New legislation eases way for skilled immigrant workers in Germany

Admin I Friday, March 01, 2024

 

BERLIN – Many German occupational sectors are reliant on people with foreign roots, amid a nationwide shortage in skilled labour, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday, citing data from 2022.

Grappling with an acute shortage of skilled labour, Germany on Friday enacted provisions of a law granting residence rights for skilled immigrant workers without requiring them to first have their qualifications recognized in Germany.”

“Skilled workers with a degree and professional experience will be able to enter and work in Germany without a prior recognition procedure,” Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger told dpa.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil also decribed the changes as an important building block in the national labour market.

“We are ensuring that the skilled labour that our economy has urgently needed for years can come to our country,” Faeser said about Friday’s implementation of the new regulations.

The first stage came into force in November 2023 and mainly included easing the way for a residency permit known as the EU Blue Card and for recognized skilled workers. The third stage, including a new job search opportunity card, will follow in June.

Many sectors of the country’s economy are reliant on immigrant workers, according to data concurrently released by the Federal Statistical Office.

The cleaning and catering industries have a particularly high share of workers with an immigrant background, at 60% and 46% respectively, the data from 2022 showed.

Overall, a quarter (25%) of all people in employment between the ages of 15 to 64 in 2022 had a migrant background. The definition includes anyone who immigrated to Germany from 1950 onwards or whose parents had both immigrated since then.

In 2022, the proportion of this population group was also above average in transport and logistics occupations (38%) and in construction (36%).

Just under a third (30%) of caregivers between 15 to 64 had a migrant background. Among doctors, the figure was 27%, and in personal care professions – including hairdressers and beauticians – the figure was 36%.

In contrast, relatively few people with a migrant background worked in the police force or the judiciary, accounting for just 6% of the workforce, or one in 16 employees.

The proportion of school teachers was 11%, while in banking and insurance professions, 16% of employees had foreign roots.

In future, people from third countries will be able to work in Germany if they have at least two years of professional experience and a vocational or university degree recognized by the state in their country of origin.

This means that they do not yet have to have a qualification recognized in Germany. This is intended to reduce bureaucracy and shorten procedures.

There are also changes in other areas. For example, in view of the shortages in the caregiver sector, qualified caregiver assistants will also be able to come to work in Germany in future.

Non-EU foreigners will be allowed to work part-time and will be given more time to have their professional qualifications recognized if they come to Germany for educational purposes or for language courses.