Route: vocational training (Ausbildung)

Dual training in a company with a training wage, the requirements of the Embassy Hanoi and the search visa.

German Ausbildung combines work in a company with classes at a vocational school. You earn a training wage from day one and finish with a qualification recognised in Germany. It usually lasts 2 to 3.5 years.

Requirements (§ 16a AufenthG)

• A training contract with a German company and the employer's declaration on the training position (Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis).
• German at B1, or a lower level if the training includes a German course (Embassy Hanoi).
• Money: the Embassy page names €1,048 gross a month as the training wage that covers your living costs; this corresponds to the 2026 benchmark of €822 net for dual training (Make it in Germany); school-based training: €959 net (€822 plus €137 for health insurance). If the wage is lower, you top it up with a blocked account or a declaration of commitment.
• As a rule, the Federal Employment Agency must approve. The employer can ask for this approval in advance, which shortens the visa procedure.
• Processing: about 3 months; fee €75.

Minimum training wage 2026 (BIBB)

Collective agreements often pay more. Nursing training has its own rules, see Nursing.

Searching for a training place from Germany (§ 17 (1))

• For people under 35 with German at B1 and a school-leaving certificate that is checked in anabin.
• Money of at least €1,091 net a month; stay of up to 9 months; processing about 3 months (Embassy page).

During and after training

• Side job of up to 20 hours a week.
• If you lose your training place through no fault of your own, you have up to 6 months to find a new one.
• After the final exam: up to 18 months to find a job that fits (§ 20), then a skilled-worker permit.