Hiring and Managing Japanese Chefs in Germany: Visa, Salary and Retention (2026)

This guide answers the questions restaurant owners in Germany ask us most often before hiring a Japanese chef from Japan. Salary ranges reflect the positions Washoku Agent has handled; visa facts come from official government pages, checked on 2026-11-02.

How much do Japanese chefs earn in Germany?

Packages for Japanese chefs in Germany vary with the city, the concept and the chef's seniority, so we do not print a range here. Contact us for current figures for your position.

Do Japanese chefs need to speak English, and is housing provided?

Whether employers in Germany accept beginner-level English or include housing differs from one restaurant to the next. Ask us for the current picture before you write the job description.

Which visa lets a restaurant in Germany sponsor a Japanese chef?

A residence permit for employment from the Foreigners' Authority with the approval of the Federal Employment Agency (BA). Most Japanese chefs come as skilled workers with vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG) after their Japanese cook training is recognised as equivalent to the German Koch/Köchin apprenticeship, or as experienced workers (§ 6 BeschV) without recognition if they earn at least EUR 45,630 a year in 2026. A Japanese restaurant can also use the specialty cook approval (§ 11 BeschV): up to 4 years for a Japanese national with 2 years of training and 2 years of practice, with a BA priority check and at most 2 cooks per establishment. Permits run up to 4 years; Japanese nationals may enter without a visa and apply in Germany within 90 days; Japanese citizens aged 18 to 30 can work a year on a working holiday if they were not recruited with a contract in advance.

• Salary: no fixed floor for the § 18a and specialty cook routes, but the BA must find that pay and hours match comparable German workers, and the statutory minimum wage applies: EUR 13.90 an hour since 1 January 2026, EUR 14.60 from 1 January 2027. The experienced worker route needs EUR 45,630 gross a year in 2026 (EUR 55,770 from age 45). What Japanese chefs are paid in Germany is in the salary section above.
• Chef documents: a recognition notice from the competent chamber body (about EUR 100 to EUR 600, decision within 3 months) for § 18a; or a 2-year qualification recognised in Japan plus 2 years of experience for the experienced worker route; or cook training plus 2 years of practice for the specialty cook route; plus the employment contract. No German test for the permit; A2 for a recognition partnership.
• Employer test: job offer and the BA form Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis; for a specialty cook, proof of a genuine Japanese specialty restaurant and a priority check. A pre-approval from the BA is free and valid 9 months; the accelerated procedure at the Foreigners' Authority costs EUR 411 and fixes deadlines of 2 months for recognition, 1 week for the BA and 3 weeks each for the visa appointment and decision.
• Fees and time: visa EUR 75 or residence permit in Germany EUR 100, extension EUR 93, settlement permit EUR 113; the embassy states 1 to 3 months for a work visa, the BA says several months for a specialty cook approval; plan on about 3 to 6 months, or about 4 months with the accelerated procedure.
• Length of stay: up to 4 years, or the contract plus 6 months; the specialty cook route is 1 plus 3 years and then a 3-year break; a settlement permit is possible after 3 years with 36 months of pension contributions and German B1. The spouse joins without a German test and may work.

1. Decide the route: skilled worker (§ 18a) if the chef's training can be recognised, experienced worker (§ 6 BeschV) if the salary reaches EUR 45,630 a year, or specialty cook (§ 11 BeschV) for a Japanese national in a Japanese specialty restaurant.
2. For § 18a, have the chef apply for recognition of the cook qualification (about EUR 100 to EUR 600, decision within 3 months of complete documents, no German needed); if only partly equivalent, consider a recognition partnership (German A2).
3. Sign the employment contract with gross pay, hours and workplace address, complete the BA form Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis, and either apply for a free BA pre-approval (valid 9 months) or file the accelerated procedure at the Foreigners' Authority for EUR 411.
4. The chef applies for the national visa at the embassy in Tokyo or the consulate general in Osaka-Kobe (EUR 75, 1 to 3 months), or enters visa-free and applies at the Foreigners' Authority within 90 days (EUR 100), remembering that work may only start once the permit or a certificate allowing the work is issued.
5. After arrival the chef registers the address within 2 weeks and the restaurant registers the chef with a health insurer for social insurance and informs the chef about the Faire Integration service; before the permit ends, extend it (EUR 93) or, after 3 years, support the application for a settlement permit (EUR 113, German B1).

Which permit lets a German restaurant hire a Japanese chef?

