Employment and posting of EU citizens

    Description

    As a national of EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, you are entitled to freedom of movement and can take up employment in Germany without any further requirements.

    Since May 2011, the EU member states Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which joined the EU in 2004, have also had unrestricted freedom of movement for workers. For the member states Romania and Bulgaria, which joined in 2007, this has applied since January 2014, and for Croatia, which joined in 2013, since 1 July 2015.

    Contact person

    Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS)

    Address

    address

    Rochusstraße 1

    53123 Bonn

    Save contact

    address

    Wilhelmstraße 49

    10117 Berlin

    Save contact

    Contact

    Internet

    Keywords

    Arbeitsministerium, BMAS, Bundesarbeitsministerium, Bundessozialministerium, Sozialministerium

    Version

    Technisch geändert on 23.08.2023

    Language version

    Deutsch

    Sprache: de

    Englisch

    Sprache: en

    Sprachbezeichnung nativ:

    English

    Required documents

    For entry: valid passport or identity card

    Costs

    none

    Notes (specifics)

    For citizens of the Eastern European accession countries, Germany had made use of the possibility of allowing transitional provisions for the free movement of workers to continue to apply after the accession treaty (so-called 2+3+2 regulation) in order to prevent distortions on the labour market. These have been gradually relaxed. The possibility of posting workers to Germany in the construction, building cleaning and interior decoration sectors was also restricted.

    Area of validity

    Germany-wide

    Official approval

    Officially approved by Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) on 17.11.2015

    Version

    Technisch geändert on 01.12.2025

    Keywords

    Employment, Employees, Social insurance, EURES, Work permit, Work authorization, Immigration, Freedom of movement, Green card, Job exchange, Professional mobility, Labor market, Immigrant, EU citizens, Immigration office, Work permit

    Language version

    Englisch

    Sprache: en

    Sprachbezeichnung nativ:

    English

    Deutsch

    Sprache: de