Background information

Short-term employment for third-country nationals is part of the federal government's current skilled labor strategy and has been in force since 1 March 2024. It is intended to attract skilled workers from abroad in line with demand. The measure is legally regulated by Section 15d of the Employment Ordinance (§ 15d BeschV).

Content of measure

Short-term contingent labour allows companies to cushion short-term peaks in workload with additional staff from abroad. People from third countries are given the opportunity to enter Germany for a limited period of time and work in a company bound by collective labour agreements - regardless of their professional qualifications.

The basic prerequisite is that the Federal Employment Agency has set a number of admissions (quota of 25,000 per year) based on actual demand. Based on this quota, companies can apply for a work permit or approval of a residence permit from the Federal Employment Agency.

The work permit depends on the nationality of the employee. Nationals of so-called positive countries - listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 - can enter Germany without a visa for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. However, a visa is required if the length of stay exceeds 90 days or if the person concerned is a national of a country listed in Annex I of the aforementioned EU regulation. The maximum duration of employment may not exceed eight months within a twelve-month period.

In addition, the following requirements must be met: - The specified quota has not yet been exhausted. - The domestic employment is regularly at least 30 hours per week. - The employer is bound by a collective agreement. - The employees are employed in accordance with the applicable collective agreement working conditions. - The employer bears the necessary traveling expenses of the employees. - Third-country nationals are employed in the host company for a maximum of ten months within a twelve-month period.

Use of measure

The quota for short-term contingent employment is 25,000 per year. The quota currently available (28 April 2025) is 20,044.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Public employment service	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

The social partners have commented on the draft reform, as is normally the case when draft legislation or amendments affect their area of expertise.

Views and reactions

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) is fundamentally opposed to short-term contingent labor. It criticizes the fact that the measure primarily expands immigration into precarious employment instead of tackling structural problems such as low wages and poor working conditions in sectors such as agriculture and the hospitality industry. The DGB is calling for the actual need for seasonal labor to be presented more transparently. Although the DGB welcomes the fact that employment relationships are subject to social security contributions under the quota system, it considers the existing protection mechanisms to be inadequate. It calls for further safeguards both for the new regulation and for existing access routes in order to effectively prevent the risk of exploitation.

In the view of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), short-term contingent employment does offer the opportunity to cover short-term staffing requirements, but is inadequate in its current form. The restriction to eight months is considered too short, as many of the activities concerned require longer-term assignments. The fact that the employer must be bound by collective agreements is also viewed critically. This would put small companies and start-ups at a disadvantage and unreasonably restrict freedom of association (Art. 9 Para. 3 GG). The BDA calls for the residence permit to be extended, for a change to other residence permits to be made possible, taking into account previous employment, and for employment opportunities not to be linked to collective agreements. Overall, the regulation should be more closely aligned with the actual needs of employers and employees.

Sources

• 07 March 2023: DGB statement (www.dgb.de)
• 17 May 2023: BDA statement (arbeitgeber.de)
• 01 March 2024: Paragraph 15d Short-term contingent employment (www.gesetze-im-internet.de)
• 28 April 2025: Short-term contingent employment (www.arbeitsagentur.de)
• 28 April 2025: Info sheet: Short-term contingent employment (www.arbeitsagentur.de)
• 30 May 2025: REGULATION (EU) 2018/1806 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 14 November 2018 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement (eur-lex.europa.eu)