Permits
Residency and work permits.
This is a teaching map, not legal advice. I prepare the exam and help you understand the language piece of the paperwork. I do not file a permit, and I do not promise one.
These notes can go out of date. Double-check the official source for your own case before you count on them. The office that decides your file can ask for more than the line written here.
The exams named below are prepared on the exam page. What each level can actually do is under the country sections.
Germany
Checked 8 November 2026.
Several German work visas have no legal German requirement. A1 is the spouse rule and the gate for the Opportunity Card, not a rule for every permit. Regulated jobs can still ask for German on the licence, even when the visa line is empty.
| Step | German the law asks for | Exam that usually proves it |
|---|---|---|
| Work visa for qualified professionals | None | None |
| EU Blue Card | None | None |
| Work visa for experienced workers, including IT | None | None |
| Self-employment, research | None | None |
| Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte), points route | A1 German, or English B2 instead, just to be allowed to apply. Points then need more. See the note under the table. | A1: Goethe, telc, or ÖSD. A higher certificate adds points. |
| Recognition of a foreign qualification, and recognition partnership | A2 | Goethe, telc, or ÖSD A2 |
| Vocational training, and the visa to look for a training place | B1 | Goethe, telc, or ÖSD B1 |
| University study | Usually B2, and the programme can set its own rule | TestDaF (TDN 4 in all parts), DSH-2, Goethe C2, telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule, or the level the programme names |
| Spouse joining a partner | A1 before entry, with important exceptions. See the note under the table. | Goethe, telc, or ÖSD A1. Missions usually want every part passed, often within the last year. |
| Settlement permit for skilled workers | B1 after three years, or after two years if the qualification is German. EU Blue Card holders: A1 after 27 months, or B1 after 21 months. | Goethe, telc, ÖSD, or a DTZ result at B1. The Blue Card A1 path uses an A1 certificate. |
| Settlement permit, general route | B1, plus the Leben in Deutschland test | A B1 certificate, and Leben in Deutschland beside it |
| Citizenship | B1, plus Leben in Deutschland | The same B1 certificates, plus the civic test |
Opportunity Card points, on top of the A1-or-English-B2 gate: A1 scores nothing, A2 is 1 point, B1 is 2, and B2 or higher is 3. English at C1 is 1 extra point. That route needs 6 points. Only the highest German level counts.
Spouses of EU Blue Card holders and of many skilled workers do not have to show A1. Citizens of some countries, including the United States, are also treated differently for spouse reunification. The mission decides which case is which.
A regulated job, such as medicine, nursing, or teaching, can still demand German, often around B2 plus a profession-specific test, even when the work visa itself has no language line. Preparation for that level is under B2 and above.
Switzerland
Checked 8 November 2026.
These are federal minimums for German-speaking cantons. The canton can ask for more. The language that counts is the language of the place you live. In a German-speaking canton, that is German. Speaking and writing are scored separately.
EU and EFTA nationals generally have no language exam for the B permit itself. A job offer drives most work permits. German still decides the later settlement permit, and employers in German-speaking cantons expect it.
| Step | Federal minimum | Exam that usually proves it |
|---|---|---|
| B permit for an EU/EFTA worker | No language exam | None |
| Spouse on family reunification with a third-country B or C holder | Spoken A1, or proof of enrolment in a course that leads to A1. Spoken A1 is needed when the permit is renewed. | fide, Goethe, telc, or ÖSD at spoken A1 |
| Ordinary C permit, often after 10 years | Spoken A2 and written A1 | A certificate on the SEM list. fide reports speaking and writing separately, which matches this split. |
| C permit for spouses of Swiss citizens and of C holders, and for some nationalities after five years | Spoken A2 and written A1 | The same certificates |
| Early C permit, after five years on a B, for strong integration | Spoken B1 and written A1 | The same certificates. A Goethe or telc B1 covers this. |
| Citizenship, federal minimum | Spoken B1 and written A2. A canton may set a higher bar. | The same certificates, at those levels |
Nationals of Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein are commonly exempt from the Swiss German-language proof. So are people whose mother tongue is the local language, and people who did several years of school or a higher qualification in that language.
The recognised-certificate list used here is the SEM list of 1 October 2026. SEM updates that list again on 1 January 2027. Goethe, telc, ÖSD, TestDaF, and ECL count when they are on that list. The speaking-and-writing section is where to start if the two scores differ.
