Ausbildung in Germany: how much you actually get paid (2026 wages)

Ausbildung is Germany's dual vocational system — classroom plus paid on-the-job training. Unlike a stipend that “might happen,” your salary is set in law.

The legal wage floor (Mindestausbildungsvergütung)

• Year 1: €724/month minimum (a 6.2% rise from 2025).
• By Year 4: €1,014/month minimum, before any employer premium.
• Healthcare and IT trades typically pay well above the floor — often €1,040–1,300/month even early on.

Employers bound by a collective agreement (Tarifvertrag) usually pay more — the bargained average was €1,133/month in 2024. Your exact wage is written into your training contract before you travel.

What you need to qualify

• 10th or 12th pass depending on the trade.
• German at B1 minimum for the Section 16a visa (healthcare often prefers B2).
• A signed training contract with a named employer — before your visa application.

And there's no tuition at any point: you're an employee-in-training, paid from month one, on a National Type-D visa built exactly for this.