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Medical staff in an intensive care unit: immigration system "too slow, too bureaucratic, too unwelcoming"
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
Everywhere in Germany there is a shortage of skilled workers.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (both SPD) have now outlined the cornerstones of a new immigration law intended to curb the shortage of skilled workers.
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The reforms should do away with a migration policy shaped by the CDU and CSU, according to Faeser and Heil in a guest article for the Handelsblatt.
This policy "denied the reality of our country of immigration and thus damaged our business location".
The German immigration system is still "too sluggish, too bureaucratic, too dismissive".
The planned reform of the immigration of skilled workers therefore comprises three pillars: qualifications, experience and potential.
Recognition procedures should run parallel to work
The employment of foreign skilled workers should no longer be delayed by bureaucracy and formalities.
To this end, the requirements for entry are to be lowered;
this applies above all to the recognition procedure for professional qualifications.
Specialists who have professional experience and a degree from their home country and who successfully apply for a job in this country should be allowed to come to Germany and work.
The recognition procedure should then later run parallel to the work and be financed by the employer.
According to the report, the projects of Faeser and Heil go even further.
Experienced professionals should also be allowed to enter Germany without an employment contract to look for a job, subject to two conditions: They must have confirmation from abroad that their qualifications are at least partially comparable to German ones.
In addition, they should be able to prove that they can secure their own livelihood.
This should be a step towards an "opportunity card" that the SPD, Greens and FDP want to introduce in this legislative period.
It should also be easier for academics
The traffic light coalition also wants to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers with already recognized qualifications.
In the future, this should also enable employment in a non-specialist profession, so a trained carpenter could then, for example, also take a job in sales, the main thing is that he has a professional qualification that is recognized in Germany.
In addition, the earnings thresholds are to be lowered for university graduates who come to Germany via a so-called “Blue Card”, as the “Handelsblatt” further reported.
The Blue Card is a special residence permit for academics from non-EU countries who work in Germany.
There is currently a minimum salary limit of EUR 56,400 gross per year.
In so-called shortage occupations, in which there is a particularly large lack of skilled workers in Germany, the lower limit is 43,992 euros.
jlk/AFP