Austria
Checked 8 November 2026.
The Red-White-Red Card for the worker has no A1-before-entry rule. Holding that card counts as fulfilling Integration Agreement Module 1. Other titles often ask for A1 before the first application, and later modules ask for more.
| Step | German the law asks for | Exam that usually proves it |
|---|---|---|
| Red-White-Red Card for the worker | No A1-before-entry rule for the card itself. Holding the card counts as fulfilling Module 1. | None |
| Red-White-Red Card plus, a family member, and several settlement permits | A1 before the first application. The diploma must be under one year old. This covers a relative, an artist, special cases of employment, settlement except employment, and plain settlement. | ÖSD, Goethe, telc, or ÖIF |
| Integration Agreement Module 1 | A2 plus the values test, within two years of the first permit for the titles it covers | ÖIF Integrationsprüfung at A2, or an accepted equivalent |
| Long-term residence (Daueraufenthalt – EU) and, as a rule, citizenship | Module 2: B1 plus the values test | ÖIF Integrationsprüfung at B1, or an accepted equivalent |
The A1-before-entry proof is excused in some cases. The authority decides that. This page does not.
Liechtenstein
Checked 8 November 2026.
German is the official language, so a German exam does come up. The lines below are for third-country nationals. EEA and Swiss citizens are on a different track.
| Step | German the office asks for | Exam that usually proves it |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse joining from abroad | A1 before entry. Three years of compulsory school in a German-speaking country, with German passed, can stand in. The office can also check in person. | A recognised A1 diploma |
| Residence permit, integration agreement | A1 is the usual level at the start. Visible progress within two years. A2 within five years. | Goethe, telc, or ÖSD. The Migration and Passport Office names those three. |
| Settlement (Niederlassung), non-EEA and non-Swiss | A2, plus the civics test. Schooling in Liechtenstein can replace both. | An A2 certificate |
| Citizenship | B1, plus a harder civics test | A B1 certificate, and the citizenship civics exam |
Luxembourg
Checked 8 November 2026.
Citizenship tests Luxembourgish, not German. The Sproochentest is speaking at A2 and listening at B1. A work permit does not ask for a Goethe or telc certificate the way a German or Swiss file can.
German is still one of the country’s official languages, and children learn to read in German at primary school. If that is what you need, the lessons are the same lessons: private, homeschool, or immersion reading. I do not teach the Sproochentest.
What each level can do
The certificate is the paper. These are the skills that paper is supposed to mean. A real exam also has its own format, timing, and passing rule. That part is on the exam page.
A1
You can introduce yourself, ask for something in a shop, and follow if the other person speaks slowly and is willing to help. This is the usual starting proof for a spouse visa and for being allowed to apply for the German Opportunity Card.
A2
You can handle a short routine conversation, talk about your family and your work, and read a simple message. Recognition visas in Germany, Austria’s Module 1, the spoken half of an ordinary Swiss C permit, and Liechtenstein settlement sit here.
B1
You can tell a connected story, get through most everyday situations, and write a plain text someone else can follow. Germany uses B1 for settlement and citizenship. Austria’s Module 2 is B1. A German vocational-training visa asks for B1. An early Swiss C permit asks for spoken B1. Liechtenstein citizenship asks for B1.
B2
You can follow a meeting, read an article, and write a clear explanation. German-taught university often starts around here, and the programme can set its own rule. A regulated profession can ask for about this level even when the visa itself has no language line.
C1 and C2
C1 is for longer study and professional writing. telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule is the university exam at this level. C2, the Goethe Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom, is for someone who can work with difficult texts and talk precisely about them. TestDaF with TDN 4 in every part, and DSH-2, are the other usual university proofs. They are not the same thing as a C1 certificate.
Official pages
- Make it in Germany, required German language skills (January 2026)
- Make it in Germany, Opportunity Card points
- Swiss SEM, language requirements
- SEM list of recognised language certificates (1 October 2026)
- Austrian Interior Ministry, proof of German language skills
- Austrian Integration Agreement
- Liechtenstein foreigners ordinance, spouse’s A1 proof
- Liechtenstein integration agreement, A2 within five years
- Liechtenstein settlement checklist, A2 and civics
- Liechtenstein national administration, B1 for citizenship
- Luxembourg, nationality language test is Luxembourgish