Berlin The federal government hopes to attract an additional 50,000 foreign workers annually with the planned reform of immigration law. This emerges from the draft law for the further development of skilled worker immigration presented jointly by the interior and labor ministries, which has now been put to the departmental vote.
It is available to the Handelsblatt as well as the draft of a supplementary regulation, with which, among other things, the so-called Western Balkans regulation will be extended indefinitely.
One of the plans is for a recognized specialist to be able to work in any non-regulated profession in Germany in the future. For example, a trained carpenter from Spain could also work in sales in this country.
For interested parties who want to come to Germany with the so-called Blue Card EU to work, the level of the required minimum salary thresholds will be lowered. This also applies to IT specialists, for whom the language requirements are also reduced.
Read more about immigration here
With the new regulation, the government is introducing a points system for the first time for professionally or academically trained foreigners who want to look for work in Germany without already having a contract in their pockets. If at least six points have been achieved, these foreigners can be issued the so-called opportunity card, which is initially valid for up to one year and allows trial jobs. If necessary, the Ministry of the Interior can limit the number of chance cards by ordinance.
According to the draft, there should be four points if the professional qualification already largely corresponds to a qualification recognized in Germany and only adaptation qualifications are required.
There are three points for good language skills or at least three years of professional experience, two points for sufficient knowledge of German, at least two years of professional experience or if the applicant is not older than 35 years.
One point is awarded to anyone who has been legally resident in Germany for at least six months, is not older than 40 or finds a person who will help them integrate into the labor market and society.
Western Balkans regulation will be indefinitely
As announced, the federal government also wants to extend the so-called Western Balkans regulation. It was originally introduced to relieve the asylum procedure.
Since 2016, nationals from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia have been able to come to Germany to work without proof of formal qualifications if they have a suitable job offer.
The regulation, which has already been extended, was originally supposed to expire at the end of this year, but is now being extended – also under pressure from the economy. In addition, the annual contingent increases from 25,000 to 50,000 people.
The planned new regulation of the immigration of skilled workers is aimed at foreigners from countries outside the European Union, because EU citizens can seek work in Germany within the framework of freedom of movement.
According to data from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, 380,000 third-country nationals who had a residence permit for the purpose of gainful employment were living in Germany at the end of 2021. That was around 35,000 more people than a year earlier.
>> Read the guest commentary by BA Board Member Vanessa Ahuja here: Six points that the new immigration law should include
In 2021, around 85,000 people received a residence permit to work in Germany for the first time. Around 30 percent of this went to the so-called EU Blue Card, which is aimed at highly qualified academics.
In terms of nationality, India led the way in terms of labor migration with a share of 12.2 percent, followed by the USA (7.1 percent) and Turkey (6.6 percent).
The grand coalition had already passed a law on the immigration of skilled workers. However, according to many migration experts, the hurdles in the law that came into force in March 2020 are still too high.
The traffic light government also sees it this way: “Although the simplified regulations on labor migration are accepted, it has been shown that increasing immigration of skilled workers and workers in line with demand requires additional efforts, including further legal facilitation of access to the German labor market,” it says in the Draft draft for the planned new regulation.
More: The immigration illusion – why more immigration won’t save us from labor shortages.