Professional drivers from third countries
Professional drivers from third countries can be employed in Germany with the approval of the Federal Employment Agency (BA). Take advantage of this opportunity and find out what the requirements are.
Hiring candidates with recognised professional driving qualifications
You can employ third-country nationals as HGV, coach or bus drivers – even if they have no formal training in Germany – if the Federal Employment Agency (BA) has approved their employment. Approval is granted under Section 24a (1) of the Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners (BeschV) and requires drivers to have the necessary licences and qualifications for employment as a professional driver. These include an EU or EEA driving licence for the relevant category and the initial or accelerated initial qualification under Directive (EU) 2022/2561. Proof of an EU or EEA driving licence and the required (accelerated) initial qualification is generally not necessary in the approval procedure. As an employer, you are responsible for ensuring that your employees have the necessary licences and certificates and for confirming this to the Federal Employment Agency as part of the declaration on the employment relationship.
In the approval procedure, the Federal Employment Agency only checks the conditions of employment, such as whether the foreign skilled worker’s salary and working hours correspond to the usual local working conditions for comparable work. This check does not involve a priority review. The visa application is checked for plausibility by the visa department.
If your future employee is over the age of 45, they must earn a certain minimum salary for employment in Germany or provide proof of adequate pension provision. In 2026, this minimum salary is €55.770.
Facilitate entry of professional drivers via fast-track procedure for skilled workers
If your future skilled workers already have the required professional driving qualifications, you can speed up their entry process by applying to the competent foreigners authority for the fast-track procedure for skilled workers.
Hiring candidates without a professional driving qualification
If your applicants do not yet have an EU or EEA driving licence or an (accelerated) initial qualification, you may consider employing them in an alternative occupation (e.g. in the warehouse or workshop) as long as you also offer them the opportunity to obtain the necessary German driving licence and (accelerated) initial qualification.
Entry and residence for the purpose of qualification measures are subject to approval of the employment by the Federal Employment Agency (BA), which will grant its approval if the following requirements are met in accordance with Section 24a (2) of the Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners (BeschV):
- You offer your future employee an employment contract that requires them to take part in training to obtain the (accelerated) initial qualification and a German driving licence for the required category while working for the company.
- The working conditions for the alternative work during the qualification measures are designed in such a way that your employee is able to obtain a German driving licence or the (accelerated) initial qualification and any necessary language skills within 15 months.
- The applicant is able to provide evidence of an existing driving licence for the required category from a third country for employment as a professional driver in their country of origin.
- You guarantee your future employee a specific job offer as a professional goods vehicle driver or bus/coach driver in your company after obtaining a driving licence and the (accelerated) initial qualification.
If these requirements are met, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) can give approval pursuant to Section 24a (2) of the Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners (BeschV), if the future employee has not obtained the EU or EEA driving licence or the (accelerated) initial qualification or both.
Your future employee can enter the country without an EU or EEA driving licence if he or she has already obtained the (accelerated) initial qualification during previous employment in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland and if the qualification is still valid. Drivers must exchange their foreign driving licence for a German one within six months of registering their place of residence in Germany. If the issuing state is not listed in Annex 11 of the Regulations for the Licensing of Drivers (FeV) (External link) , the holder must take theory and practical tests before their foreign driving licence can be exchanged for a German one. If the issuing state is listed in Annex 11 of the Regulations for the Licensing of Drivers (FeV) with the corresponding licence category, the holder’s foreign driving licence can often be exchanged without the need for a test, or at least the procedure is made easier.
In such cases, you should contact the German diplomatic mission responsible for the applicant to find out what documents are required for the visa process.
Further training required if basic qualification has expired
If the foreign professional driver’s EU (accelerated) initial qualification is no longer valid, an approval of employment or entry is still possible pursuant to Section 24a (2) of the Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners (BeschV). In these cases, the applicant must complete further training before taking up employment as a professional driver.
To find out what you, as an employer, need to know about the approval procedure, contact the Labour Market Approval team at the Federal Employment Agency (External link) .
Successfully recruiting and integrating professional Drivers
For us, employees are of course essentially important and are at the center of everything we do. Because without professional Drivers we cannot transport anything. That is the key.
My name is Stefan Schwarz,branch manager of this location in Cologne at Emons Spedition and I have been with the company since 2018. There will always be something to transport in Germany. And above all, the professional drivers is of course one of the biggest critical areas in Germany, where we simply have a shortage of young talent.
It is about tackling the shortage of skilled workers in Germany. We have too few apprentices in our industry, and we want to counteract this through international recruiting.
My name is Christiane Bauer and I am the HR director for the entire German corporate group. We currently employ apprentices in warehouse training professions and 27 apprentices training to become professional drivers.
Honestly, at the beginning it was of course also: “Oh, a project, let’s wait and see what comes of it.”
Then there was a pioneer branch in Villingen that started with it and then it ultimately developed from there.
As a company, we gained experience and I believe this will increase more and more over the coming years. So that we can then do this in the 22 locations.
What makes us so special in this Project is that we, as a German employer, take matters into our own hands and travel ourselves to the home countries of our future apprentices to make the first contact there.
They start with a language course in their home country through the Goethe-Institut and if they pass the B1 exam there, they receive a training contract from us and we also help with compiling the visa documents.
When all the preparatory work has paid off and you can then welcome the entire group at the airport, that is always, for me, one of the most emotional moments.
We first do a welcome workshop with the apprentices, so that we can first get to know the cultures, and so that they also get to know us and then, of course, this onboarding is accompanied by regular exchanges, where we also ask: “Where can we provide support?”
We also look for an apartment, supporting them, so that it is relatively close and well connected to the branch by public transport.
The biggest concern among our colleagues and also those responsible was that the trainees would not integrate quickly enough, that they would not understand anything when it comes to the language, that they would take far too long to cope with the challenges of everyday working life.
They learn relatively quickly at the beginning, and also support the drivers with load securing, paperwork, everything that needs to be done.
And from our permanently employed drivers there is actually no negative feedback, but rather a willingness to ultimately train the candidates as well.
We have many applicants and interested parties who would like to participate in our project. So far, we have placed twelve apprentices with external clients. And the great thing is: Our external clients also participate in the entire program. They also take part in the onboarding.
The initial experiences are quite positive. As the Cologne branch, we are now in our second year of participation. Last year we started with two, and they ultimately got off to a very positive start with us. And that is why it was also clear to us that we would continue to pursue and support this project.
And for us, this is the greatest confirmation: that a Location does not take apprentices only in one year, but also in the following year. And this is not only the case at our own locations, but also with our external logistics partners who already work together with us.
If they then take on apprentices again the following year, then I know: We are on the right path.
If Germany is to continue to function as a business location we need qualified immigration.
And this project can be a solution to close the skills gap in Germany.
Video: successfully recruiting and integrating professional drivers
Information on the web
- Federal Employment Agency (BA) Information on admission to the labour market
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