As of: February 18, 2024, 10:43 a.m
By: Giorgia Grimaldi
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Studies and individual fates show how difficult it really is for foreign skilled workers in Germany.
Even with a German passport.
Bruno* is 32 years old when he realizes that he has looked at the political and economic situation in his home country of Brazil long enough - he is disappointed and wants to leave.
To Germany.
In November 2017 he made the life-changing decision.
Bruno speaks neither German nor English.
But the young lawyer from Porto Alegre has an ace up his sleeve: German citizenship.
He owes this to his German ancestors, who emigrated to Brazil generations before him.
“I thought it would be easier than anywhere else,” says Bruno, explaining his decision.
But it turns out that although this gives him an enormous advantage over other foreign skilled workers, it will take a full six years before he can actually work in Germany.
Language skills and financial hurdles – most skilled workers don’t make it to Germany
Many companies in this country are fighting for well-trained skilled workers and are hoping for qualified migration, which is intended to be simplified by the Skilled Immigration Act.
But it doesn't really work yet.
This is shown not only by Bruno's story, but also by a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from January 2024 - commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Labor.
In 2022, almost 29,000 potential workers with degrees from third countries (countries outside the EU) who were interested in a job in Germany were surveyed.
A year later, the same participants were surveyed again - 6,000 people responded.
Most of them (92 percent) still live abroad.
The main reasons for this are German language skills and financial hurdles.
Demonstration in front of an immigration office © Funke Photo Service/IMAGO
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Two thirds of those surveyed have already experienced discrimination and racism
Only five percent of those surveyed actually moved to Germany.
“Those who make it are often well-educated and have the best knowledge of German among those surveyed,” explains Thomas Liebig, senior economist at the OECD.
Before entering the country, the fear of discrimination is low, but once in Germany that changes. Two thirds of those surveyed say they have already experienced discrimination or racism.
There are also other problems: Above all, the bureaucratic hurdles are too high and there is a lack of a welcoming culture.
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“I finally want to work” – the problem with the recognition of qualifications
“I started my first German course in Brazil.
But then I couldn’t pay it anymore,” says Bruno.
So he travels to the country of his ancestors without speaking German.
After his arrival, he kept himself afloat with odd jobs, such as cleaning.
As a German citizen, he has no problems with visas and a work permit - things that others have to wait months for because the relevant authorities are overloaded.
And: he has the right to social benefits.
It's not much, but his income and benefits from the state are enough for rent, food and further training opportunities, such as integration and German courses.
Bruno says that in addition to the mini-jobs, he spent around eight hours a day learning German, especially at the beginning.
The course lasting several hours, followed by homework and exercises to internalize what you have learned.
After all, he wants to start working soon.
But he soon realizes: That won't work.
At least not as a lawyer.
His studies are only partially recognized.
There are no courses to catch up on specific German law.
The responsible authority told him that the only way to work as a lawyer here was to complete his entire law degree in Germany.
That is out of the question.
“I finally want to work,” says Bruno.
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“I applied several times and unfortunately didn’t make it”
Bruno could have taken up another profession that did not require training.
“Maybe it would have been easier then.
But I didn’t want to throw everything in the trash,” he says, after all, he studied in Brazil for ten years and also worked for a few years.
Frustrated, he turns to the employment office.
Because he could have worked as a legal assistant in a law firm with the partially recognized qualification, which corresponds to a first passed state examination.
“But that depends on the employer.
I applied several times and unfortunately didn't make it."
Bruno speculates that anyone who has the choice between a German paralegal and a foreign lawyer with an accent would probably prefer the former.
The employment office therefore advises him to retrain as a legal assistant.
This is the only chance to still work in his field, albeit in a lower position.
And even though the retraining takes another two years, Bruno decides to go for it.
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When Bruno speaks to
BuzzFeed News Germany
, a portal from
Ippen.Media
, he is almost at the end of this training.
When asked whether he was happy with this solution, he remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he explains: “I think so.
It's bittersweet because I invested a lot in my education in Brazil.
I had three part-time jobs to finance my studies.
And I actually want to apply what I've learned.
I still think it was all worth it.”
He is aware that he was able to enjoy privileges that other foreign skilled workers without German citizenship are denied.
And Bruno also knows that law is a special case.
But doubts about the system remain.
Because Bruno cannot say exactly what was said to him in the conversation when the certificates were recognized.
His knowledge of German wasn't that good back then and no effort was made to explain it to him in different words, says the Brazilian.
In the meantime, Bruno has met a few lawyers who studied abroad and who have been admitted to the bar.
Today he knows there would have been opportunities to enter the job market straight away.
But despite the bumpy start in Germany, Bruno is in good spirits.
Maybe in a few years he will be able to work as a legal advisor for Brazilians in Germany, he hopes.
"That would be nice."
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*Bruno would like to be referred to by his first name only in this article. His entire name is known to the editors.