Forced to switch from EU Blue Card to §18b despite 12 months of prior employment. Does my case officer ignore the law?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice about a situation with the German immigration office (EU Blue Card).

I recently changed employers. My case officer asked for a new employer certificate and my November payslip. After I sent them, he said my new salary is below the Blue Card minimum (€3,827.85/month), so I no longer meet the requirements. He told me to either:

• present a new contract that meets the Blue Card threshold, or
• switch to a residence permit under §18b AufenthG,

I replied that I had questions and referred to the Berlin immigration office website https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326856/en/, which says that after 12 months of employment subject to social security contributions, no change to the Blue Card is required and you get free access to the labor market. I had already worked more than 12 months in my previous job.

I asked:

• whether switching to §18b is really mandatory in my case,
• what this would mean for employer-independent work, validity period, and self-employment/freelancing,
• and whether my current Blue Card remains valid until a new permit is issued.

In his latest reply, he didn’t address these questions and just repeated that since I don’t meet the salary threshold, I must either get a higher-paying contract or switch to §18b, and asked again for my decision.

Is it normal that he ignores the legal questions? Does this seem correct to you, given the 12-month rule? Would you recommend talking to a migration lawyer?

Thanks a lot for any insights.