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Country playbook · DE

Hiring Thai workers in Germany

Thai specialty chefs for authentic restaurants - a purpose-built visa route most sources can’t offer.

Thai specialty chefsSous & commis chefsKitchen teams

Minimum wage 2026

€13.90 / h

≈ €2,400 gross/mo full-time, from 1 Jan 2026

Typical Thai chef pay

€2,400-3,400

gross/mo, by experience & venue

Permit duration

up to 4 years

Specialty-cook permit

Signed order → on site

≈ 3-5 months

Consular + recognition steps

Germany has a route built specifically for chefs of a national cuisine: the specialty-cook (Spezialitätenkoch) residence permit. For an authentic Thai restaurant it is the cleanest, most defensible way to bring in a real Thai chef - and it sidesteps the qualification-recognition maze that slows most skilled routes.

The visa route

Specialty-cook residence permit (§11(2) BeschV)

The Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners (BeschV) has a dedicated paragraph for cooks of a specialty cuisine. It is the direct route for a Thai chef into a genuine Thai restaurant.

Who qualifies

A Thai national cooking Thai cuisine, with at least 2 years of culinary training plus 2 years’ experience - or 6 years’ professional experience where that training isn’t available at home. We assemble and document the proof the consulate wants.

The restaurant has to be the real thing

It must be a genuine specialty restaurant serving predominantly original Thai recipes. Snack bars, fast food, canteens, catering and delivery-only operations do not qualify. Up to two specialty chefs per restaurant (more only if you show positive labour-market impact, e.g. apprenticeships).

Full-time, at or above the wage floor

Employment must be full-time and paid at least the German minimum (€13.90/hour in 2026) and in line with the role. There is no Federal Employment Agency fee; the D-visa fee is about €75.

Duration and renewal

The permit is granted for up to 4 years per issuance. We plan the timeline around consular scheduling and any document recognition so the kitchen isn’t left short.

Beyond chefs

For other roles, Germany’s Skilled Immigration Act (qualification recognition, the Opportunity Card) applies - heavier than the specialty-cook route. For Thai kitchens, the specialty-cook permit is the fast lane; we handle both the German and Thai sides.

What the pay looks like

The employer pays a standard German gross salary; workers never pay a recruitment fee. Ranges are market indicative for 2025-2026 and vary by region and venue.

Role	Gross / month	Notes
Thai specialty chef	€2,400-3,400	Authentic Thai restaurant, experienced
Sous chef	€2,300-3,000	Second in the kitchen
Commis / line cook	€2,150-2,600	At or above minimum wage

Figures in EUR, gross per month. Actual pay is set in the contract and confirmed per order.

Certification we test for

The permit itself is the quality bar - it demands documented training and experience. We verify it up front so the application isn’t refused on paperwork.

Proof of 2 years’ culinary training + 2 years’ experience, or 6 years’ experience
Authentic Thai technique matched to your menu and stations
Food-safety and hygiene basics; documents prepared for the consulate
Screened for kitchen-level German/English and pre-departure orientation

What you provide

Your side of the checklist

A signed demand letter with the role and terms (we draft it)

Proof your venue is a genuine Thai specialty restaurant (menu, concept)

A full-time contract at or above the German minimum wage

Space for at most two specialty chefs (more needs a labour-market case)

Registered accommodation or a housing plan for the chef

Lead time for consular scheduling and any document recognition

Everything else - Thai-side DOE processing, selection, testing, visas, flights, onboarding - is on us.

Sources

Market figures are indicative and current to 2025-2026; visa rules change - we confirm the exact route, timeline and cost for your order in a fixed quote. Company facts (DOE licence, guarantees) are from the S.1968 profile.

This page is written for employers. We do not place job seekers and do not accept applications from candidates: S.1968 Europe is the European representation of S1968 Manpower Co., Ltd., a Thai overseas-employment agency licensed by the Thai Department of Employment (licence Tor.1250/2565), and every worker is recruited under that licence in Thailand.

Guides for this market

Visa routes10 min readGermany's specialty-chef visa: bringing authentic Thai cuisine to your restaurantUp to 4 years, two chefs per restaurant, and the paperwork we handle on both ends.Read the guide

Profession guide13 min readHiring Thai spa and massage therapists in Europe: the certificate, the protected title and the job you registerA Wat Pho certificate is one of three different Thai qualifications, and none of them is a European licence. What decides your file is how the position is worded - here is where the line falls, country by country.Read the guide

Country guide11 min readHiring a Thai massage therapist in Germany: the protected title and the salary floor that decides itGermany hides two different jobs behind one word. The wellness route needs no recognition at all but costs 3,802.50 euros a month from 2026; the protected title needs B2 German and an adaptation course of up to three years. Which one you are filling decides everything else.Read the guide

Profession guide12 min readHiring Thai chefs in Europe: what the Thai certificate proves and where a cook can actually goGermany has a visa written for specialty cooks, but it allows two per restaurant and four years per cook. Poland, Czechia, Croatia and Romania take Thai cooks on ordinary permits. What a Thai skill certificate proves, and what each country asks of your kitchen.Read the guide

Regulation10 min readThe Single Permit recast: what changed in May 2026, and where it has not landed yetNinety-day decisions, the right to change employer, a grace period for unemployment. The deadline passed on 21 May 2026 and in July the Commission sent formal notices to seventeen member states, Poland and Germany among them. What applies where, and what to plan on.Read the guide

Ethics12 min readWho pays for recruitment: what the 2026 rules actually require of the employerThe EU's due-diligence law got much smaller in 2026 and probably does not reach your company. Three other things do. A straight account of which rules apply, what the worker must never be charged, and what it costs you.Read the guide

Process guide10 min readAlready found your Thai worker? What Thailand still requires before departureA Thai worker you found yourself can travel legally, but not by simply boarding a plane. Thailand allows five routes abroad, bars foreign employers from recruiting on its soil, and checks workers at the airport. The two routes that fit a named hire, and what each costs.Read the guide

Other markets we cover

Poland Czechia Romania Croatia Finland & Norway

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