Truck drivers from third countries
Workers from third countries can also be employed as truck or bus drivers in Germany without training. There must be a specific job offer and the Federal Employment Agency (BA) must have approved the employment.
Approval in accordance with Section 24a (1) BeschV requires an EU or EEA driving license for categories C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D or DE as well as the EU or EEA basic qualification for goods or passenger road transport.
Ordinance on the Employment of Foreign Nationals (Employment Ordinance – BeschV) – Section 24a Professional drivers
(1) Consent may be granted to foreign nationals for employment in Germany as professional drivers in road haulage or passenger transport by bus or coach.
(2) Consent may be granted to foreign nationals for domestic employment with an employer if
the employment contract obliges the foreign national to participate in measures to acquire the qualifications required to work as a professional driver in road haulage or passenger transport by bus or coach,
the working conditions for the period of the measures are such that the driving license and qualifications required under number 1, including the issue of the necessary documents, can be obtained within 15 months,
there is a concrete job offer for domestic employment as a professional driver in road haulage or passenger transport by bus and coach with the same employer for the period after obtaining the driver’s license and qualifications, and
proof is provided that they have the relevant driving license for employment as a professional driver in their country of origin.
Permission is granted for up to 15 months. In justified individual cases, approval may be granted for up to a further six months.
(3) Section 9 shall not apply to persons who hold a residence permit for the purpose of employment in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2.
Implementation
Proof of the EU or EEA driving license or the required (accelerated) basic qualification is generally not required in the approval procedure. As an employer, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary permits and qualifications for the employment and confirm this to the Federal Employment Agency (BA) as part of the declaration of employment.
The Federal Employment Agency (BA) only checks the employment conditions in the approval procedure. For example, it checks whether the working hours and salary of the foreign skilled worker correspond to the usual local conditions for comparable work. This check is carried out without a priority check. The visa office checks the plausibility of the visa application.
Priority check – In some cases, the Federal Employment Agency must carry out a priority check before immigrants can take up employment. This involves checking whether the specific position can be filled by a person registered as a jobseeker in Germany. The priority check is deemed to have been passed if the employer can justify that there are no suitable applicants among the unemployed who have priority.
If your future driver is 45 years old or older, he or she must receive a certain minimum salary for employment in Germany or provide proof of sufficient pension provision to date. This minimum salary is 49,830 euros in 2024.
If you have applicants who do not yet have an EU or EEA driving license or basic qualification, you can employ them as part of an alternative activity, provided that you enable them to obtain the required German driving license and basic qualification at the same time.
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Entry to participate in the qualification measures requires proof of German language skills at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. This type of employment is approved by the BA if the following requirements are met in accordance with Section 24a (2) BeschV:
– You offer your future employee an employment contract which, in addition to employment in the company, also provides for the obligation to participate in measures to obtain the German driving license and basic qualification. During this time, employment as a professional driver is not possible.
– The working conditions during the qualification measures are designed in such a way that the German driving license and basic qualification can be acquired within 15 months.
– You offer your future employee a specific job offer as a professional driver in road haulage or passenger transport with buses and coaches in your company after completing the transfer of the driving license and obtaining the basic qualification.
– Your future employee already has a driving license from a third country to work as a professional driver.
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If your future employee has already obtained the basic qualification during previous employment in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland and this is still valid, they can enter the country even if they exceptionally do not have an EU/EEA driving license. The foreign driving license must be converted in Germany within six months. As a rule, theoretical and practical driving tests are required. You can obtain information on this from the foreign representation responsible for you.
If your future employee is 45 years of age or older, they must provide proof of sufficient pension provision or their gross annual salary must be at least 55 percent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the general pension insurance scheme.
Important: If your skilled worker already has the required basic qualification or an EU or EEA driving license, you can speed up entry by applying for the accelerated skilled worker procedure at the relevant immigration authority. If all requirements are met, a residence permit (Section 19 (1) AufenthG in conjunction with Section 24 (2) BeschV) can be issued.
As an employer, you can find out what else you need to know about the approval procedure by contacting the Federal Employment Agency’s (BA) labor market admissions team on 0228 713-2000.
You can find out more about the law at https://fachkraefteeinwanderungsgesetz.de