For German employers facing persistent labor shortages — especially in logistics, hospitality, manufacturing, construction, and the wider service sector — the Westbalkanregelung (Western Balkans Regulation) is one of the most flexible ways to recruit motivated workers from outside the EU. Unlike skilled worker routes such as the EU Blue Card, it does not require candidates to hold recognized formal qualifications, making it especially useful for roles where practical experience or on-the-job training is enough.
This guide covers how the regulation works, who qualifies, the role of the Federal Employment Agency (BA), where the real advantages and trade-offs lie, and what HR and People teams need to prepare when hiring talent from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, or Serbia.
What is the Western Balkans Regulation?
Introduced in 2016 and made permanent in 2024, the Westbalkanregelung (§26 Abs. 2 BeschV) is an immigration route that lets employers in Germany hire workers from six Western Balkan countries for any occupation. It was created to promote legal migration and give German companies structured access to urgently needed labor across a wide range of industries.
Its defining feature is that it requires no recognition of formal vocational qualifications. This opens the door to candidates whose professions aren't regulated in Germany, or whose qualifications would otherwise trigger a lengthy assessment process. As a result, it has become one of the most versatile, employer-friendly pathways for filling essential roles that can't be staffed through the domestic or EU labor market.
Key advantage
Unlike the Blue Card or skilled worker visa, the Western Balkans Regulation requires no degree, no qualification recognition, and no minimum salary. A concrete job offer plus Federal Employment Agency approval is enough.
Eligible countries
Why hire from the Western Balkans?
For HR and People teams, the regulation is a strong recruitment tool — but it comes with real administrative trade-offs. Here's an honest view of both sides before you build it into your hiring plan.
Advantages for employers
- Access talent you otherwise can't hire — no degree or qualification recognition required, so you can fill roles that recognition-based routes would block.
- No minimum salary threshold — pay the role's market rate (BA-checked against the Entgeltatlas), not an artificial Blue Card floor.
- Any occupation — works for helper, semi-skilled, and skilled roles alike.
- Large, motivated talent pool with established migration corridors to Germany and geographic proximity.
- A permanent, transparent legal route with a path to permanent residence after ~5 years — which supports retention.
- Often faster end-to-end than recognition routes, since there's no anabin/ZAB assessment step.
Disadvantages & trade-offs
- Annual quota that fills up — capped at 50,000/year, and a proposed cut to 25,000 adds planning risk.
- Long, unpredictable embassy waits that vary sharply by country (up to ~11 months for Kosovo).
- Employer-tied permit — switching jobs needs fresh BA approval (though this does aid early retention).
- Case-by-case BA review — every application is assessed individually, so documentation must be complete and accurate.
- More settling-in support needed — housing, registration, insurance, and often basic-German coaching.
- Weaker on family reunification and EU mobility than the Blue Card — if the candidate qualifies for a Blue Card, that route is usually better.
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Who qualifies and what's required
The regulation applies exclusively to nationals of the six countries above, and candidates can apply regardless of formal qualifications. Even so, all standard visa requirements still apply — and incomplete documentation is the most common reason applications stall.
A concrete job offer from a German employer
A signed employment contract or binding offer specifying the role, salary, and working conditions.
Federal Employment Agency (BA) approval
The BA checks that pay and working conditions match German employees in the same role — benchmarked against the official Entgeltatlas wage data (no wage dumping). Processing: 2–4 weeks.
No receipt of German welfare in the last 24 months
The candidate must not have received German social benefits (Bürgergeld) in the 24 months before applying.
Standard visa documents
A valid passport, proof of sufficient health insurance, and a clean criminal record — plus every form and piece of evidence the embassy and BA request.
Visa application in the home country
The candidate applies at the German embassy in their home country. They cannot apply from within Germany on a tourist visa.
Not required: qualification recognition, minimum salary, German language skills, university degree, or vocational training certificate.
Annual quota, waiting times, and how to apply
The regulation has an annual quota of 50,000 approvals per year — doubled from 25,000 when it was made permanent in June 2024. The quota resets on January 1st each year.
Check the quota before you extend an offer
Demand is high, particularly from Kosovo and Serbia, and each country works through its own annual quota. Once a country's quota is full, no further applications are processed until it resets the following January — the hire simply waits for the next year's allocation. So before you make an offer, check two things for that specific country: whether its quota is still open, and the current embassy waiting time. Factoring this in early is what keeps a start date realistic.
