Approval by the Federal Employment Agency (§ 39 AufenthG): How the Procedure Works

Most residence permits for employment in Germany involve a second authority alongside the embassy or Ausländerbehörde: the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA). Its approval (Zustimmung) under § 39 AufenthG is often the decisive — and least visible — step in a work visa procedure. This guide explains when the BA is involved, what it examines, and how employers can shorten the wait with a pre-approval (Vorabzustimmung).

When Is BA Approval Required?

A residence title that permits employment may generally only be issued with the BA’s approval, unless a law or the Employment Ordinance (Beschäftigungsverordnung, BeschV) provides otherwise. The BeschV is the key: it lists categories of employment that are approval-free and defines the conditions for everything else. Whether your case needs approval therefore depends on the permit type and the specific job — one reason the same job offer can move at very different speeds for different applicants.

You do not apply to the BA yourself. The embassy or Ausländerbehörde obtains the approval internally as part of the visa or permit procedure (“one-stop government”). Many applicants never see the BA’s involvement at all — only its effect on the timeline.

What the BA Examines

Since the reform of November 2023, the examination focuses on the terms of employment. The BA checks in particular that:

You will not be employed on terms less favourable than comparable German workers — above all regarding salary, working hours and leave.
The information about the job (provided by the employer on the form “Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis”) is complete and plausible.
Where the BeschV requires it for the specific category, additional conditions are met.

The priority check (Vorrangprüfung) — the old test of whether a German or EU candidate is available for the job — has been abolished for most skilled-worker categories. It survives only where the BeschV expressly requires it for particular groups.

The Two-Week Approval Fiction

Speed is built into the law. Under § 36 Abs. 2 BeschV, the BA’s approval is deemed granted if it does not respond within two weeks of receiving the request from the embassy or Ausländerbehörde. In EU Blue Card cases (§ 18g AufenthG) and in the accelerated skilled-worker procedure (§ 81a AufenthG), the deadline is shortened to one week. In practice, delays usually stem from incomplete employer information — not from the BA sitting on files.

The Pre-Approval (Vorabzustimmung, § 36 Abs. 3 BeschV)

Employers who want to compress the visa timeline can apply to the BA for a pre-approval before the visa application is filed. The employer submits the completed “Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis” and supporting details to the BA’s central international placement service (ZAV); the BA examines the labour-market side of the case in advance.

The benefits are real:

The applicant presents the pre-approval at the visa appointment, and the embassy no longer needs to consult the BA — typically saving several weeks.
The pre-approval is valid for six months, within which the visa or permit must be issued.
The BA charges no fee for the procedure.

Pre-approval is particularly useful for employers hiring several international staff, and in countries where visa appointment backlogs make every avoidable processing loop expensive.

The Accelerated Skilled-Worker Procedure (§ 81a AufenthG)

Where more than the BA step needs speeding up, the employer can initiate the accelerated procedure at the Ausländerbehörde. For a fee of €411, the authority coordinates recognition of the qualification, the BA approval and the visa process within binding deadlines. Combined with the one-week approval fiction, this is currently the fastest formal route for skilled workers whose qualifications still need recognition.

If the BA Refuses

A refusal is almost always about the employment terms or incomplete information: a salary below the comparable-worker benchmark, implausible working hours, or a form that leaves key questions open. Because the applicant rarely sees the file, it is worth requesting the reasons and correcting the record quickly — often a revised employer declaration resolves the issue without a new application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to contact the Federal Employment Agency myself? No. The embassy or Ausländerbehörde obtains the approval as part of your procedure. Only the pre-approval is applied for directly — and by the employer, not by you.

Does the EU Blue Card need BA approval? The Blue Card procedure includes a BA check with a shortened one-week deadline. Because the salary thresholds are fixed by law, refusals are rare where the offer is genuine and properly documented.

How long is a pre-approval valid? Six months from issue. If the visa or residence permit is not issued within that period, the BA must re-examine the case.

What does the BA approval cost? Nothing. Neither the approval nor the pre-approval carries a fee. The separate accelerated procedure under § 81a AufenthG incurs fees.

Is there still a priority check? Only in narrow categories where the Employment Ordinance expressly requires it. For skilled workers with recognized qualifications, the priority check has been abolished; the BA focuses on whether your employment terms match those of comparable domestic workers.

Last reviewed: August 2026 — RAin Fiona Macdonald

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