Posting construction and service workers to Germany from outside the EU
Your company is based outside the EU, or in the EU with staff from third countries, and has a building, installation or service contract in Germany. Before work starts, the employer files a declaration in German with customs, names a person in Germany who receives official notices, pays at least EUR 13.90 gross an hour and, on construction sites, registers with the SOKA-BAU holiday fund. For an employer established outside the EU, the first question is whether it may post its own staff at all.
What an employer posting workers to Germany must do
Nine obligations, who carries them and when they apply.
| Obligation | Rule | Who | When or how long | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Posting declaration | Written declaration in German to customs (Zoll) through the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn, with an assurance on working conditions attached | The employer established abroad | Before each job or service starts | §18 AEntG |
| Changes | Every change to the declaration is reported | The employer | Without delay (unverzüglich) | §18(1) AEntG |
| Recipient in Germany | An authorised recipient for official notices (Zustellungsbevollmächtigter) and the place where documents are kept | The employer, in the declaration | With each declaration | §18(1) AEntG |
| Working-time records | Start, end and duration of daily working time | The employer | Recorded within 7 days, kept 2 years | §19 AEntG |
| Documents in Germany | Employment documents held in Germany, in German | The employer | For the whole job, 2 years at most | §19 AEntG |
| Minimum wage | Statutory minimum, gross per hour | The employer | EUR 13.90 since 1 January 2026, EUR 14.60 from 1 January 2027 | §1 MiLoV5 |
| Construction holiday fund | Mandatory SOKA-BAU holiday procedure, 30 days of holiday a year | Foreign construction employers | Register in writing before works start, monthly return by the 15th, payment by the 28th | SOKA-BAU |
| Work authorisation, EEA employer | No Federal Employment Agency approval for third-country staff lawfully employed by an EEA company and posted temporarily | A company in the EEA | For the temporary posting | §21 BeschV |
| Work authorisation, non-EU employer | Posting within contract-worker agreements with Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, under quota | An employer established outside the EU | Before any worker is posted | §29 BeschV |
The sections below take each line in turn: what goes to customs, what must exist in Germany while the job runs, what you pay and who may be posted. Amounts and dates are those published in the linked sources on 6 November 2026.
Declaring the posting to customs before work starts
One declaration for each job, in German, naming a recipient in Germany.
An employer based abroad that sends workers to Germany files a written declaration in German with customs (Zoll) before each job or service starts. It goes through the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn, and the employer attaches an assurance (Versicherung) that it complies with the required working conditions (§18(1) and (3) AEntG, together with MiLoG §16). Each new job in Germany needs its own declaration.
An authorised recipient for official notices
The declaration names a person in Germany authorised to receive official notices for the employer (Zustellungsbevollmächtigter). It also states the place where the employment documents are kept (§18(1) AEntG). A company with no office in Germany has to arrange both before it can file.
Updates without delay
Any change to what was declared is reported to customs without delay, "unverzüglich" in the German text (§18(1) AEntG). Give one person in your team the job of sending these updates.
A secondary source cites a fine for a missing declaration. We have not found the amount in an official source, so confirm it with customs.
Working-time records and documents kept in Germany
What must exist in Germany, in German, while the job runs.
Hours recorded within 7 days
The employer records the start, end and duration of each worker's daily working time no later than 7 days after the day worked, and keeps that record for 2 years (§19 AEntG).
Kept in Germany, in German
The employment documents are held in Germany and in German for the whole job, and for no more than 2 years in total (§19 AEntG). Papers kept at head office abroad, or only in English, do not meet this rule.
For a company with no office in Germany, this means three things in place before the crew travels: a recipient for notices, an address in Germany for the documents, and someone who records the hours within 7 days.
Minimum wage and the SOKA-BAU holiday fund
The floor for every hour worked, and an extra procedure for construction.
EUR 13.90 now, EUR 14.60 in 2027
The German statutory minimum wage is EUR 13.90 gross per hour since 1 January 2026 and rises to EUR 14.60 on 1 January 2027 (§1 MiLoV5, BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 268). A job priced this year that runs past New Year needs the higher rate for every hour worked from 1 January 2027.
SOKA-BAU holiday procedure
Foreign construction employers take part in the mandatory SOKA-BAU holiday fund procedure, based on the generally binding collective agreement VTV and the AEntG. They register in writing before works start, file a monthly return by the 15th and pay by the 28th. The scheme gives workers 30 days of holiday a year (SOKA-BAU short guide, edition 02/2023).
The SOKA-BAU guide for foreign employers dates from 02/2023, and we did not find the 2026 contribution rate in a SOKA-BAU publication. Ask the fund for the current rate before you price a building job, and ask at the same time how it treats an employer based outside the EU.
Third-country nationals: the employer decides the route
The Employment Ordinance (BeschV) treats an EEA employer and a non-EU employer very differently.
No labour-agency approval for a temporary posting
Third-country nationals lawfully employed by a company in the European Economic Area and posted to Germany temporarily do not need the approval of the Federal Employment Agency (§21 BeschV). This is the German rule behind the Vander Elst case law. The customs declaration, the records and the pay rules above still apply in full.
