Ausbildung in Germany — get paid while you learn
For people coming from India. Last checked: 14 September 2026. No agent, no placement fee, no "guaranteed seat".
The short version. Ausbildung is Germany's dual training system: two or three and a half years, part of the week in a company and part in a vocational school. You pay no tuition. You are an employee from day one and you get a salary every month. At the end you hold a German qualification that employers here actually ask for.
The price is German. Everything — the work, the school, the final exam — happens in German. That is the whole entry barrier, and it is the reason most people who ask us about Ausbildung never start one.
1. What you actually earn
These are the legal minimums for training that starts in 2026. Most companies pay more, and a company bound by a collective agreement (Tarifvertrag) often pays much more.
| Year of training | Minimum per month (gross) |
|---|---|
| 1st year | 724 € |
| 2nd year | 854 € |
| 3rd year | 977 € |
| 4th year | 1,014 € |
Source: the minimum training wage set under the Berufsbildungsgesetz for training contracts starting in 2026.
Will it be enough? Do the sum honestly
Nothing is saved and nothing is sent anywhere. Use the real rent of the city you are considering, not the cheapest number you read somewhere.
Read this before you dream. A training salary is not a worker's salary. In an expensive city the first year can be genuinely tight, and the rule that students use — 140 days of side work — does not apply to you: as a trainee your permit normally allows only limited extra work, and your Ausbildung plus school already fills the week. Two things that help: choose a smaller city, and ask the Agentur für Arbeit whether you qualify for Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe (BAB), a state top-up. Whether a foreign trainee qualifies depends on the residence permit and on waiting periods, so ask them, do not assume.
2. Two doors into Ausbildung
The normal route: sign the contract first, then apply
- You find the employer from India, do the interviews online, and sign the Ausbildungsvertrag.
- You then apply for the vocational training residence permit under §16a AufenthG.
- German: B1 is the usual minimum. Nursing, care and most healthcare training want B2, and many employers want B2 regardless.
- School: 10th or 12th class, depending on the trade.
- Money proof: often not needed if the training salary covers your living costs. If the salary is low, the mission may ask for a blocked account to cover the gap. Ask the German mission before you block anything.
- Age: no legal limit. In practice most trainees are 18-30, and an older applicant needs a clear, honest story about why this trade now.
3. German: the whole plan
This is the part nobody can do for you and the part every agent glosses over.
Free practice while you study: our German words area, our der / die / den / dem explainer, and the course overview. Speaking is the part Indians usually neglect — find one person to speak with daily, even badly.
4. Where to find a training place — for free
Every one of these is free and public. This is the exact list an agent uses.
- Bundesagentur für Arbeit — the official job and training board of the German employment agency. The largest single source of vacancies.
- IHK Lehrstellenbörse — the chamber of commerce board, for commercial, technical and hotel trades.
- Handwerkskammer — the crafts chamber of each region, for trades like electrician, plumber, mechatronics, baker.
- Make it in Germany — the federal government portal, with an English section for foreign applicants.
- Direct applications. Pick 30 companies in one region, look at their Karriere page, and write to each one. Small companies rarely advertise; they hire the person who wrote to them.
How to apply so you are not deleted in five seconds
- Write in German, even imperfect German. An English application to a German workshop usually ends in the bin.
- Say in the first two lines: which training, which start year, that you need a visa, and what your German level is. Hiding the visa part wastes everyone's time and ends badly.
- Attach a German-style CV (one page, table format, photo is normal here), your school certificates with translations, and your language certificate.
- Apply to 30 or more places. Ten is not a campaign, it is a hope.
- Answer within a day when someone writes back. Slow replies read as not serious.
Build the CV here for free: CV builder.
