German government expects significantly higher number of skilled worker visas
A new Skilled Immigration Act aims to attract more skilled workers from outside the EU to Germany - and is already having an impact.
Berlin (dpa) - There has been a good response to the rules facilitating the migration of foreign skilled workers to Germany. Around 200,000 visas are likely to be granted for work purposes this year, according to the Federal Foreign Office, Labour Ministry and Interior Ministry in Berlin. This would constitute an increase of more than ten percent year-on-year. According to the ministries, there has been a sharp rise in the number of visas for the purposes of study and vocational training and in the number of applications to have foreign qualifications recognised. The first stage of a reform of the Skilled Immigration Act came into force a year ago.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that skilled workers could now come to Germany and get started on a career here more quickly. Labour Minister Hubertus Heil stressed that the German economy needed skilled workers. “The act is having the desired effect, with visas being issued and consultations abroad at record level.”
The first part of a reform, adopted by the “traffic light coalition”, of the 2020 Skilled Immigration Act came into force in November 2023. It aims above all to make it easier to obtain the EU Blue Card and for recognised skilled workers to come to Germany. Since March, it has also been possible for skilled workers with qualifications and professional experience to come to and work in Germany without undergoing a prior recognition procedure. They have to prove that they have an offer of a job with a gross annual salary of at least 40,770 euros.