Professional drivers are Germany's largest shortage group by employment — 525,100 people, and not enough. Filipino drivers can come, but only on the § 24a qualification route: German licence by test, Grundqualifikation, B1, all within fifteen months under your commitment. Here is what that means.
A Filipino driver does not hold an EU licence or the EU professional qualification, so § 24a Abs. 1 (direct employment) does not apply. § 24a Abs. 2 does: with a Philippine professional licence of the right class and German B1, the driver enters for a qualification phase under an employment contract that obliges him to complete every measure — conversion of the licence by theory and practical test, the (accelerated) Grundqualifikation, language — and the employer designs working conditions so that all of it is done within fifteen months. The Federal Employment Agency approves; the fast-track procedure applies.
Philippine driving licences are not on the list of licences Germany exchanges without a test, so the driver sits the theory and practical examination in Germany; no course hours are prescribed, but practice is. Experienced Gulf drivers with a prior GCC heavy licence still test in Germany.
Prime Search sources drivers with C/CE or D licences and documented years on the road — Gulf haulage and bus contracts are common — screens driving records, tests on a vehicle in Manila, and starts German to B1 immediately. Everything here is subject to applicable German recognition, immigration, licensing and labour-law requirements.
Six to nine months to B1 and the visa, then the qualification phase in Germany — realistically three to six months to licence and Grundqualifikation; the law allows fifteen.
Not commercially on the German licence until it is issued; employers use the phase for yard work, co-driving and training.
Yes — D/DE licence holders on the same route; bus drivers are a BA shortage group.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.