Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency)

The Bundesagentur für Arbeit, usually shortened to BA or Arbeitsagentur, is Germany's public employment service. The federal government's employer guide says it is responsible, among other things, for helping people find employment, and describes it as the point of contact for people and companies seeking information on the labour market, with an Employers' Service that advises on recruiting skilled workers in Germany and abroad. Its International Placement Services, the Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung (ZAV), handle recruitment from abroad.

You meet the BA even if you never visit one of its offices, because it sits inside the visa process.

Under section 39 of the Residence Act (AufenthG), a residence title for employment generally needs the BA's approval (Zustimmung), unless a law, the Employment Ordinance (BeschV) or an international agreement says otherwise. The BA checks that you will not be employed on worse terms than comparable local workers, and the federal guide says it can attach restrictions on the employer, the job, the region and the period, up to four years.

• You do not apply to the BA yourself. The German mission abroad or the foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) asks it through an internal online procedure.
• Your employer fills in the form. The key document is the Declaration of Employment (Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis), completed and signed by the employer.
• There is a deadline. Under section 36 of the BeschV, approval is deemed given if the BA does not reply within two weeks, or one week under the fast-track procedure.

The EU Blue Card is issued without BA approval when the salary passes a set threshold.

• Recruitment programmes. The ZAV runs Triple Win with GIZ to place nurses from partner countries, and the federal guide notes placement agreements with selected third countries for health and nursing professionals.
• Recognition advice. The Central Service Centre for Professional Recognition (ZSBA), based at the BA, advises people abroad on the recognition procedure free of charge; Berlin's licensing office points applicants abroad to it at [email protected].
• Hotline. The "Working and Living in Germany" hotline, run by BAMF and the ZAV in German and English, is on +49 30 1815-1111.
• Job search. The BA's site offers free, personal advice to people abroad who want a job in Germany.

• Missing employer paperwork. If the Declaration of Employment is incomplete, the two-week clock does not help you; the BA can report that the information is not enough.
• Changing jobs. If your permit names an employer, a new job can need a new approval, so ask the foreigners authority before you resign.
• Losing your job. Section 38 of the Social Code III requires anyone whose employment is ending to register as a job seeker at least three months before it ends, or within three days of learning the end date if that is sooner.

The BA is not your licensing body. Your right to practise still comes from the state authority, such as the Approbation authority.