A residence permit for vocational training

A section 16a residence permit lets you undertake vocational training (Berufsausbildung) in a company or at a school. If you enter on a visa, apply for the residence permit before your visa expires. You can work up to 20 hours a week in a job separate from your training.

In short

• If you are an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen, you do not apply for a section 16a permit in order to train.
• The permit covers in-company initial or further training, or school-based vocational training leading to a state-recognised qualification. Study needs a section 16b permit. Looking for a training place has a separate permit under section 17 and its own funding requirements.
• For vocational training in 2026, the Consular Services Portal gives these figures: at least 959 euros net a month for school-based training, or a training allowance of at least 1,048 euros gross a month (822 euros net) for in-company or dual training. The allowance figures have appeared on the portal since 1 September 2025; check the mission’s current figure.
• Further training uses different figures. The Interior Ministry’s 2026 notice sets the monthly need in the other section 16a cases at 992 euros. The portal gives 992 euros a month for school-based advanced training, or an allowance of at least 1,090 euros gross a month (855 euros net) for in-company advanced training. Those allowance figures have also appeared on the portal since 1 September 2025; check the mission’s current figure.
• If you can prove that your rent and related housing costs are below 380 euros a month, the Interior Ministry’s notices reduce the published 959- or 992-euro monthly need by the difference, up to 380 euros if housing is free. The 380-euro figure comes from section 13 (2) number 2 of the Federal Training Assistance Act. The notice of 19 August 2026 (BAnz AT 31.08.2026 B1) keeps the 959- and 992-euro monthly needs for 2027 and states the same reduction. A BAföG bill had its first reading on 15 October 2026 and is not yet law; if enacted, it could change these monthly needs.
• The permit authorizes employment independent of the training for up to 20 hours a week. Section 9 does not apply unless you held a permit under section 18a or 18b before this one was issued.
• If a permit for qualified vocational training is to be withdrawn, revoked, or subsequently shortened for reasons you are not responsible for, you must be given up to six months to look for another training place before that happens.

What you need to know

This page is for people who are not covered by EU free movement. If you are an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen, use that page. You do not apply for a section 16a permit in order to train.

Section 16a says a permit for in-company initial and further training is to be granted when the Federal Employment Agency has approved it under section 39, or when the Employment Ordinance or an intergovernmental agreement allows that training without approval.

During that stay, a residence permit must not be issued for temporary employment under section 19c (1) in conjunction with the Employment Ordinance. Section 9 does not apply unless you held a permit under section 18a or 18b before this one was issued.

The purpose of in-company qualified vocational training also includes a German course preparing for that training, in particular a job-related German course under the Deutschsprachförderverordnung. The Consular Services Portal says Federal Employment Agency approval for in-company training is generally required and is obtained as part of the visa application. Which of the statute’s routes applies is for the mission or the Ausländerbehörde, not for this page.

A permit for school-based vocational training is to be granted when federal or Land law makes it lead to a state-recognised vocational qualification, and the programme is not aimed predominantly at nationals of one state.

Agreements the Länder make with public bodies in another state about foreign pupils attending German schools remain in place. A permit to attend school under such an agreement can be issued only if the supreme Land authority for residence law has consented to the agreement. Section 16a (1) sentences 2 and 3 apply to this school-based permit as well.

For qualified vocational training, section 16a asks for proof of sufficient German only if the training institution has not tested the skills needed for your course and you are not expected to acquire them in a preparatory German course. Section 2 (11) defines sufficient German as B1 of the CEFR.

The Consular Services Portal says the level is generally B1 and that a preparatory language course before qualified vocational training can provide the level needed for the visa. According to the portal, this course route does not apply to advanced training.

Section 5 generally requires you to have a secure livelihood, a confirmed identity and the visa needed for your stay. For a section 16a permit, section 2 (3) treats your livelihood as secured when your monthly means meet the need calculated under sections 13 and 13a (1) of the Federal Training Assistance Act.

You also need adequate health insurance; statutory health insurance counts as adequate cover. The 10 percent supplement in that subsection applies to other permits, including section 17, and is not added here.

The Interior Ministry’s notice of 13 August 2025 sets the 2026 monthly need at 959 euros for a Berufsausbildung and 992 euros in the other section 16a cases. Its notice of 19 August 2026 keeps both amounts for 2027.

If you can prove that your rent and related housing costs are below 380 euros a month, both notices reduce the published 959- or 992-euro monthly need by the difference, up to 380 euros for free accommodation. The 380-euro figure comes from section 13 (2) number 2 of the Federal Training Assistance Act.

