I get so many consultations related to the Germany Opportunity Card, and one popular question is whether you can get the Germany Opportunity Card even if your job or profession does not come under the priority streams. There are many priority streams, such as healthcare, education, STEM and trade. However, many people are working in different professions that are not included in these priority streams, and they are worried about whether they can apply for the Germany Opportunity Card with their job profile.
The answer is yes. You can apply for the Germany Opportunity Card with any kind of background, and your profession does not determine whether you will get the visa. For example, if you are working as a clerk, you can still get your visa. If you are working as a teacher or professor, you can still get the Germany Opportunity Card. You may be working as a cook or in sales, operations, HR or any other profession. Your profession does not define whether you are going to get the Germany Opportunity Card or not. With different educational backgrounds and experience backgrounds, you can apply for the Germany Opportunity Card and get it as well.
1. What Does the Visa Officer Check?
How does the Germany Opportunity Card work? The visa officer checks whether you have the potential to get a job in Germany. The visa officer is not checking how many jobs are available for you in Germany. There may be a thousand jobs available for HR professionals or just two jobs available for a cook, but the visa officer is not worried about that. Whether your profile is in a priority profession in Germany or not is also not the main concern. The visa officer is checking whether you can speak English and whether your English is at a moderate level.
This is checked when you submit your application at VFS. You visit VFS to submit your biometrics, and along with your biometrics, you have an interview of around 10 minutes. During this interview, you may be asked why you want to go to Germany, what you are going to do there, why you will come back from Germany, what your job is and what your education is. It is a short interview about yourself, conducted in English, to check whether you are able to speak English.
2. Is an English or German Language Test Required?
For the Germany Opportunity Card, you do not require a German test or an English test. No test is required. If your bachelor’s degree is recognised as H+ on Anabin, you can directly apply for the Germany Opportunity Card. Neither a German language test nor an English language test is required in this case.
Your English is judged during the interview at VFS when you go for your biometrics. The visa officer evaluates your English during that interview, not through a language test. You do not require a test, and your German language knowledge is not checked through a German test either. Even if you do not know German at all, it can still be fine. The visa officer is checking whether you have enough potential to get the visa, reach Germany and find a job after reaching there. If you are unable to get a job, you can come back. The visa officer is not primarily concerned with whether your profession is a priority profession in Germany.
4. Does Your Bachelor's Degree Determine Your Eligibility?
The visa officer is not concerned about the type of bachelor’s degree you have completed in the way many applicants assume. You may have completed a BA, BCom, BSc, MBBS, BTech or another bachelor’s degree. A BCom or BA degree is not automatically of less value than a BTech degree for the Germany Opportunity Card. It is not the case that someone with a BTech or MBBS degree will get priority for the Germany Opportunity Card while someone with a BA or BCom degree will not get a visa.
The visa officer checks the validity of your degree. If your degree is valid, recognised as H+ and allows you to apply for the Germany Opportunity Card, you have met that requirement. Your degree gives you eligibility to apply; your entire profile is evaluated as well. You need to show that even if you have completed a BA, your English is fine, you know basic English, and you have the potential to find a job in Germany. For example, you may currently be working as a cook and believe that you will be able to find a job in Germany.
Recently, we received approval for Aftar’s Germany Opportunity Card when he was 46 years old and working as a cook. He had a lot of experience as a cook, and his bachelor’s degree was a Bachelor of Arts. He received the Germany Opportunity Card at the age of 46. Deepak also received his Germany Opportunity Card approval yesterday. Most of these profiles have degrees such as BA or BBA, and they are getting visas without any problem.
The visa officer evaluates the entire profile, including your degree and experience. It is not the case that BA, BBA or BCom degrees have less value while medical or science degrees automatically have more value. If you can demonstrate that you have the potential to get a job in Germany, you can get the Germany Opportunity Card.
5. Can You Get the Opportunity Card Without Knowing German?
Consider someone working as a nurse who wants to start working as a nursing assistant or nurse in Germany. To work as a nurse in Germany, you require at least B2 or C1-level German language proficiency. However, you may not know German yet and may still want to apply for the Germany Opportunity Card.
You can demonstrate your potential by explaining that your English is good, you will learn German, you will try to find a job and you will work towards getting a work permit in Germany. You are showing that you know English, are willing to learn German, and have the potential to find a job. You can get the visa even if you do not currently know German, even when German is required for the particular job you eventually want to do.
There are many professions where learning German is required. Still, based on your potential to get a job, you can get the visa. Similarly, consider someone working as a teacher. Can you work as a teacher in Germany in English and teach a class? Potentially, the answer may be no. However, you may demonstrate that you have the potential to work as an education coordinator in a college, university or another part of the education field. You can show that you know English and can find work in an education-related role.
If you are working as a clerk, you can show that you have the potential to work in administrative departments. The question is not whether a clerk or administrative role is a priority profession in Germany. It is not. A normal teaching job is also not a priority profession, especially if you do not know German. However, we have received Germany Opportunity Card approvals for people with teaching profiles and cook profiles. Your job profile and educational background do not determine the outcome by themselves if you meet the eligibility criteria.
6. Why Is Your Work Experience Important?
If your bachelor’s degree is eligible and recognised as H+, you can directly apply for the Germany Opportunity Card. Your job profile does not matter in the sense that you must be working in a particular priority profession. You may be working in sales, operations, HR, marketing, management, yoga, physiotherapy or another field. There are different kinds of professions. If your degree is eligible, you can apply and show your experience.
If you are not working right now, show yourself working as a freelancer and show some kind of experience. Do not leave your profile blank by simply stating that you are not working. Leaving it blank can decrease the impression of your potential to work because the visa officer is subjectively evaluating your profile. Your degree may be valid and eligible for the Germany Opportunity Card, but if you are not working, the visa officer may question whether you will be able to get a job.
If you do not have any experience, it can become a question mark for the visa officer: will this person be able to get a job in Germany? Therefore, show yourself working, even if it is freelance work. Show that you have worked in some field, whether IT or any other field. This can make your profile better and increase the probability of getting your visa.
The field of your study and the field of your work do not determine whether you can apply for the Germany Opportunity Card. What matters is demonstrating your potential to get a job in Germany.
7. How Much Money Is Required for the Germany Opportunity Card?
If you also want to apply for the Germany Opportunity Card, we can help you with the entire process. How much money do you require from India? You require approximately ₹18 lakh, out of which ₹15 lakh is refundable and will go into a blocked account. Approximately ₹3 lakh will be your expenses in most cases. These expenses include service charges, official fees and travel expenses. This is your actual expense to reach Germany and get the one-year permit.
You can go to Germany and work part-time or full-time, extend your Germany Opportunity Card, get a work permit, stay in Germany and get PR as well. The ₹15 lakh will be refunded to you in Germany. It will come back to you in 12 instalments over 12 months, with an amount returned to you each month for your living expenses.
The ₹15 lakh will go to Germany, but you will receive the entire amount back. It is your savings in Germany, while approximately ₹3 lakh is your actual expense. You require approximately €17,500 to €18,000. If you have this money, you can apply for the Germany Opportunity Card, get it and settle in Germany.
8. Learn More About the Germany Opportunity Card
I have already made a detailed video on the Germany Opportunity Card and will share the link in the description. You can watch that video to understand how the process works. If you still have any doubts, you can write your questions in the comments.
If you found this video informative, like, subscribe and share it as much as possible. If you also want to apply for the Germany Opportunity Card, we can help you with the entire process.