For a chef coming from Japan to work for more than 90 days, a residence permit for employment (Aufenthaltserlaubnis) under the Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz, AufenthG), issued by the local Foreigners' Authority (Ausländerbehörde). Germany has no chef visa, but three routes cover a cook. The first is the skilled worker permit for people with vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG): the chef's Japanese cook training must first be recognised as equivalent to the German Koch/Köchin apprenticeship, and the chef may then take any qualified job. The second is the permit for experienced workers (§ 19c Abs. 2 AufenthG with § 6 of the Employment Ordinance, BeschV): no German recognition is needed for a non-regulated profession such as cook, but the chef needs at least 2 years of relevant experience in the last 5 years, a vocational qualification of at least 2 years that is state recognised in Japan, and a gross salary of at least EUR 45,630 a year in 2026 (45 percent of the pension contribution ceiling), unless the restaurant is bound by a collective agreement and pays the collective rate. The third is the specialty cook route (§ 19c Abs. 1 AufenthG with § 11 Abs. 2 BeschV): the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit, BA) can approve a full-time job in a specialty restaurant for a cook who is a national of the country whose cuisine the restaurant serves, so a Japanese cook in a Japanese restaurant, for up to 4 years in total, first for 1 year and then for 3 more years, with a priority check (Vorrangprüfung) and a limit of 2 such cooks per establishment as a rule. A cook who has used that route can only be approved again after a 3-year break. In all three routes the BA must agree to the employment, and the BA checks that the chef is not employed on less favourable terms than comparable German workers (§ 39 AufenthG); for the two skilled worker routes there is no priority check, for the specialty cook route there is. The EU Blue Card is not an option: it requires a university degree (§ 18g AufenthG). Permits under § 18a run for up to 4 years, or for the length of a shorter contract plus 6 months (§ 18 Abs. 4 AufenthG).

What does the chef have to show, and what is the salary rule?

For the skilled worker permit (§ 18a) the chef shows a recognition notice: the competent chamber body compares the Japanese cook qualification with the German Koch/Köchin apprenticeship in an equivalence assessment under the Professional Qualifications Assessment Act (BQFG). Cook is not a regulated profession in Germany, so no licence is needed to work, but the permit under § 18a does require the recognition. The procedure costs about EUR 100 to EUR 600 (IHK FOSA states the same range), the authority confirms receipt within 1 month and decides within 3 months of complete documents, and no German is required for the recognition itself. If the result is only partial equivalence, the chef can enter for a qualification measure or under a recognition partnership (§ 16d AufenthG): the chef and the restaurant sign an agreement to complete the recognition after arrival, the chef needs German at level A2 and a qualification of at least 2 years that is state recognised in Japan, confirmed by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB), and the first permit runs for up to 1 year, extendable to 3 years in total. For the experienced worker route (§ 6 BeschV) the chef shows the Japanese qualification (at least 2 years, state recognised in Japan, checked by the ZAB), at least 2 years of relevant work in the last 5 years, and the job offer at or above EUR 45,630 a year (2026 figure, published in the Federal Gazette on 18 December 2025). For the specialty cook route the BA requires a completed cook training of at least 2 years at a vocational school plus at least 2 years of practical work in qualified kitchens, or in exceptional cases 6 years of work as a cook where no school training exists in the home country, and the ability to prepare traditional dishes from original recipes. For a chef aged over 45 taking a first permit under § 18a or § 18b the salary must reach EUR 55,770 a year in 2026, or the chef must prove adequate pension provision. Salary rule for everyone else: there is no fixed salary floor for § 18a and the specialty cook route other than the comparable conditions test, so the BA compares pay and hours with German workers in the same job and, for a specialty cook, with the collective agreement position Chef de partie / Alleinkoch; the contract must state gross pay. Below that, the statutory minimum wage applies: EUR 13.90 an hour since 1 January 2026 and EUR 14.60 an hour from 1 January 2027 (Fifth Minimum Wage Adjustment Ordinance, decided by the Minimum Wage Commission on 27 June 2025). The official pages give no monthly equivalent. What Japanese chefs are paid in Germany is in the salary section above. No German language test is attached to the § 18a, § 6 BeschV or specialty cook permits; the recognition partnership needs A2.

What does the restaurant have to show?