Heads-up: the current coalition agreement proposes cutting the quota back to 25,000 per year. It is not yet law, but employers who rely on this route should plan for tighter availability ahead.
Processing times vary sharply by country
Both quota availability and embassy waiting times differ significantly depending on where the candidate applies. These timelines shift regularly — treat them as planning guidance, not guarantees.
| Country | Typical embassy wait |
|---|---|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Days to a few weeks |
| Montenegro | Days to a few weeks |
| Albania | Several months |
| North Macedonia | Several months |
| Serbia | Several months |
| Kosovo | Up to ~11 months; quota often exhausted earliest |
Employer submits the job offer to the BA
Send the employment contract and company details to the Bundesagentur für Arbeit for the pre-approval check.
BA approves (2–4 weeks)
The BA verifies that working conditions are fair and the position is genuine, then issues a Vorabzustimmung (pre-approval).
Candidate books an embassy appointment
With the BA pre-approval in hand, the candidate applies at the German embassy in their home country.
Visa interview and processing
The embassy processes the visa. How long this takes depends heavily on the country — anywhere from a few weeks to around a year (see the table above). There is no fast-track around a country's embassy queue.
Candidate enters Germany and starts work
The work permit is tied to the specific employer. Changing jobs later requires a new BA approval.
What employers need to prepare
- Fair working conditions: Salary must be comparable to German employees in the same role — the BA checks this against the Entgeltatlas.
- Accommodation: Arrange temporary housing — especially for construction or manufacturing roles in rural areas.
- Anmeldung and settlement: Help the employee register, set up health insurance, and open a bank account.
- Language: While not required for the visa, basic German helps on the job. Consider offering a language course.
- Retention: The permit is employer-tied initially. If the employee wants to change jobs, they need new BA approval.
When the Blue Card is the better route
The Western Balkans Regulation is excellent for candidates without formal qualifications — but it isn't the only pathway open to nationals of these six countries. If a candidate holds a recognized qualification and meets the salary threshold, an EU Blue Card or another skilled worker permit is often the better choice: no quota, faster and more predictable processing, greater long-term security, simplified family reunification, and increased mobility within the EU.
As a rule of thumb, always check whether the role and candidate profile fit skilled worker requirements before defaulting to the Western Balkans Regulation.
Compared to other visa routes
| Western Balkans | EU Blue Card | §18a Skilled Worker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree required | No | Yes | Vocational |
| Min. salary | None | €50,700 | None |
| Recognition needed | No | Yes (anabin/ZAB) | Yes (full) |
| Eligible nationalities | 6 countries only | All non-EU | All non-EU |
| Total processing | 4–10 weeks* | 5–20 weeks | 8–16 weeks |
| Path to PR | 5 years | 21–27 months | 4–5 years |
| Quota | 50,000/year | Unlimited | Unlimited |
*Only where the embassy processes quickly (e.g. Bosnia, Montenegro). In high-demand countries such as Kosovo, embassy waits can push the real timeline to around a year — there is no fast-track around it.
How relokate supports employers
Hiring from the Western Balkans can be complex — but it doesn't have to be. At relokate, we take over the entire process for your candidates:
- Pre-offer quota & waiting-time checks for the specific country — so you never extend an offer the route can't deliver this year
- Visa preparation and application
- Federal Employment Agency (BA) approval handling
- Coordination with embassies and authorities
- Relocation, settling-in, registration, and integration support in Germany
- Employer compliance and documentation guidance
The result: your HR team gets a clear process, less administrative workload, and faster, more predictable outcomes — so you can focus on growing your team.
Summary
- 6 eligible countries: Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia
- Any job: No degree, salary, or language requirements
- 50,000/year quota: Apply early — 2025's was gone by December, and a cut to 25,000 is proposed
- Waiting times vary by country: Days in Bosnia/Montenegro, up to ~11 months for Kosovo
- Best for: Construction, manufacturing, logistics, hospitality — any role where formal qualifications aren't needed
- Check the Blue Card first if the candidate has recognized qualifications and meets the salary threshold
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Check visa eligibility →About the author
Hanna Kovacs
Product Manager, Global Mobility
Professional experience across the US, Hungary, and Germany in product management and operations. Deep expertise in German immigration law and the regulatory landscape for skilled worker migration. At relokate, Hanna owns the product roadmap, drives platform automation, and develops the compliance frameworks and immigration content that HR teams rely on.
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