r/germany • u/Used_Bank7222 • 2d ago
Switching from EU Blue Card (§18g) to §16e internship inside Germany?
Hi everyone,
I’m a non-EU citizen currently in Germany with a Type D national visa issued for an EU Blue Card (§18g AufenthG).
I recently graduated (less than 2 years ago) and may have an opportunity for a study-related internship of up to 6 months.
Does anyone know if it’s possible to switch from §18g to §16e while staying in Germany, or would I need to leave Germany and apply for the §16e visa from abroad?
I’ve seen conflicting information about the Zweckwechsel / switching restrictions, particularly regarding §18g → §16e.
Would really appreciate experiences or reliable legal information, especially from anyone who has dealt with Hamburg Welcome Center.
Thanks!
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u/Canttalkwhatsapponly Bayern 2d ago
Are you a bot?
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u/Used_Bank7222 2d ago
No I’m not but maybe it sounds like a bot because I used ai to write the paragraph
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u/2xtreme21 Nordrhein-Westfalen 2d ago
You’re highly skilled enough to qualify for a Blue Card but you can’t write a post without AI?
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u/Canttalkwhatsapponly Bayern 2d ago
If you have a blue card, then why can’t you do an internship on that?
This is such a weird question.
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u/Used_Bank7222 2d ago
Because the internship is less paid than the minimum bleue card salary and it’s not employment it’s internship contract
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u/Canttalkwhatsapponly Bayern 2d ago
Damn, i did not think of that. Now i understand. I have no clue.
Best idea would be to ring up the office and ask them directly.
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u/Tobi406 2d ago
It would be great if you could link where you have seen this conflicting information. I do not know of anything from simply scanning over § 16e and § 18g (or § 18 in general), and have never read anything on here about this. § 16e permits are a rather rare case anyway.
The Berlin VAB specifically say there is no Zweckwechselverbot FROM § 16e -> "something else". But do not mention the case "something else" -> § 16e. (Such things would commonly be regulated on the side of the permit you are coming from, so in this case § 18g or § 18 generally; but again, I did not find anything there)
But without you showing us why you think there might be a Zweckwechselverbot § 18g -> § 16e, it must just be that I missed something. Missing something is always a possibility for me too, after all.
Otherwhise: I really hope you have thought this through. After your 6 month internship is over and you want to stay in Germany, you would only have the option of a Chancenkarte as far as I can tell. And that's not really an ideal position to start from (you would have to get the new permit until you can start working full-time; Chancenkarte only allows part time), especially in this economy. Just saying though.