GERMAN CHANCELLOR – Proposed amendment will allow skilled workers to go to Germany without a job in hand
Contents News/Article Date: 28th February 2023
Relating to which Act: Immigration rules – Germany – Entry of Skilled Workers
Applicable to which State: Germany – entry from India into Germany
Type: Money Control Report
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And in this instance: Germany’s Skilled Immigration Act expands the number of opportunities for qualified professionals to come to work in Germany and has been in force since March 1, 2020. During his recent visit to India, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he was “determined to reduce bureaucratic hurdles to immigration for skilled workers and make it easier to come to Germany as a specialist, including with your family.”
The German Chancellor said that he wants to “establish a new system that allows people to apply for a visa to Germany who still have not signed a specific job contract, but who comes with a lot of talent and skills, and then find a job in Germany.”
Subject: Proposed amendment will allow skilled workers to go to Germany without a job in hand
Appended is the complete news item
Proposed amendment will allow skilled workers to go to Germany without a job in hand
Source: Money Control
During his visit to India from February 25-26, 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the new system would also open up Germany for those “who do not have a signed work contract but come with a lot of talent and skills”.
The Technical University of Munich. Around 34,000 Indians are studying in Germany, and over 200,000 Indian nationals are living in Germany, with the vast majority of them holding a regular residence permit.
Germany’s Skilled Immigration Act which expands the number of opportunities for qualified professionals to come to work in Germany has been in force since March 1, 2020. During his recent visit to India, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he was “determined to reduce bureaucratic hurdles to immigration for skilled workers and make it easier to come to Germany as a specialist, including with your family.”
The German Chancellor said that he wants to “establish a new system that allows people to apply for a visa to Germany who still have not signed a specific job contract, but who comes with a lot of talent and skills, and then find a job in Germany.”
The statement comes in the wake of Germany’s acute shortage of skilled professionals in various sectors. According to a survey by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, there are nearly 2 million vacant posts in the country totaling roughly Euro 100 billion in lost output.
In December 2022, the German-Indian Migration and Mobility Agreement was signed during Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s visit to India. It is the first extensive agreement in the field of migration concluded between Germany and the country of origin. The agreement includes the Academic Evaluation Centre in New Delhi, 18 months extended residence permits to students, 3,000 jobseeker visas annually, liberalized short-stay multiple entry visas, and streamlined readmission procedures.
This year’s proposed amendments to the Skilled Immigration Act will make immigration to Germany much easier for skilled, qualified professionals.
Definition of the qualified professional: The Skilled Immigration Act defines a qualified professional as:
- Persons with a higher education degree which is comparable to a higher education degree in Germany.
- Persons who have either completed qualified vocational training in Germany (for which a training period of at least two years is generally required) or persons who have acquired a vocational qualification abroad recognized as equivalent to German-qualified vocational training. Shorter foreign vocational training courses may be considered equivalent to qualified vocational training in Germany if the training does not differ substantially or if these differences have been compensated for.
Opportunity Card for Job Seekers: Those wanting to move to Germany can now step into the country and then look for a job through the recommended Opportunity Card. Third-country nationals without a job offer and sufficient work qualifications, but with good potential, will most likely also be given the opportunity to work in Germany.
Valid for one year, the Opportunity Card is a valid jobseeker’s visa, which will be issued to foreigners according to a points-based system. With this visa, foreigners will be able to work in trial or secondary employment.
The job-search Opportunity Card will be a transparent, unbureaucratic points system through which candidates for immigration can prove their potential on the basis of specific parameters – such as age, language skills, professional experience, or qualifications – and the collection of points.
EU Blue Card to become accessible for more specialists with a university degree: The EU Blue Card – an EU Residency granted by the Member States individually, to non-EU highly-qualified workers – will now be more accessible for a higher number of specialists who hold a university degree.
Highly qualified immigrants with a university degree will be able to apply for the EU Blue Card, for which the required salary threshold of €56,400 gross is planned to be reduced to €48,626.
Formal recognition of university degrees is no longer necessary before arrival: Under the present regulations, applicants have to get their degrees recognized by a relevant body in Germany prior to their arrival in Germany. However, under the new system, skilled immigrant workers will be able to initiate the process of recognition of degrees after they have entered the country.
“In the future, it will be sufficient if someone can prove their qualification for a non-regulated profession through a foreign professional or university degree and professional experience,” the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Homeland (BMI) said in a statement.
It may be noted that university degrees will continue to be mandatory for foreign workers.
Provision for short-term employment: German employers will be able to hire foreigners for short periods in cases when their needs are temporary, regardless of special qualification requirements. However, the number of these short-term workers will be capped but the short-term employees will be entitled to compulsory social security.