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EU Blue Card Renewal When Your Salary Falls Below the Threshold

Fiona Macdonald
2 days ago
5 min read

Salary thresholds for the EU Blue Card change every year. A renewal is checked against the current figure, not the one from your first card. For 2026, the threshold is a gross salary of €50,700 a year. In shortage jobs, and for graduates whose degree is at most three years old, it is €45,934.20.

If your pay falls short, the Blue Card cannot be renewed on that basis. A skilled-worker permit or a settlement permit can still keep your path to permanent residence open.

Where the figures come from

Both figures are a share of the yearly contribution ceiling in the statutory pension scheme (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze). The general threshold is 50 percent of it. The lower one, 45.3 percent, covers listed shortage jobs and new entrants (§ 18g Abs. 1 AufenthG). The shortage list includes STEM professionals, doctors, nurses, teachers and certain managers. The lower figure needs approval from the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit).

The amounts change every calendar year. The Federal Ministry of the Interior publishes them in the Bundesanzeiger by 31 December of the year before (§ 18g Abs. 7). If the threshold rises and your pay does not, a salary that once cleared it can fall short.

What the authority looks at when you renew

A renewal repeats the first check. The rules for residence permits also apply to the Blue Card (§ 4 Abs. 1 AufenthG). § 8 Abs. 1 AufenthG then applies the rules for issuing a permit to an extension. So the authority checks again that the job matches your qualification and that the salary meets this year’s threshold.

New entrants get one exception. Under § 18g Abs. 6, the lower threshold still applies at renewal if the degree is at most three years old when they apply for the extension. It also applies if less than 24 months have passed since their first Blue Card as a new entrant.

Pay cuts and job changes in the first year

In the first 12 months of Blue Card work, you must report every change of employer to the authority. The same goes for every change that affects the Blue Card requirements (§ 82 Abs. 1 AufenthG). A pay cut below the threshold is such a change.

A new job needs no permission. In this first year, though, the authority can put the change on hold for 30 days. It can refuse it in that time if the requirements are not met (§ 18g Abs. 4).

Three ways forward when the salary is too low

The most direct fix is a contract change that lifts your pay to the threshold before you renew. Check, too, whether your job is on the shortage list, where the lower figure applies.

The second option is a permit for skilled workers with academic training under § 18b AufenthG. It covers any qualified job and has no general salary threshold. As a rule, the Federal Employment Agency must approve the job. It checks that your terms are no worse than those of comparable domestic employees (§ 39 Abs. 2 AufenthG). No approval is needed if you have already worked in Germany for two years in employment subject to social insurance, which many Blue Card holders have by the time they renew (§ 9 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 BeschV).

One limit applies from age 45. If you have never held a § 18a or § 18b permit, the salary must reach 55 percent of the ceiling. That is €55,770 in 2026. It does not apply if you can prove adequate retirement provision. The authority can also waive it where there is a public interest in the job, for example if your pay is only slightly below the threshold (§ 18 Abs. 2 Nr. 5 AufenthG).

The third option is permanent residence. A Blue Card holder can apply for a settlement permit after 27 months of Blue Card work with pension contributions and A1 German. With B1 German, the period is 21 months (§ 18c Abs. 2 AufenthG). The general conditions, such as a secure livelihood, also apply. If you already qualify, you can apply for a settlement permit instead of a renewal.

A switch to § 18b does not reset the clock. The general settlement permit under § 18c Abs. 1 counts time with a Blue Card and with a § 18b permit. Among other things, it requires three years with these permits, 36 months of pension contributions and B1 German. What you give up is the shorter Blue Card period and its lower language level.

Timing the application

The ministry announces the 2027 amounts by 31 December 2026. A renewal is decided under the rules in force on the day of the decision. So a renewal decided in 2027 will be measured against the 2027 figure. If you file late in 2026, check the new amounts once they are out.

Apply before your Blue Card expires, and you can keep working while you wait. The card is then treated as still in force until the authority decides (§ 81 Abs. 4 AufenthG). You get a Fiktionsbescheinigung, a paper that confirms this. The same applies if you apply for a different permit before expiry, such as a § 18b permit or a settlement permit.

When to get a lawyer

Get advice before the renewal appointment if your salary is near or below the threshold. The same applies if you are weighing a renewal against a § 18b permit or a settlement permit. The order of the applications affects which path to permanent residence stays open. If you are 45 or older and have never held a § 18a or § 18b permit, a switch also brings in the 55 percent rule.

Choose the right permit before your Blue Card expires

Fiona Macdonald works with Blue Card holders and other skilled professionals on renewals, permit changes and permanent residence. In a consultation, she compares your contract, pay and pension record with the rules. She then explains which application fits your situation. Fiona Macdonald advises clients anywhere in Germany and internationally by video.

Related reading

Sources

Last reviewed: October 2026 — RAin Fiona Macdonald

This article reflects information available at the review date above and may not remain current as rules and practice change. It is general information only, not legal advice, and does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Liability for reliance on its contents is excluded to the extent permitted by law.

© 2026 Fiona Macdonald Rechtsanwältin

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