50,000 approvals per year, split across months and nationalities – and in 2025 exhausted by 2 December.
No recognised qualification required · quota capped
The Western Balkans Regulation (Westbalkanregelung) is a standalone route into the German labour market – but not an unlimited one.
Many employers fail at the recognition of qualifications – and overlook that the Western Balkans Regulation simply doesn't have that hurdle.
| Criterion | Western Balkans Regulation | Skilled Immigration Act |
|---|---|---|
| Recognised qualification required? | No | Usually yes |
| Who can come? | Helpers and semi-skilled workers too | Skilled workers with recognised qualifications |
| Concrete job offer required? | Yes | Yes |
| Approval of the Federal Employment Agency? | Yes | Depending on the title |
| Annual quota? | Yes – 50,000 | No |
| Nationality | Only the 6 Western Balkan states | Worldwide |
An employer who wants to hire an experienced welder, electrician or HGV driver from Bosnia often fails under the Skilled Immigration Act at the recognition procedure – a process that can take months and doesn't always succeed. The Western Balkans Regulation simply doesn't require it. What is checked instead is whether the working conditions match those of domestic employees.
By 2 December 2025, all 50,000 approvals for the year were gone. Applications without an approval already in hand went nowhere after that and were rejected. Rejected applications are not carried over into the following year's quota – you have to apply again in the new year.
On top of that, the quota is split not just across the year but across months and nationalities. The monthly quotas are prescribed to the Federal Employment Agency – it can neither set nor change them. An application can therefore fail mid-year on the monthly quota for a particular country of origin.
Sources: Federal Employment Agency – Western Balkans Regulation; report on the exhaustion of the 2025 annual quota, 2 December 2025. As of July 2026 – please verify before applying.The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and SPD proposes halving the quota to 25,000 approvals per year. The construction industry opposes the cut, pointing to demographics. Whether and when it comes is open as of this page – for planning purposes it means: if you intend to hire anyway, there is little reason to wait.
From job offer to first day at work – and the one point where you can gain time.
Via the agency or yourself via the platform. Nothing moves without a concrete job offer.
A concrete offer with working conditions matching those of domestic employees. That is what the Federal Employment Agency checks.
Optional but the most effective lever: the employer requests the approval upfront instead of letting it run through the embassy.
The worker applies for the visa at the competent mission abroad – with the approval already secured.
If the procedure runs entirely through the embassy, you as the employer usually don't have to act towards the Federal Employment Agency at all. Convenient – but slow. With the advance approval you can shorten the procedure. Given a quota that is split by month and last ran out in early December, that is often the difference between this year's round and the next.
If the worker is older than 45 and you are obtaining an approval from the Federal Employment Agency for the first time, the person must either receive a gross annual salary of at least €55,770 (2026 figure) – 55 per cent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the statutory pension insurance – or provide proof of adequate pension provision. Since the ceiling is adjusted annually, the amount changes every year.
Source: Federal Employment Agency. 2026 figure, as of July 2026 – please verify before applying.Nationals of six countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Croatia is not among them – Croatian nationals are EU citizens and don't need a work permit in the first place.
The Federal Employment Agency may issue at most 50,000 approvals per calendar year. This quota has applied since 1 June 2024 and is split across months and nationalities. The monthly quotas are prescribed to the agency; it can neither set nor change them.
Further applications are rejected. The 2025 annual quota was already exhausted on 2 December 2025. Rejected applications are not carried over into the following year – you have to apply again. Anyone planning should therefore start early in the year.
No. That is the central difference to the Skilled Immigration Act: the Western Balkans Regulation requires no German-recognised vocational qualification. What's needed is a concrete job offer and the approval of the Federal Employment Agency, which checks among other things that the working conditions match those of domestic employees.
If the procedure runs entirely through the embassy, employers usually don't have to act towards the Federal Employment Agency – but it costs time. With the advance approval (Vorabzustimmung) you can shorten the procedure. Since the quota is split by month and last ran out early, that time gain is practically relevant.
For workers over 45 for whom an approval is obtained for the first time, a gross annual salary of at least 55 per cent of the annual contribution assessment ceiling in the statutory pension insurance must be paid – €55,770 per year in 2026. Alternatively, proof of adequate pension provision is possible.
The regulation explains the legal route – not where the candidates are. For that there are two ways.
from €5,000
per placement – incl. advance approval and deadline tracking.
€490 / month
Flat – regardless of the number of hires. Start from €0.
For many companies in Germany, the Western Balkans Regulation is the most practical way to hire workers from abroad. It covers Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, it has been valid indefinitely since the reform – and unlike the Skilled Immigration Act it requires no German-recognised vocational qualification. That makes it the central route for occupations like welders, electricians, vehicle mechatronics technicians, HGV drivers, metalworkers and construction workers.
The price of that openness is the quota: at most 50,000 approvals per calendar year, split across months and nationalities. In 2025 it was exhausted on 2 December; rejected applications don't roll over. On top of that, the coalition agreement floats halving it to 25,000. For employers the consequence is simple: plan early in the year and use the advance approval instead of letting the procedure run through the embassy alone.
Which leaves the question of where the candidates come from. Via full service from Balkan Recruiters, the agency handles sourcing, screening and the entire procedure, success-based from €5,000 per placement. Via the CandidateForce platform you search the entire candidate pool yourself – for a flat monthly fee, regardless of how many people you hire. Which is cheaper for you mainly depends on whether you have your own recruiters: the calculator answers that in three questions, the pricing overview puts both models side by side.
