Germany: Pre-Approval No Longer Required for Some Russian-based German Work Visa Applicants

The German Federal Employment Agency has issued a blanket ‘Pre-Approval’ until September 30, 2022 for Russian-based employees of international companies in Russia who apply for German work visas to work at the entity of that company in Germany. Generally, a pre-approval (issued by the Federal Employment Agency) is required for each visa and work permit applicant and has a processing time of one to three weeks. Due to this new concession, processing times will decrease as the involvement of the Federal Employment Agency is no longer required for the issuance of the work visa. The German Embassy in Russia will still review whether work visa requirements such as the salary level, are met.