From what I read on many forums and articles online people say that 50% of your student years count. So since I studied at a 2 year programme that means I already have 1 year in the pocket from my study years. And another year from my work year.
I have never heard of this and this is not exactly how the law is written.
There is also other information stating that you need to work/pay taxes for 24 months after your graduation in order to be eligible for PR.
What the law actually says is this: Highly skilled workers (Fachkräfte) are required to pay mandatory insurance contributions for 36 months before being allowed to apply for Niederlassungserlaubnis. If you have graduated from a German education institution, this requirement is reduced to 24 months.
But these two information counteract.
Not really, the 24-month requirement is already reduced by one year compared to the regular rules for highly skilled workers. For a two-year Master’s programme, it even works out to 50% of your time as a student, even if the law isn’t formulated that way.
That said, there are really two separate requirements here:
- Holding the relevant residence permit for X years
- Having contributed to the mandatory insurance system for Y months
In all cases foreseen in § 9 and § 18c, the length of both is the same (e.g. three years and 36 months) but they need not be the same periods. And if the conditions contradict each other (you meet one condition but not the other), you cannot apply.
Finally, there are other requirements for EU Blue Card holders that may allow you to apply after 21 or 27 months depending on your level of command of the German language. This is separate from the rules for graduates of German institutions, you cannot add or subtract anything because you have both a Blue Card and a German diploma. The conclusion is still that you can apply after either 21 or 24 months in a qualifying job, and never earlier than this.
