Moving from Turkey to Germany: Visas, Papers, and Cities

Around 1.5 million Turkish citizens live in Germany, more than any other foreign nationality. Many families have been here for decades, through earlier labour recruitment and later family moves. People who arrive now still come for work, study, or to join family, and they still need a normal German visa to do it.

If you are moving from Turkey yourself, a lot of the process is still the same as for any other non-EU citizen. What you apply for depends on why you are coming: study, a job you already have, looking for work after you arrive, or joining family. The guides below have the rules for each of those. This page then further covers what is different when the application starts in Turkey, and where people from Turkey often move.

Which visa matches your situation

The table below shows which guide matches your situation. If you are still choosing a route, start with Which Visa Do You Need in Germany.

A tourist or short-stay visa is not a way to switch into work or study after you land. Changing Your Residence Purpose in Germany explains when a switch inside the country is even possible.

After the visa, the first weeks are also the same for every passport. Register your address within 14 days. Address Registration in Germany walks through the appointment. Health insurance has to be sorted for the visa and again once you are living here, which Health Insurance in Germany covers. A German current account is covered in Opening a Bank Account in Germany, and how hiring actually filters CVs is in Finding Jobs in Germany as a Foreigner.

Family Reunification in Germany is where you check who can join and which sponsors are exempt from a language certificate. Degree checks, if the job needs them, start with How to Get Foreign Qualifications Recognized in Germany.

What is different when you apply from Turkey

Student and work visas are the same as for other non-EU passports. What is different is an old association rule that only starts after you are already working, and some civil papers the embassy asks for from Turkey.

When you want to study

The student visa itself is not different. Use the table above. There is no Turkey-only study title and no separate academic-check certificate before the visa.

When you want to work

The entry visas for work are not different either. You still apply for a normal skilled-worker, Blue Card, Opportunity Card, or freelance visa. If you have heard that an old association agreement lets Turkish citizens work in Germany without a visa, that is not how entry works. Decision No. 1/80 does not give you a right to enter Germany, and it does not replace the first visa.

After you are already working

You only get these rights after you are already working legally in Germany. They do not replace the visa you needed to enter.

The rule is Decision No. 1/80 of the EEC-Turkey Association Council. The longer you have been legally employed, the freer you are to change jobs:

• After one year with the same employer, you can renew the permit for that job, as long as the job is still there.
• After three years, you can take another job in the same occupation.
• After four years, you can take any paid job.

Family members who were allowed to join a Turkish worker wait on a different timeline. After three years of legal residence they can apply for jobs. After five years they can take any paid job. A child who finished vocational training in Germany can apply sooner, if one parent has been legally employed here for at least three years.

If you are self-employed, an older standstill rule in the association agreement sometimes matters. Talk to a lawyer before you rely on it. If you are employed and you are close to one, three, or four years, ask the immigration office to apply Decision 1/80 before you change employer. They will not do it unless you ask.

Papers the embassy asks for

Family applications from Turkey usually get stuck on civil papers, not on a special Turkish work permit. For a spouse visa, the German mission wants the full population-register extract (Nüfus Kayıt Örneği). Ask for the long version, tam tekmil vukuatlı. That means every note is filled in: earlier marriages, divorces, children, parents, and any change of nationality. A printout with a barcode is enough. You do not need a separate original. You do need a German translation.

The international marriage certificate (Formül B) does not need an apostille, the extra stamp that lets a foreign official paper be used in Germany. A divorce judgment does. It needs the apostille, a German translation, and sometimes a step where Germany formally accepts the Turkish divorce. Check the current embassy leaflet before you pay for stamps the mission will not use.

Some spouses also need beginner German. When that applies, the mission in Turkey accepts Goethe-Institut Start Deutsch 1 or the Austrian ÖSD certificate Grundstufe Deutsch 1. The certificate should be less than 12 months old when you apply. Whether you need it at all depends on the residence permit of the person you are joining. Family Reunification in Germany covers that.

Child benefit and pensions are a separate question. Turkey and Germany have a social-security agreement, but your type of permit still decides what you can claim. The agreement does not replace those rules. Read How to Claim Kindergeld and Preparing for Retirement in Germany.

Where people from Turkey often move

Large, long-standing communities are in Berlin, including Kreuzberg, Neukölln, and Wedding, and in Cologne, Frankfurt, and the Rhine-Ruhr belt, though newer work visas follow the employer, so Stuttgart, Munich, or a smaller plant town can be just as likely. Best Cities in Germany if You Already Have a Degree compares places for work. Housing works the same way for every passport, so start with Finding an Apartment in Germany, or jump straight to Berlin, Frankfurt, or Düsseldorf if you already know the city.

Common questions

Do Turkish citizens need a visa to work in Germany?

Yes. Decision 1/80 does not let you fly in and start work. You still need a national visa for work, study, or family, unless you already hold a residence title that allows the switch.

What is Decision 1/80 for Turkish workers in Germany?

It is the 1980 association decision that gives extra employment rights after you are already legally working in Germany. After one year with the same employer you can renew for that job. After three years you can move to another employer in the same occupation. After four years you can take any paid job. It is not an entry visa.

Do Turkish family papers need an apostille for a German visa?

Not always. For a spouse visa, the mission wants the full civil-registry extract and a German translation. The international marriage certificate does not need an apostille. Divorce judgments do, plus a translation. Read the current embassy leaflet before you pay for stamps you do not need.

Do Turkish spouses need A1 German for family reunification?

It depends on the sponsor’s permit, not on being Turkish. Spouses of skilled workers are often exempt before entry. When the mission does ask for A1, it accepts Goethe-Institut Start Deutsch 1 or the Austrian ÖSD certificate, and that paper should be less than 12 months old when you apply. Who is exempt is in the family reunification guide.

Where do people from Turkey usually live in Germany?

Large communities are in Berlin (Kreuzberg, Neukölln, Wedding), Cologne, Frankfurt, and the Rhine-Ruhr belt. Newer work visas follow the employer, so another city can be just as likely.

Useful links

• German mission in Turkey
• German mission in Turkey: spouse reunification documents
• Frankfurt immigration office: Decision 1/80
• Make it in Germany: visa quick-check
• Destatis: foreign population by citizenship