa. When applying for a visa, only the official confirmation of the opening of the account including information on the amount paid in and the amount available per month will be accepted. A confirmation which does not include this information is not sufficient.
  9. Health Insurance
    Private health insurance (mostly called “Incoming-Versicherung”) covering the whole period of stay, valid in the whole Schengen area, minimum coverage of 30.000,- Euros.

Additional documents for applying under Option 1:

- German University degree(s) or certificate of German vocational training or

- Foreign Academic degree
Please provide a printout from the anabin database for your degree AND the awarding institution.
In case the awarding institution is classified as “H+/-”, your degree must be assessed either as “entspricht” (comparable) or “gleichwertig” (equivalent) and additionally must be listed in the degrees awarded by your specific university.In case the degree is not classified as “entspricht” (comparable) or “gleichwertig” (equivalent) and/or the institution is not classified as “H+”), please provide a statement of Comparability by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB).
In the case of regulated professions in which permission is required to exercise the profession, for example, doctors, engineers (complete list are available from the Federal Employment Agency or the European Commission), please provide the permission to exercise your profession (Berufsausübungserlaubnis) issued by the authority responsible for recognising qualifications or assurance of permission to exercise a profession or

- Foreign Vocational Training
Written notification of recognition of foreign vocational training of the agency in Germany responsible for recognition of vocational training.

For general information on the recognition process of foreign academic degrees or vocational trainings please visit annerkennung-in-deutschland or make-it-in-Germany

Additional documents for applying under Option 2:

- Foreign academic degree and Statement of Comparability for Foreign University Degrees from the ZAB or
- Foreign vocational training certificate and the Statements on a Foreign Vocational Qualification from the ZAB

AND

- Proof of either German language skills on minimum Level A1 or English language skills on minimum level B2 in the form of a recognized language certificate (for German by Goethe Institut, telc or Austrian Lange Diploma (ÖSD); for English by the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) or TOEFL)

Please provide the print out of your self-check for the opportunity card as well as documents proofing the information provided during the self-check.

You will need a minimum of 6 points to be eligible to apply for the Opportunity card under Option 2.

The German Embassy Kuwait reserves the right to ask for additional documents and /or call applicant for an interview at any time.

Information sheet for the Opportunity Card §§20a, 20b Residence Act

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