Chancenkarte from Saudi Arabia: Points, Process and Costs

By the GoGermany Editorial Team · 2026-08-05

How professionals in Saudi Arabia — Saudi and expat alike — get Germany's Chancenkarte in 2026: the two routes, 6-point table, ~€13,000 Sperrkonto, the Riyadh/Jeddah process and full costs.

Saudi Arabia is home to millions of skilled professionals — Saudi nationals and a very large expatriate workforce from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and beyond. If you are living in the Kingdom and thinking about Germany, the Chancenkarte (opportunity card) lets you move there to look for work before you have a job offer. This guide explains the two routes, the points system, the money you must show, the exact steps through the German missions in Riyadh and Jeddah, and what it all costs in 2026.

What the Chancenkarte actually is

The Chancenkarte is a residence permit for jobseekers created by Germany's Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz (Skilled Immigration Act). It lets you live in Germany for up to 12 months to search for a qualified job. While you look, you may work part-time up to 20 hours a week and take short trial jobs (Probebeschäftigung) of up to two weeks with an employer.

It is not a work visa in itself and it is not permanent. It is a runway. The plan is simple: land, job-hunt, sign a contract, then switch to a proper work title — usually the Blaue Karte EU (EU Blue Card) or a standard skilled-worker permit.

There are two ways to qualify, and you only need to satisfy one of them.

Route 1: Full recognition (Anerkennung)

If your qualification is fully recognised in Germany, you skip the points game entirely. "Full recognition" (volle Anerkennung) means your foreign degree or vocational qualification is treated as equivalent to a German one.

• University degrees are checked in the anabin database run by the ZAB (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen, the central office for foreign education). If your university and degree are both rated "H+" in anabin, you are on solid ground; a formal ZAB Statement of Comparability (Zeugnisbewertung) puts it beyond doubt.
• Vocational/regulated professions (nurses, doctors, engineers, electricians) need recognition from the relevant German authority.

Crucially for the Gulf: recognition follows the country that issued the qualification, not where you live. A Filipino nurse or an Indian engineer working in Riyadh is assessed on the Philippine or Indian degree. Check your qualification against the issuing country in anabin — your Saudi residence and job history do not change how the degree is graded.

Route 2: The 6-point track

If your qualification is only partially recognised, you can still qualify by scoring at least 6 points. To even enter this track you first need three baseline things:

1. A foreign university degree or a vocational qualification requiring at least two years of training, recognised in the country where it was issued;
2. German at A1 level or English at B2; and
3. Proof you can fund your stay (see Sperrkonto below).

Then you collect points:

You take the higher option within each group (you cannot claim both German A2 and B1, or both work-experience tiers). Run your own numbers with the Chancenkarte points calculator before you spend a riyal on translations — and check your overall path with the eligibility checker.

Proof of funds: the Sperrkonto

Because you arrive without a salary, you must prove you can support yourself for the job-hunt period. The cleanest way is a Sperrkonto (blocked account): you deposit a fixed sum with a German-approved provider (Fintiba, Expatrio, Coracle and similar), and it releases a set amount to you each month after arrival.

For 2026 the benchmark is roughly €1,091 per month, so a full 12-month buffer is about €13,000 (≈ SAR 52,000 at roughly SAR 4 to the euro). You can instead show a firm part-time job commitment covering the same monthly amount, but the blocked account is by far the most common and lowest-friction proof. Work out your exact figure with the Sperrkonto calculator.

The 8-step process from Saudi Arabia

You apply for a national visa (type D) for the purpose of the Chancenkarte at the German mission responsible for where you live: the German Embassy in Riyadh (central and eastern regions) or the Consulate General in Jeddah (western region, including Makkah and Madinah). Appointments are booked through the missions' official online system.

1. Confirm your route. Look your degree up in anabin (by issuing country) and decide whether you go for full Anerkennung or the 6-point track. Order a ZAB Statement of Comparability if you want documentary proof of your degree's value.
2. Assemble your documents: valid passport, Saudi residence permit (Iqama), degree certificates and transcripts, employment/experience letters, language certificates, CV, and a short cover letter explaining your job-search plan.
3. Legalise and attest. Documents issued in your home country usually need the legalisation chain there (issuing authority → that country's foreign ministry), while documents issued in Saudi Arabia are attested by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then, where required, checked or legalised by the German mission. Ask the mission which of your papers need attestation versus certified copies.
4. Get certified translations. Documents not in German or English must be translated by a sworn/certified translator into German (or English where the mission accepts it).
5. Open a Sperrkonto and deposit your ~€13,000, then obtain the blocking confirmation.
6. Buy travel health insurance to cover you from arrival until you are enrolled in German statutory insurance through a job.
7. Book the appointment, submit the application form, biometrics and full document set, and pay the fee at the Embassy in Riyadh or the Consulate in Jeddah.
8. Collect your visa, fly to Germany, do your Anmeldung (address registration) and, if needed, convert the visa into a Chancenkarte residence card at the local Ausländerbehörde (immigration office).

What it costs in 2026

Figures are indicative; the euro amounts are what Germany charges, with an approximate riyal equivalent at ~SAR 4 to €1.

The big number — the Sperrkonto — is not a fee; it is your own living money that comes back to you in Germany, month by month.

After you land: switching to work

Once you sign a qualified contract, you convert the Chancenkarte into a work permit. If your job pays above the salary threshold and matches your degree, aim for the Blaue Karte EU (EU Blue Card), which offers faster permanent-residence timelines and easier family reunification. Otherwise you move to a standard skilled-worker residence permit tied to your recognised qualification.

Give yourself the best shot at that contract before your 12 months run down. Build a German-style, one-page CV, generate a tailored German cover letter with the Anschreiben generator, rehearse with our interview prep tool, and keep pushing your German — even a jump from A2 to B1 opens far more roles. Start early with learn German; language is the single biggest lever on both your points and your job offers.

Bottom line

From Saudi Arabia, the Chancenkarte is realistic for a huge range of professionals — as long as you sort recognition against the issuing country of your degree, hit 6 points or full Anerkennung, and show roughly €13,000. Get the documents attested and translated correctly the first time, apply through Riyadh or Jeddah, and treat the 12 months as a sprint to a signed contract and a Blue Card.