For a Berufsausbildung, the Consular Services Portal states that you need to show 959 euros net a month for school-based training, or a training allowance of at least 1,048 euros gross a month (822 euros net) for in-company or dual training.

Further training uses different figures: the notice sets the monthly need at 992 euros, and since 1 September 2025 the portal has stated 992 euros a month for school-based advanced training or an allowance of at least 1,090 euros gross a month (855 euros net) for in-company advanced training. Do not use the 1,048- or 822-euro apprenticeship figures for further training.

For in-company training, the portal says you can show your training allowance and, if it is not enough, add a blocked account or a declaration of commitment. For school-based training without an allowance, it says a blocked account or declaration of commitment is also required.

The mission assesses livelihood under sections 2(3) and 5. As the Foreign Office visa handbook explains, the Federal Employment Agency checks the training allowance separately: meeting the livelihood amount does not replace that check. Looking for a training place under section 17 requires a different permit with its own funding rules.

What to do

1. Confirm the contract is in-company training, or school-based training that section 16a covers. The study permit is section 16b. Seeking a training place is section 17. Do not file either as if it were this permit.
2. Ask the German mission for the place where you live now whether you need a visa before you travel. The Consular Services Portal is the route for that visa application. A training contract does not replace that check.
3. Show how you will cover your living costs, using the current figure for your kind of training. For a Berufsausbildung, the Consular Services Portal states at least 959 euros net a month for school-based training, or an allowance of at least 1,048 euros gross a month (822 euros net) for in-company or dual training. For further training, the Interior Ministry’s 2026 and 2027 notices set a monthly need of 992 euros. The portal states 992 euros a month for school-based advanced training and at least 1,090 euros gross a month (855 euros net) for in-company advanced training. Check the mission’s current allowance figure. For in-company training, you can show the allowance and, if it is not enough, add a blocked account or declaration of commitment. For school-based training without an allowance, the portal requires a blocked account or declaration of commitment. If you prove rent and related housing costs below 380 euros a month, the notices reduce the published 959- or 992-euro monthly need by the difference, up to 380 euros for free accommodation. Use the monthly figure for your training; the study permit, training-place search and further-training routes have different amounts.
4. If you enter on a visa, apply for your residence permit before it expires. You need adequate health insurance as part of a secured livelihood under section 2 (3); statutory health insurance counts. See the health-insurance page for more about cover. Register your address after you move in, then book the Ausländerbehörde for your area and ask for its document list. The registration certificate does not replace your residence permit. Appointment availability is local. The official fee follows the federal Residence Ordinance and any applicable reduction or exemption; ask the office which category applies.
5. Keep other work inside section 16a (3). The permit authorizes employment independent of the training for up to 20 hours a week. During a stay under section 16a (1), and on a school-based permit to which the same sentence applies, a residence permit must not be issued for temporary employment under section 19c (1) and the Employment Ordinance.

Common mistakes

• Using the study permit’s blocked-account total or the funding figure for seeking a training place for this permit. The Consular Services Portal states the Berufsausbildung figures as monthly amounts. If you can prove that rent and related housing costs are below 380 euros a month, the Interior Ministry’s notices reduce the published 959- or 992-euro monthly need by the difference, up to 380 euros for free accommodation. The notice of 19 August 2026 (BAnz AT 31.08.2026 B1) keeps the 959- and 992-euro monthly amounts for 2027. Check for a later notice; the October 2026 BAföG bill is not yet law.
• Using the 1,048 euro in-company apprenticeship allowance, or the 959 euro school-based figure, for further training. Those apprenticeship figures are for a Berufsausbildung. The Interior Ministry’s notices set 992 euros a month for the other section 16a cases in 2026 and 2027. Foreign Office guidance states 1,090 euros gross a month (855 euros net) for in-company advanced training; use the mission’s current figure.
• Treating B1 as a requirement for every contract. Section 2 (11) defines sufficient German as B1. Section 16a asks for separate proof of that level only when the institution did not test the skills the training needs and a preparatory course will not teach them. The Consular Services Portal’s general B1 line is that case.
• Treating the Meldebescheinigung, or the training contract, as permission to stay. The Aufenthaltstitel is the permission.
• Taking a second job above 20 hours a week because the training is already the purpose of the stay. The limit of 20 hours a week is for employment independent of that purpose.
• Expecting a settlement permit on this title itself. Section 16a says section 9 does not apply unless you held a permit under section 18a or 18b before this permit was issued. The settlement page is the later route.