Vander Elst Visa Legal Assistance in Germany

A Vander Elst visa is available for applicants who

• are nationals of a country outside the European Union,
• are duly employed in an EU member state (there are no requirements regarding the length of previous employment) and
• are to provide a temporary service in Germany while continuing to be employed by the seconding employer.

Applicants who hold a long-term residence permit in the EU country of origin do not require a Vander Elst visa to provide a temporary service in Germany, provided that the stay does not exceed three months within a one-year period. However, a visa is still required for stays of more than three months. In addition to the Vander Elst visa, it may be necessary to apply for another type of visa. The following visas are required for entry into Germany:

• Schengen visa
• Job-seeker visa
• Working holiday visa
• Business Visa
• Medical treatment visa
• German language acquisition visa

Our German immigration and residence law team will explain the differences between the various visas in detail and help you determine which one is right for your plans.

The application is made to the German mission abroad in the sending country. The prerequisites for making the application are as follows:

• The employee is a third-country national, is employed by a company within the EU,
• has a work permit and,
• If they do not have a long-term work permit, the planned provision of services in Germany is, at most, three months within a 12-month period.

The illegal employment of foreign workers is severely punished – in some cases, the legal framework even provides for imprisonment.

The large variety of residence permits and visas in Germany, which are also influenced by European laws, can quickly cause confusion. In particular, the Vander Elst visa is to be distinguished from the ICT-Card (Intra-Corporate Transfer Card) and the German border crossing visa.

The ICT-Card according to § 19 AufenthG enables companies to temporarily transfer their trainees, specialists or executives who normally work in a branch outside the EU to a branch in Germany. The prerequisite is that the employee has already been employed in the company for a minimum of 6 months. An ICT-Card is valid for up to three years.

With the Border Crossing Certificate, third-country nationals, who have a permanent residence permit in a neighboring country to Germany, are permitted to work or study in Germany.

The Vander Elst Visa is based on a judgment of the European Court of Justice of August 9, 1994 (ECLI:EU:C:1994:310). The Belgian national Raymond Vander Elst, at the time ran a special demolition company in Brussels and employed Moroccan nationals who were legally residing in Belgium and holding a Belgian work permit. Vander Elst challenged the French Office des migrations Internationales. The plaintiff sent a group of his employees, including the Moroccan nationals, to carry out work on French territory. An inspection of the construction site by the French authorities revealed that the Moroccan nationals did not have French work permits. A subsequent case was brought to the ECJ, which found that the French rules violated the free movement of services. This is made clear in paragraph 15 of the judgment:

Similarly, the Court has already held that national legislation which makes the provision of certain services on national territory by an undertaking established in another Member State subject to the issue of an administrative licence constitutes a restriction on the freedom to provide services within the meaning of Article 59 of the Treaty.

The ECJ has thus determined that, in principle, no restrictions in the form of permits or visas are necessary to provide short-term services in another member state. Visas that go beyond this are therefore called Vander Elst visas.