Posting runs through four quota agreements
An employer established outside the EU posts workers to Germany within the contract-worker agreements (Werkvertragsarbeitnehmer) with Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, and within their quotas (§29 BeschV). A company based in any other non-EU country finds no posting route in this section, whatever the trade.
This page does not review the other categories of the Employment Ordinance, nor visa and residence rules for each nationality. Before you sign a German contract for staff employed outside the EU, have the route for each worker confirmed by the Federal Employment Agency or a licensed adviser in Germany. An EU company only changes the answer for workers it lawfully employs itself, as §21 BeschV requires.
Where the EU rules fit
The German rules above sit on an EU base: the Posting of Workers Directive (96/71/EC, amended by Directive (EU) 2018/957), the Enforcement Directive (2014/67/EU) and the social security coordination rules with the A1 certificate (Regulation (EC) 883/2004). We could not re-read these texts on EUR-Lex for this update, so confirm durations and A1 conditions with the social security institution of your home country. Our comparison of posting rules across Europe sets the German formalities next to those of the other countries.
From the contract to the last record
In the order a newcomer meets them. Deadlines are those set by the law or by SOKA-BAU.
Check who may post the workers
An EEA employer relies on §21 BeschV. An employer outside the EU needs one of the four agreements under §29 BeschV, within its quota.
Name the recipient and the document address
A person in Germany for official notices, and the place in Germany where the German-language documents will be kept.
Register with SOKA-BAU in writing
Foreign construction employers join the holiday fund procedure before the first day on site.
File the declaration with customs
In German, through the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn, with the assurance on working conditions attached. Report any later change without delay.
Record working time
Start, end and duration of each worker's daily working time.
SOKA-BAU return and payment
The monthly return by the 15th, the payment by the 28th.
Apply the new minimum wage
EUR 14.60 gross per hour replaces EUR 13.90 for hours worked from that date.
Keep the records and documents
Working-time records are kept for 2 years. Employment documents stay in Germany for the whole job, 2 years at most.
What the official sources do not settle
We did not find the SOKA-BAU contribution rate for 2026 in a SOKA-BAU publication, nor a statement on whether and how employers established outside the EU fall under the fund. Branch minimum conditions under the AEntG, for example in cleaning or care, are not covered on this page. The amount of the fine for a missing declaration comes only from a secondary source. The EU texts on posting and on the A1 certificate could not be re-read on EUR-Lex, and the proposed single EU electronic declaration had no adopted text as of 6 November 2026, so the German portal remains the channel. Confirm each of these points with customs, SOKA-BAU, the Federal Employment Agency or a licensed adviser in Germany before you rely on it.
What Balt Partners coordinates
Balt Partners (FPFM SIA) is based in Riga. We map the obligations and deadlines and coordinate the work; German filings go through a licensed adviser in Germany.
Obligation map for the job
Declaration, recipient, records, minimum wage, SOKA-BAU and work authorisation for your German job, with each deadline on one calendar.
Customs declaration and contact in Germany
We bring in a licensed adviser in Germany. A licensed local adviser handles the filing with customs, and you agree together who in Germany receives notices and holds the documents.
Work authorisation check
Before you price the job, we list your workers by employer and nationality and have the route for each one confirmed by a licensed adviser in Germany.
An EU employer, if your group needs one
A Latvian SIA with its bank account and accounting set-up. Under §21 BeschV the posted staff must be lawfully employed by the EEA company, so this decision comes before any hiring.
For the formalities in other countries on the same project, start from our guide to posted workers in Europe. If an EU employer is on the table, see how a Latvian subsidiary of a foreign company is set up.
Questions about posting workers to Germany
Yes. Before each job starts, the employer files a written declaration in German with customs (Zoll) through the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn, with an assurance that it complies with the required working conditions. Any change to the declaration is reported without delay.
Only in narrow cases. Under section 29 of the Employment Ordinance (BeschV), an employer established outside the EU posts workers within the contract-worker agreements with Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, under quotas. Have the route for each worker confirmed by the Federal Employment Agency or a licensed adviser before you sign.
Not from the Federal Employment Agency, if they are lawfully employed by a company in the European Economic Area and posted to Germany temporarily (section 21 BeschV). The customs declaration, working-time records and minimum wage still apply. Visa and residence questions are not covered here.
The statutory minimum wage is EUR 13.90 gross per hour since 1 January 2026 and EUR 14.60 from 1 January 2027. Branch minimum conditions under the AEntG, for example in cleaning or care, are not covered on this page, so check whether one applies to your trade.
Yes, foreign construction employers take part in the mandatory SOKA-BAU holiday fund procedure. They register in writing before works start, file a monthly return by the 15th and pay by the 28th, and the scheme gives workers 30 days of holiday a year. Confirm the 2026 contribution rate and the position of employers based outside the EU with SOKA-BAU.
The start, end and duration of daily working time, recorded no later than 7 days after the day worked and kept for 2 years. The employment documents are held in Germany, in German, for the whole job and for no more than 2 years in total.
Yes. The customs declaration names an authorised recipient in Germany for official notices (Zustellungsbevollmächtigter) and states the place in Germany where the documents are kept. A company with no office in Germany has to arrange both before it files.