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When you apply for a residence permit or the EU Blue Card, the foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) examines your certificates, your police-clearance certificate and further documents – to be submitted as a certified translation by a translator sworn before the regional court, with a certification note. For foreign qualifications, everything turns on recognition via the anabin database and the ZAB, whose designations the translation adopts exactly. That way your evidence matches your qualification and the application goes through without a query. From €59 including certification and shipping.
Sworn translators · names per ISO 9 · § 18b AufenthG / EU Blue Card · set price · a reply on working days within 60 minutes
In brief
Anyone applying for a residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis, settlement permit) or the EU Blue Card needs certified translations of their qualification evidence (certificate, diploma, transcript), a police-clearance certificate and their civil-status documents. Important: the translation makes the qualification submittable, but it does not replace recognition via anabin/ZAB.
The legal basis is the Residence Act (AufenthG) – for skilled workers in particular § 18a (vocational training) and § 18b (academic skilled worker, EU Blue Card). The Make it in Germany portal and the BAMF set out the current requirements; we translate exactly the set required.
Procedure & deadlines
Since the Skilled Immigration Act (Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz), several routes are open: § 18a AufenthG for skilled workers with vocational training, § 18b AufenthG for academic skilled workers, and the EU Blue Card for the highly qualified with an employment contract above a defined salary threshold.
The foreign qualification is placed via the anabin database and – where needed – a statement of comparability from the ZAB. For regulated professions (medicine, nursing, law) a separate professional recognition is required.
For the EU Blue Card, the standard salary applies from €48,300, and from €43,760 a year for shortage occupations and new entrants. The thresholds are adjusted annually.
Now you need certificates, a police-clearance certificate and civil-status documents – translated under certification and, depending on the country of origin, with an apostille or legalisation.
The application runs through the German mission abroad; for skilled workers, a fast-track procedure for skilled workers via the employer is possible.
After entry, the residence permit is issued by the foreigners authority. Complete, correctly translated documents prevent follow-up requests.
Accompanying family members move in parallel (family reunification); for extension and later settlement, the recognised evidence remains decisive.
Which documents?
This checklist is the core of the application dossier for a residence permit. Each row links to the matching guide – with details on recognition, apostille and name transfer. The principle: foreign-language evidence is translated under certification; recognition of the qualification additionally runs via anabin/ZAB.
| Document (guide) | Purpose in the procedure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate / diploma / transcript | Qualification evidence for the residence permit and EU Blue Card | Classification via anabin/ZAB; a qualification "translated" ≠ recognised |
| Professional licence / regulated professions | Professional recognition, e.g. for doctors, nursing, engineering | separate recognition procedure in addition to the translation |
| Police-clearance certificate | Proof of no criminal record for the visa and residence permit | from the country of origin; often with apostille/legalisation |
| Birth certificate | Proof of identity, accompanying family reunification | reconcile names with the passport spelling |
| Marriage certificate | Spouse joining alongside employment migration | with apostille depending on the country |
| Passport / identity card | Identity and authoritative spelling of the name | reference for the transliteration of the name |
The certified translation is the foundation; recognition of the qualification is a separate process. We translate your certificates so authorities accept them, and point out where anabin/ZAB or a professional recognition is added – so you avoid duplicate routes.
Apostille & certification
For public documents from the country of origin – birth certificate, police-clearance certificate, some higher-education certificates – the German mission abroad or authority requires, depending on the state, an apostille or legalisation.
Important: the FÜD does not issue apostilles. For foreign documents, it is issued by the competent authority in the country of issue. For German documents used abroad – unlike court documents (President of the Regional Court) – civil-status documents fall to the state authority (depending on the federal state, the district government, regional council or state office; in Berlin the LABO). We then translate the document and the apostille together under certification.
A translated diploma is not yet a recognised diploma.
That is why we translate so authorities accept it, and show where anabin, the ZAB or a professional recognition is added.
Case studies
Profession and country of origin decide the residence route, the recognition and the need for an apostille.
EU Blue Card
Regulated profession
Vocational training
Expert value
Employment migration rarely fails on the running text, but on a confused recognition, a missing apostille or a diverging name. The most common returns – and how a sworn translator avoids them.
| Pitfall | Why it is critical | How the FÜD solves it |
|---|---|---|
| Translation confused with recognition | Anyone who only translates has not yet had the qualification recognised – the authority requests the assessment afterwards. | We translate so authorities accept it and point to anabin/ZAB and the professional recognition. |
| Regulated profession underestimated | For medicine, nursing or law the translation is not enough – the professional recognition/licence is missing. | We flag regulated professions and refer to the additional recognition procedure. |
| Apostille missing | Without proof of authenticity, the mission abroad does not accept the document. | We check the apostille requirement of the country of origin in advance and translate document and apostille together. |
| Name in certificate ≠ passport | If the transliteration diverges from the passport, doubts arise about the skilled worker's identity. | Transliteration per ISO, reconciliation with the passport, divergences explained in the certification note. |
| Grade/title systems copied 1:1 | Foreign grades and academic titles are ambiguous without classification. | Grades and degree designations stay in the original, with an explanatory equivalent – the assessment is left to the ZAB. |
How it works
You upload legible scans of certificates, police-clearance certificate and documents and give the passport spelling of the names. We review the set, reconcile names and degree designations and name a binding fixed price. After your approval, a sworn translator translates true to form and layout.
You receive the translations as a PDF in advance and then the certified originals by post. On request, we point out in advance where anabin/ZAB, a professional recognition or an apostille is added.
Quote & price
For a residence permit, several documents usually come together. Standard documents we bill as a flat fee per document; extensive certificates and transcripts per standard line – calculated as a set with a volume advantage.
| Certified translation by a sworn translator | ✓included |
| Certification note, stamp & signature | ✓included |
| Advance PDF for checking | ✓included |
| Postal delivery of the certified originals | ✓included |
| Set discount for multiple documents | ✓possible |
Standard documents at a flat fixed price, extensive documents from €0.89/standard line; we name the exact amount after a brief review. How the price is made up →
FAQ
Evidence
Every legal statement on this page is tied to a primary source. Salary thresholds are adjusted annually; the grant in an individual case is decided by the mission abroad and the foreigners authority.
Diploma and transcripts were translated under certification and the note about anabin saved me the detour. The Blue Card came through without a query about my qualification.
R. Sharma · EU Blue Card, Munich
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