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The rule in writing
“For Germany’s national visa, health insurance must include the benefits statutory-insured persons are entitled to under §11(1–3) SGB V, and the contract must be open-ended — no expiry or cancellation clauses tied to age, employment, or residence status. Travel insurance is insufficient.”
Official source: German Federal Foreign Office — health insurance in the national visa procedure — Last verified:
The 2026 salary thresholds, and the tier most people miss
The standard threshold for 2026 is €50,700 gross a year, set at 50% of the pension-insurance contribution ceiling. A reduced threshold of €45,934.20 applies at 45.3%.
The reduced tier is widely described as a “shortage occupation” list, which is not quite right. It is defined by named ISCO-08 occupational groups, or by holding a degree obtained within the previous three years — and it separately extends to ICT professionals with three years of relevant experience in the last seven and no degree at all. One practical catch: unlike the standard threshold, the reduced tier requires Federal Employment Agency consent.
Why the contract clause fails more files than the benefits do
The equivalence test asks what your policy covers. The second half of the rule asks how long it covers it for. An open-ended contract means no expiry tied to age, employment status or residence status — and international policies routinely carry exactly those clauses without the buyer noticing, because they never mattered before.
This is the single most common reason a well-funded Blue Card applicant is asked for a different certificate. A person checks the wording against the rule for your case before you buy.
The Blue Card’s real advantage: how fast it settles
It is the quickest route to permanent settlement Germany publishes. A settlement permit must be granted after 27 months of Blue Card employment with pension contributions and A1 German — cut to 21 months with B1. Compare that with the general five-year route, which also wants 60 months of contributions.
Job mobility is unusually free as well: after the first twelve months you do not need immigration-office permission to change employer. Within those first twelve months the authority may suspend a change for 30 days and refuse it inside that window.
Where this leaves your cover
The card runs up to four years, so this is a multi-year cover decision rather than a document you produce once. If you are weighing Germany against the French or Austrian Blue Card, the salary bars differ sharply and so do the insurance rules — our EU Blue Card insurance guide puts all three side by side, and the visa finder shows every German route with its published work rule.
Honest limits: Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States. Pre-existing conditions are excluded, including conditions you did not know about. We disclose this before you request a quote. Consulates keep discretion, and requirements can change. We show the published rule and its source; the final decision is the consulate’s.