The Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis — the declaration on the employment relationship — is the form in which an employer describes the job offered to a foreign worker. The Federal Employment Agency (BA) uses it to decide whether to consent to the employment, and the mission or Ausländerbehörde checks it against the contract. It is short, but the information in it must be accurate, complete and consistent with every other document in the file.
What the Form Covers
The exact layout changes from time to time, so always use the current version from the BA or the authority handling your case. In substance, the declaration asks about:
- The employer: name, address, contact person, company number with the social-insurance system, number of employees
- Collective agreements: whether the employer is bound by one, and which
- The worker: personal details and qualification
- The job: title, description of duties, place of work, and whether the role requires the worker's qualification
- Terms: start date, fixed-term or permanent, weekly hours, gross pay, overtime arrangements, holiday entitlement
- The employment model: whether the worker will be employed directly or through other arrangements
Describing the Job
The job description is where most problems start. The BA assesses whether the role matches the qualification and the route. A description that is vague — "general worker", "helper", "support staff" — invites questions or refusal for a skilled route. A good description:
- Names the occupation precisely, using the German occupational term where one exists
- Lists the main tasks in a few concrete lines
- States the qualification or experience the role requires
- Matches the job title in the employment contract
If the role genuinely requires a qualified worker, say so and explain why. If it does not, a skilled-worker route is probably the wrong one; see our Westbalkan comparison.
Pay and Hours: Do the Arithmetic
Salary and hours must be consistent across the declaration and the contract, and must meet the relevant floor:
- If pay is hourly, state the hourly rate and the weekly hours, and check that the annual equivalent meets any required threshold
- If pay is monthly, make sure it corresponds to the stated hours at or above the applicable collective or minimum rate
- Do not count variable bonuses or uncertain overtime towards a salary threshold
- If a collective agreement applies, name it and the pay group
Our Tarifvertrag guide explains how collective agreements interact with visa floors.
Direct Employment Only
The skilled-worker routes require direct employment. The Residence Act provides that BA consent is to be refused where the worker would be employed as a temporary agency worker. If your plan involves agency employment, the route will not work; recruit directly into your company.
Consistency Across the File
The declaration is read together with the employment contract, the job offer, the candidate's CV and qualification documents. Common inconsistencies:
- Different job titles in the contract and the declaration
- A start date in the declaration that has already passed
- Hours stated as 40 in one document and 38.5 in another
- A place of work that differs from the address on the contract
- A qualification requirement that the candidate's documents do not show
Each inconsistency can trigger a query that adds weeks.
Signing and Updating
The declaration must be signed by an authorised person at the employer. If key details change — start date, salary, place of work — submit an updated declaration rather than relying on an email explanation.
A Short Checklist Before Submission
- Current form version used
- Job title identical to the contract
- Duties described concretely
- Hours and pay consistent and above the floor
- Collective agreement named where applicable
- Place of work matching the contract
- Signature and date present
Where We Help
We pre-check declarations against the contract and the candidate file before they are submitted, so the BA receives a consistent set of documents. This is one of the simplest ways to shorten the pre-approval stage. Start with our Germany hiring page.
