I believe zb is correct. I'm also a Blue Card holder living in Berlin, and as a US citizen, I was able to enter Germany on a tourist visa and then apply for the

I believe zb is correct. I'm also a Blue Card holder living in Berlin, and as a US citizen, I was able to enter Germany on a tourist visa and then apply for the Blue Card from here. However, a friend of mine from the Philippines was in a very similar situation (got a job offer while he was here on a tourist visa) and he had to return home to apply for the Blue Card, since the Philippines are not on that short list of exempted countries. Your girlfriend's case was indeed different, since she wasn't trying to convert from a tourist visa. Here are a couple of resources on the matter: http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/guide-to-working-in-germany/visa/#citizens-of-other-states http://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/working/guide-to-workin... Particularly the three paragraphs starting with "You must apply for your visa in your home country before travelling to Germany." https://www.daad.de/deutschland/nach-deutschland/bewerbung/en/9199-visa-entry-into-the-country/ https://www.daad.de/deutschland/nach-deutschland/bewerbung/e... Starting around "Important! If you enter the country without a visa or with a Schengen visa..." (This site's aimed towards students, but I believe the info on entering the country is still applicable here.) In the OP's specific case (especially considering the fact that the German embassy in Syria is currently closed), I would definitely recommend contacting an immigration lawyer in Germany before entering the country. It's possible that there are other options or exceptions that I'm not aware of. EDIT: Just noticed that those two links have slightly different lists of exempted countries. The daad.de link might just be out of date, because the following official site also lists only seven countries: http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/bes_staaten_en.html http://www.berlin.de/labo/auslaender/dienstleistungen/bes_st...