A concrete job offer and the BA form Erklärung zum Beschäftigungsverhältnis (declaration on the employment relationship), which states the job, pay, hours and the place of work; the embassy in Tokyo lists it among the visa documents, together with the employment contract or offer letter showing salary, working hours, the address of the workplace and the contract period. Both employer and employee must declare that the job will really be performed (§ 18 Abs. 2 AufenthG). The BA then checks that the chef will not work on less favourable terms than comparable German employees and that the job is a qualified one, not auxiliary work. For a specialty cook the restaurant must also show that it is a specialty restaurant: a business shaped by dishes of that country prepared from its recipes, presenting itself as an upmarket restaurant of that cuisine; snack bars, fast food outlets, canteens, caterers, delivery services and general Asian buffet restaurants do not qualify. The BA also looks at the number of staff, the quality of the restaurant and the priority check, and approves at most 2 specialty cooks per establishment unless there are good reasons such as training places for local staff. The restaurant can speed things up in two ways. It can apply online to the BA for a pre-approval (Vorabzustimmung), which is valid for 9 months and lets the visa office or Foreigners' Authority skip the BA step; the BA charges no fee. Or it can file the accelerated skilled worker procedure (§ 81a AufenthG) at the Foreigners' Authority with a power of attorney from the chef, for EUR 411: the authority advises the employer, starts the recognition procedure, which must then be decided within 2 months of complete documents (§ 14a BQFG), obtains the BA approval, which counts as given after 1 week of silence instead of 2 (§ 36 BeschV), and sends a pre-approval to the embassy, which must offer a visa appointment within 3 weeks and should decide within 3 weeks of a complete application (§ 31a AufenthV). The accelerated procedure covers the chef's spouse and minor children as well. Since 1 January 2026 the employer must also inform a new employee from a non-EU country, by the first working day and in text form, about the Faire Integration advice service and give the contact details of the nearest centre (§ 45c AufenthG). After the chef starts, the restaurant registers the chef for social insurance with the chef's health insurer, which collects the contributions for health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance; a Japanese chef hired locally is insured in Germany like any German employee. The Germany-Japan social security agreement of 20 April 1998 covers pension insurance and matters for secondments only, where a worker sent by a Japanese employer stays in the Japanese system for up to 60 months.

How much are the fees, how long does it take, and how long can the chef stay?

Fees: national visa EUR 75 (EUR 37.50 for applicants under 18), paid in yen at the embassy rate; residence permit issued in Germany EUR 100; extension EUR 93 (EUR 96 for an extension of up to 3 months); change of purpose EUR 98; accelerated skilled worker procedure EUR 411; settlement permit EUR 113; recognition procedure about EUR 100 to EUR 600 plus translations. The BA charges nothing for its approval or pre-approval. Time: the German embassy in Tokyo states 1 to 3 months for a work visa; the BA states that the approval procedure for a specialty cook usually takes several months, so it advises applying early. The recognition itself takes up to 3 months after complete documents, or 2 months in the accelerated procedure. In the accelerated procedure the statutory deadlines add up to about 4 months from complete recognition documents to the visa (2 months recognition, 1 week BA, 3 weeks appointment, 3 weeks decision). Japanese nationals have a shortcut: they may enter Germany without a visa and apply for the residence permit at the Foreigners' Authority within 90 days of arrival (§ 41 AufenthV); the embassy confirms this for work permits. The chef may not start work until the authority issues the permit or a certificate (Fiktionsbescheinigung) that expressly allows the employment (§ 4a and § 81 Abs. 5a AufenthG), and no official page states how long the Foreigners' Authorities take, so for a planned start date the embassy route or the accelerated procedure is the safer choice. Stay: a permit under § 18a or § 6 BeschV runs for up to 4 years, or for a shorter contract plus 6 months; if the job ends early the permit is cut to at least 6 months after the last day. The specialty cook approval is 1 year first, then 3 more years, 4 years in total, after which the cook can only return to that route after 3 years away, though a cook whose training is recognised in the meantime can switch to § 18a. After 3 years on a skilled worker permit the chef can apply for a settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis, § 18c AufenthG) if the chef still holds a qualified job, has paid 36 months of pension contributions and has German at level B1, without BA approval. Family: the spouse of a chef on a § 18a or § 18b permit can join without proving German, because § 30 AufenthG waives the A1 requirement both for spouses of skilled workers and where the sponsor's nationality allows visa-free entry, which Japan does; the spouse's permit allows work, and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) states that spouses of skilled workers need not prove adequate housing either.

Is there a working holiday route?

Yes. Japan and Germany have had a working holiday scheme since 2000 with no annual quota (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, as of 1 November 2026). The German embassy in Japan sets the conditions: Japanese nationality, age 18 or over and under 31 at the time of application, a stay of 3 months to 1 year and at most 365 days, no accompanying children, and the visa can be applied for only once. The applicant shows a return ticket or the money for one, at least EUR 2,000 for a year (double that with a one-way ticket), travel health insurance for the whole stay and travel liability insurance. Application is in person by appointment at the embassy in Tokyo (residents of Niigata, Nagano, Shizuoka and eastwards) or the consulate general in Osaka-Kobe (Toyama, Gifu, Aichi and westwards), not earlier than 3 months and not later than 2 weeks before departure; the embassy FAQ states that the application is free and takes about 2 weeks. The embassy also notes that a Japanese national may instead enter without a visa and apply at the Foreigners' Authority in Germany, but warns that some offices do not accept such applications. Employment rules for the restaurant: the holder may work in any German workplace except as an au pair and may work for the same employer for the whole stay, but the main purpose must be a holiday, and the embassy states that an internship or a work contract arranged in advance requires a work visa instead of the working holiday visa. The participant notice (version 09/2025) adds that registration at the residents' office is due within 2 weeks of moving in, that German social insurance may apply depending on the job, and that Japanese participants may also work freelance. So a restaurant can employ a Japanese cook who is already in Germany on a working holiday, full time and for the rest of that year, but it cannot recruit someone in Japan on that visa with a signed contract, and to keep the cook beyond the 365 days it must switch to a skilled worker or specialty cook permit. For job seekers there is also the Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte): a cook with a fully recognised qualification qualifies directly, otherwise a 2-year qualification recognised in Japan plus German A1 or English B2 and at least 6 points, with funds of EUR 1,091 a month; it is issued for up to 1 year and allows part-time work of up to 20 hours a week and trial work of up to 2 weeks per employer, so it is a way to meet a candidate in Germany, not a permit to employ a cook full time.

