The law focuses on professionals without academic training and aims to attract labor from outside the European Union. The bill approved by the government must now pass through Parliament and come into force in 2020.
The German government finalized on Wednesday (19/12) a bill that will facilitate the immigration of qualified professionals from countries outside the European Union (EU), in response to pressure from the economic sector to fill the gap in medium-skilled workers in Germany.
The parties in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition have also agreed on another project to make it easier for foreigners who have been working in the country for a certain period of time and only have “tolerated” status, without a residence permit, to stay. The intention is to offer an opportunity to those who have sought to integrate and are looking for work.
The bills must now be approved by the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, and the Bundesrat, the chamber that represents the federal states, and come into force on January 1, 2020. The government has a majority in both houses. Because they are controversial among the conservative CDU and CSU parties, they are still subject to change, according to experts. This refers in particular to access to the job market for asylum seekers who have had their application denied but remain in the country.
The new rules will allow professionals from outside the European Union with proven qualifications to stay in Germany in search of work for a period of up to six months if they have the means to finance their stay and have sufficient knowledge of German. Under the previous rules, only academics, such as doctors, engineers, IT professionals and academics, had such an opportunity.
Another change concerns priority for native professionals. Under the law still in force, Germans and EU citizens have priority over people from outside the bloc, and a company must prove that existing vacancies cannot be filled by any of them. Only then can a foreigner from outside the EU be hired.
This barrier, which makes it extremely difficult to hire professionals from outside the European Union, will be eliminated with the new law, which puts non-EU workers on the same footing as Germans and Europeans.
The second bill, concerning professionals already in Germany, aims to find a solution for the 180,000 people with “tolerated” status, migrants whose refugee claims have been rejected but who cannot be deported for various reasons.
These migrants will be able to apply for a 30-month work permit if they have been working for at least a year and a half for at least 35 hours a week, contributing to social security, and can prove that they can support themselves financially without state aid.
If these people are still working when their work permit expires, and their German language skills are sufficient, they can apply for a residence permit in the country.
The new laws show that the government is willing to solve or at least alleviate the country's chronic labor shortage. Germany currently has a record 1.2 million job vacancies.
For some time now, companies have been urging the government to make it easier to hire nurses, caregivers for the elderly, construction workers and electricians, among other professionals, from outside the country. Demographic trends show that Germany will have to rely more and more on foreign professionals.
“Germany has a very open system for highly qualified immigration, but it has been very closed when it comes to professionals with intermediate or basic qualifications,” said analyst Thomas Liebig, from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). “This is the area where the labor shortage is particularly strong.”
The Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) praised the immigration law, which is due to be voted on in the German parliament next year.
The right-wing populist AfD party, on the other hand, rejected the new rules and claimed that they encourage people to go to Germany seeking refuge with the intention of getting a job, which would allow them to stay in the country even if their refugee applications are rejected.
“Even cleaners in kebab restaurants have an employment contract,” said Lars Herrmann, a member of parliament from the right-wing populist party. “Germany needs an immigration law that regulates and limits immigration.”