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Information for your partner
Working in Germany requires a residence permit. Your spouse or partner will easily obtain this permit if you are living and working in Germany
- as a researcher or scientist,
- on an EU Blue Card or
- as a highly qualified professional.
In all these cases, your spouse or partner will also be allowed to work.
If you are an EU or EEA citizen or are from Switzerland, your spouse or partner will not require any special permission – they will enjoy the same rights as you do. Family members from non-EU countries will be issued with a residence card as proof of their right to move freely within the EU.
Dual career
Quite a few German research institutions and companies are geared towards employing couples where both partners are well qualified and looking for a good job: their dual career services provide family-oriented support. Taking advantage of regional networks, they can provide job prospects for both partners and offer practical support to help you settle into your new life in Germany.
Finding a job
- The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) is the first place your partner should go if he or she is seeking work in Germany. They also offer their own job portal [German].
- Make it in Germany gives an overview over current projects for recruiting skilled workers in Germany.
- If your partner is also looking for a job in science and research, the platform academics.com offers an English-language version of their job portal for academics.
- Wissenschaftskarriere is a German-language job portal for jobs in science, research and management.
Good to know
Your partner is allowed to work. All this requires is a residence permit, which they can apply for at the local immigration office (Ausländerbehörde).
Depending on the career path they choose, your partner may need to get official recognition of their academic degree(s).
Many universities have a dual career service and most have career centres that support students, employees and recent graduates. Check the website of your university for more information.
By the way: in Germany, almost 75 percent of mothers in families with at least one underage child work – with a steep rise in recent years. However, they are still far less frequently employed than fathers, of which roughly 93 percent work.
More information
- Counselling for dual-career couples by the Dual Career Network Germany (Dual Career Netzwerk Deutschland) [German]
- “Dual Career Hamburg + der Norden”: a regional dual career network for northern Germany
- The Dual Career Network Rhineland: a regional dual career network in western Germany
- Career options for postdocs in Germany on the website of Research in Germany
- Advice and information about working and living in Germany at the Customer Center of the International Placement Office (ZAV) of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit
- Information on the recognition of foreign degrees and certificates on the website of Anerkennung in Deutschland [several languages to choose from]
- Information for British citizens working in Germany after Brexit by the German Missions in the United Kingdom
- Quick access to the contact details of the career centres and international offices of more than 400 German universities in the Higher Education Compass database