As of: March 1, 2024, 5:30 a.m
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A student from Guinea, Africa, completes a course in electric welding in the metal workshop of the general vocational school in Bremen.
© Ingo Wagner/dpa
The government sees a lack of skilled workers as a key risk for Germany as a business location.
Regulations are now coming into force that are intended to attract more non-EU citizens into the labor market.
Berlin - With the possibility of residence for foreigners based on practical professional experience, a key element of the law on skilled immigration comes into force today.
“Skilled workers with a degree and professional experience can then enter and work in Germany without a prior recognition procedure,” said Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) to the German Press Agency in Berlin.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (both SPD) viewed the step as an important building block in countering the skills gap in Germany.
Work experience and degree
In the future, people from third countries will be able to work in Germany if they have at least two years of professional experience and a professional or university degree recognized by the state in their country of origin.
So you don't have to have any training that is recognized in Germany.
This is intended to save bureaucracy and shorten procedures.
The job offer in Germany must guarantee a gross annual salary of at least 40,770 euros - if the employer is bound by a collective agreement, remuneration in accordance with the collective agreement is sufficient.
Recognition Partnership
If the professional qualification still needs to be recognized - as in many health and nursing professions - and specialists and employers commit to a recognition partnership, then in the future the process can only begin after entry into Germany.
The employer and the prospective skilled worker undertake to apply for recognition after entry and to actively pursue the process.
The employee can obtain additional qualifications or already work in Germany.
The basic requirements for the recognition partnership are an employment contract and a minimum two-year professional qualification or a university degree recognized in the training country.
In addition, German language skills at level A2 are required.
Employment up to eight months
In order to cover temporarily particularly high labor requirements, short-term contingent employment is made possible.
“This is a good opportunity for employers to recruit foreign skilled workers and hire them for up to eight months,” said the Ministry of the Interior and Labor.
The prerequisite is that the employer is bound by a collective agreement.
The Federal Employment Agency has set a quota of 25,000 for this purpose for 2024.
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Easier to work while studying
There are also changes in other areas.
In view of the bottlenecks in the nursing sector, qualified nursing assistants will also be able to come to Germany and work here in the future.
The prerequisite is that the training as a nursing assistant has been acquired or recognized in Germany.
Non-EU foreigners are allowed to do part-time jobs and are given more time to have their professional qualifications recognized if they come to Germany for educational purposes or for language courses.
Foreign students and trainees should be able to work more easily while studying or looking for a place to study or traineeship.
An existing priority examination in vocational training will be abolished.
This allows training companies to fill their vacant training positions more quickly.
A residence permit for vocational training will also be introduced for tolerated people who can secure their livelihood.
Government confident
Faeser said: “We are ensuring that the skilled workers that our economy has urgently needed for years can come to our country.” Stark-Watzinger emphasized: “The shortage of skilled workers is one of the biggest challenges we face.” More skilled immigration should be organized become.
Heil said that, together with strong training and further education and a higher labor force participation of women and older employees, the influx of skilled workers is the right way “to fully exploit our potential as the third strongest economy and thus also secure our prosperity”.
Improvements required
Migration expert Martin Lange at ZEW Mannheim called the fact that people from third countries will be able to take up employment in Germany in the future without having to have their qualifications recognized beforehand as “a paradigm shift in immigration policy”.
However, a “disproportionately high income” must be proven.
“The federal government should make improvements here to enable more immigration via this channel,” said Lange.
“The reform is still not a big success, as immigration from third countries would have to be made much more attractive: administrative hurdles and high earnings thresholds must be reduced,” demanded Lange.
Criticism of inadequate lane changing
The first stage of the new regulations for skilled immigration came into force in November 2023.
Above all, it included simplifications for the “EU Blue Card” and for recognized skilled workers.
The third stage, including a new job search opportunity card, will follow on June 1, 2024.
The refugee organization Pro Asyl criticized what they saw as the so-called lane change, which was inadequate.
In December it was introduced that if an asylum application was withdrawn, it would be possible to issue a residence permit as a skilled worker for asylum seekers in Germany.
“In order to implement this step effectively, the capacities of the immigration authorities must be expanded,” said Pro Asyl’s refugee policy spokesman, Tareq Alaows.
In addition, educational certificates would have to be recognized more quickly.
“As long as the regulation is not completed accordingly, we do not expect any major effects.” dpa