Rules change. We confirm the current requirements with the employer before an offer.

Who can help with the visa in Germany?

Washoku Agent introduces the chef and helps the chef gather the documents the application asks for. The application itself is made by the employer, or by a licensed adviser where the law requires one. When a case is complex, for example a change of status, a refusal in the past or a family member joining, the law decides who may advise you or apply on your behalf. The chef applies for the visa at the German mission abroad. In the fast-track procedure, the employer starts the process at the foreigners authority in Germany, signs an agreement with it and pays a fee, and then passes the preliminary approval to the chef for the visa appointment. (official source)

• Lawyers (Rechtsanwälte) and others allowed by law. Under the Legal Services Act (RDG), giving independent out-of-court legal services in someone else's specific case is not allowed unless a law permits it. Lawyers admitted in Germany may give this advice. (official source)
• The employer, or a third party the employer authorises (fast-track procedure). In the fast-track procedure for skilled workers, the employer applies at the local foreigners authority with the worker's power of attorney. The employer may authorise third parties to carry out the procedure. (official source)

Where do restaurants in Germany find Japanese chefs?

Germany had about 1,510 Japanese restaurants in the agriculture ministry's November 2025 count, up 290 since the previous survey, and the largest Japanese community in continental Europe: 43,513 Japanese nationals lived in the country on 1 October 2024 (MOFA), and the city's tourism office puts the Düsseldorf region at about 15,000 people of Japanese origin (May 2025). The top of the market is small but real: the Michelin Guide lists 21 restaurants under Japanese cuisine in Germany, five with one star (Nagaya and Yoshi by Nagaya in Düsseldorf, Yunico in Bonn, Masa in Frankfurt, Aska in Regensburg) and one Bib Gourmand (November Brasserie, Berlin). Most of the postings we saw on 2 November 2026 were for sushi cooks at restaurant groups, hotels, takeaways and caterers. Owners post on the Bundesagentur für Arbeit's Jobsuche and on Indeed, hotels use Hotelcareer, and the Japanese-run restaurants in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin post in Japanese on MixB Germany and on job boards in Japan, usually with the words 'visa support' and often with staff housing.

Washoku Agent sits alongside these channels as the specialist route: we hold a registered pool of Japanese chefs, screen for technique and willingness to relocate, interpret interviews and manage the paperwork. You can run local channels in parallel and use us for the chef you cannot find locally.

Hire from Japan or from the local market in Germany?

Germany gives you two pools. Sushi cooks are not scarce: the Bundesagentur's Jobsuche carried 206 'Sushi' jobs and Indeed 25 'sushi koch' postings on 2 November 2026, and the statistics office of the Bundesagentur puts the median gross pay of a full-time trained cook (Fachkraft, Köche/Köchinnen ohne Spezialisierung) at EUR 3,018 a month nationally, EUR 3,079 in Nordrhein-Westfalen and EUR 3,093 in Düsseldorf (Entgeltatlas 2025). What is scarce is Japanese technique: the exact phrase 'japanese chef' returned nothing on Indeed, only 21 restaurants in the whole country are in the Michelin Guide under Japanese cuisine, and the Japanese-run houses that want it recruit in Japanese, on MixB and on boards in Japan, with housing and visa support in the ad. The pay they print (EUR 2,080 to 2,500 gross and up) sits below the German median for a trained cook, which tells you where the market for a chef from Japan really starts. A chef from Japan needs a residence permit for employment, which runs through the Bundesagentur's approval; work permit rules are covered separately.

Common hiring challenges in Germany, and how to keep the chef

What owners and chefs say in public, in their own words:

Not ready to hire full-time? Start with a project: a Japanese chef can develop a menu or train your team for a few weeks. See how a project works.

How do restaurants in Germany hire a Japanese chef through Washoku Agent?

Frequently asked questions