83 percent of Blue Card holders stay in Germany more than five years

According to an evaluation by the Central Register of Foreigners, almost 200,000 people from non-EU countries received a German Blue Card for the first time between 2012 and 2022. 

A full 83 percent of them were still living in Germany after five years, reported Destatis on Friday.

Blue Card holders have a much higher retention rate than international students, as only 55 percent of those who come to Germany to study stay in the country longer than five years, according to Destatis.  

Who receives a Blue Card?

The Blue Card, or Blue Card EU, was introduced in 2012 for academic professionals and skilled workers from non-EU countries. 

It allows recipients to apply for permanent residency after 33 months of living in Germany. This could explain why the majority of people who received a Blue Card for the first time between 2012 and 2017 had permanent residency after five years (59.9 percent), reported Destatis.

READ ALSO: Germany or Austria: Where is it easier to get an EU blue card?

Applicants for a Blue Card have to have a job offer from an employer in Germany with a proposed salary of at least €56,400 a year.

However, the salary requirement drops to €43,992 annually if the applicant is filling a job in a profession experiencing a particular shortage in Germany. These include doctors, engineers, IT specialists, mathematicians and natural scientists.

Under Germany's new Skilled Worker Act, which is expected to come into force early next year, the salary threshold for Blue Card applicants in Germany will be lowered to €43,800 before tax per year.

READ ALSO: 8 things to know about Germany's new skilled worker immigration law

Blue Card holders will also find it easier to change employers, bring their families to Germany and obtain permission for permanent residence in the EU.

Almost 68,900 people received a Blue Card for the first time between 2012 and 2017. Most of them were of Indian nationality (22.4 percent), followed by Chinese (8.7 percent) or Russian (7.5 percent) nationals. 

A further 11.3 percent were naturalised, nine percent continued to hold a Blue Card and 3.1 percent held another residence permit. 

READ ALSO: How German citizenship differs from permanent residency

Fewer international students stay in Germany

After five years, 55 percent of former international students were still living in Germany, whereas after ten years the figure dropped to 46 percent.

Among them, those with a permanent residency permit and those who were naturalised represented the largest group of former students still living in Germany. 

Around 219,600 international students received a residence permit for study purposes in Germany for the first time between 2006 and 2012. 

Most of them were of Chinese nationality (19.6 percent), followed by people with American (6.9 percent) and Russian (6.4 percent) citizenship. 

READ ALSO: 10 reasons to study in Germany