Chancenkarte from Spain: Points, Process and Costs

By the GoGermany Editorial Team · 2026-08-03

If you hold Spanish or EU citizenship you don't need the Chancenkarte at all — but for non-EU residents of Spain the opportunity card can be the clearest route into Germany. Here's who benefits and how it works.

The Chancenkarte (opportunity card) is Germany's points-based residence permit that lets qualified people move to Germany to look for work — without a job offer in hand. It's one of the flagship measures of the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz (Skilled Immigration Act). If you're reading this from Spain, the first thing to get straight is a big one: whether you even need it depends on your nationality, not on where you currently live.

First: do you actually need a Chancenkarte?

Spain is part of the EU, and the EU guarantees freedom of movement for its citizens. That single fact changes everything.

• If you are a Spanish citizen (or citizen of any EU/EEA country or Switzerland): you do not need a Chancenkarte, a visa, or any residence permit to move to Germany and work. You can pack up, move, and start a job the same way a German could. You simply register your address (Anmeldung) at the local Bürgeramt within about two weeks of arriving. There's no points test, no proof of funds, no application fee. The Chancenkarte is simply not for you.
• If you are a non-EU national living in Spain — for example a Latin American, North African, Asian, or other third-country national who studied, worked, or built a life in Spain but never took Spanish (EU) citizenship — then the Chancenkarte is genuinely relevant. You would apply from Spain as your country of residence, using the same process as any third-country applicant.

So this guide is really written for third-country nationals resident in Spain. If that's you, read on. If you already hold an EU passport, skip to the short section near the end on what freedom of movement gives you instead.

What the Chancenkarte actually is

The Chancenkarte is a residence permit for jobseeking, valid for up to 12 months. It lets you live in Germany while you look for qualified work, and it allows part-time work of up to 20 hours per week plus two-week trial jobs (Probebeschäftigung) with potential employers. Once you land a qualifying job, you switch to a work-based permit — often the Blaue Karte EU (EU Blue Card) or a standard skilled-worker permit — without leaving Germany.

There are two ways to qualify:

1. The fast track: if you already have your foreign qualification fully recognised in Germany (Anerkennung) as equivalent to a German degree or vocational qualification, you're treated as a skilled worker and can get the card without going through the points test.
2. The points track: if your qualification isn't (yet) fully recognised, you can still qualify by scoring at least 6 points on the criteria below, provided you meet the baseline: a recognised university degree or a vocational qualification of at least two years, plus either German at A1 or English at B2.

The points system

You need a minimum of 6 points. Points are awarded across several categories, and you add them up:

You can't double-count language: your best German level scores, and the English point is separate. A typical successful profile is something like a recognised degree (partial recognition, 4 points) + B1 German (2 points) = 6, or under-35 age (2) + five years' experience (3) + A2 German (1) = 6. Try our eligibility checker to estimate your score before you commit to the paperwork.

Proof of funds

Because the Chancenkarte doesn't come with a salary, you must prove you can support yourself for the 12 months. In 2026 this is roughly €1,091 per month, so around €13,000 for the full year. You can show this via:

• A blocked account (Sperrkonto) — the most common route — funded with the full year's amount. Use our Sperrkonto calculator to see the current figure.
• A formal declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) from someone in Germany who guarantees your costs.
• Evidence of a part-time job already lined up in Germany covering your living costs.

As a resident of Spain you can open most German blocked accounts online with your Spanish residence card (TIE / NIE) and a valid passport.

The process, step by step (for non-EU residents of Spain)

1. Check your recognition status. Use the official anabin database and the "Anerkennung in Deutschland" portal to see whether your qualification is fully recognised, partially recognised, or needs a formal procedure. This drives which track you use.
2. Score yourself on the points table above (or the eligibility checker).
3. Gather documents: passport, your Spanish residence permit, qualification certificates (with translations), proof of language level, CV, and proof of funds.
4. Apply at the German mission in Spain — the German Embassy in Madrid or Consulate in Barcelona — for the Chancenkarte visa, since you'll be applying as a third-country national resident in Spain. Book the appointment online via the mission's portal.
5. Attend your appointment, submit biometrics, and pay the fee.
6. Travel to Germany once approved, do your Anmeldung, and convert the visa into the residence permit at the local Ausländerbehörde (immigration office).
7. Job-hunt for up to 12 months. A strong German-style CV and cover letter matter a lot — our CV builder and cover-letter generator are built for the German market.

Costs in 2026

The Sperrkonto money is your own — it's released to you in monthly instalments once you're in Germany, so treat it as savings you move, not a fee you lose.

If you already hold an EU (Spanish) passport

Then the whole apparatus above simply doesn't apply. Freedom of movement lets you:

• Move to Germany with no visa and no permit required.
• Start work immediately, on equal footing with German nationals.
• Register your address (Anmeldung) and get a tax ID; sign up with the health-insurance and pension systems through your employer.
• Bring family members under EU rules.

The only "paperwork" is the ordinary registration every resident does. If your goal is a German job, put your energy into the language and the application — start with learn German and sharpen your applications with our interview prep.

Bottom line

For Spanish and other EU citizens, the Chancenkarte is a non-issue — freedom of movement is faster and cheaper than any points card. For third-country nationals living in Spain, the opportunity card is a real and useful route: score 6 points, prove roughly €13,000 in funds, apply at the German mission in Spain, and you get up to a year on the ground to find qualified work.