5. Which trades take foreign applicants most readily
| Field | German needed | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing and elderly care | B2 | Huge shortage, but hard physical and emotional work. Be honest with yourself. |
| Hotel and restaurant (Koch, Hotelfachmann/-frau) | B1 | Doors open easily; pay in the first year is often at the minimum. |
| Electrician, mechatronics, plant mechanic | B1-B2 | Strong pay after training; the school part is technical and demanding. |
| Logistics and warehouse specialist | B1 | Many vacancies, shift work. |
| Retail (Einzelhandelskaufmann/-frau) | B2 | All day with customers, so language decides everything. |
| IT specialist (Fachinformatiker) | B2 | Best long-term pay; the most competitive to get into. |
6. The visa file
- Signed Ausbildungsvertrag from the company
- Language certificate (Goethe, telc or ÖSD)
- School certificates, translated and attested
- Passport, valid well beyond the training period, with blank pages
- Health insurance for the journey and the start
- Medical fitness certificate and a police clearance certificate, where asked
- Proof of funds if the training salary alone is judged too low
- Biometric photos, the application form from the missions online portal, and the VFS appointment
The visa fee is 75 € for adults. Plan three to five months from complete file to departure — the appointment queue, not the decision, is what takes the time.
7. What life is actually like during the three years
- Probezeit. The first one to four months are a trial period. Either side can end the contract without a reason. This is normal, not an insult — but it means you cannot coast at the start.
- Berufsschule. One or two days a week, or in blocks. Attendance is compulsory and the grades matter for the final exam.
- You have rights. Your contract is registered with the chamber (IHK or HWK). If a company uses you as cheap labour instead of training you, the chamber's training adviser is the address, and it is free. A works council or a union can also help.
- Holiday and hours are regulated. Under 18 you fall under the youth protection law with stricter limits.
- If you quit or are dismissed, your residence permit is tied to the training. Go to the Ausländerbehörde yourself, immediately, and ask what your options are. Hiding it is what turns a problem into a deportation.
8. After the Ausbildung
- Up to 12 months to look for a job matching your new qualification, if you do not already have one. Most trainees are simply kept on — the company trained you to keep you.
- Skilled worker permit (§18a). With a German qualification you are a Fachkraft, and you can work in any related job.
- Typical pay after training: roughly 2,500 to 3,500 € gross per month at the start, more in technical trades and with shift supplements. Check what stays in your pocket with our gross-to-net calculator.
- Permanent residence is normally possible after three years as a skilled worker, with German and pension contributions in place.
- Citizenship needs five years of lawful residence. The three-year fast track was abolished on 30 October 2025.
- Family. Bringing a spouse during the Ausbildung is hard because the income is low. After the training, on a skilled worker salary, it becomes realistic. See family reunion.
9. Already qualified in India?
If you already hold a nursing degree, an engineering diploma or a trade qualification, do not start from zero. The right route is recognition, not Ausbildung.
- Get your qualification assessed, and you may receive a partial recognition with a list of what is missing (a Defizitbescheid).
- You can then come to close the gap through an adaptation course or a recognition partnership with an employer, which is much shorter than three years of training.
- Our page on this: getting a foreign qualification recognised.
10. The money trap around Ausbildung
Ausbildung has become a business in India. Typical packages run from 3 to 8 lakh rupees for "placement". What you are paying for:
- A list of employers that is public and free. The chamber and employment agency boards are open to anyone.
- An application written for you — which is exactly why it reads like everyone else's.
- Sometimes a genuine German-language course, which does have value. Then pay for the course, and pay the school directly.
Never: pay an employer to be taken on; pay a "seat blocking" fee; sign a contract you cannot read; hand over original certificates; accept a contract where the training wage is below the legal minimum above; or let anyone tell you a visa is guaranteed. Also be careful with agreements that tie you to one employer with a penalty if you leave — show any such paper to the chamber before you sign.
11. Questions people ask us
Honesty note. Figures checked on 14 September 2026 against the Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, the Aufenthaltsgesetz and federal information portals. Rules change and each German mission and Ausländerbehörde decides individual cases. We are a private information site in Hamburg; we place nobody, we take no commission, and we cannot represent you anywhere.