From March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, the German diplomatic missions issued almost 30,000 visas to qualified specialists and trainees from third countries despite the pandemic.
The Skilled Workers Immigration Act is part of the legislative package on migration that was passed by the German Assembly in June 2019. It implements the agreement of the governing parties in the coalition agreement. The law was implemented from 1 March 2020 for the new skilled wor visa categories.
The Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said about this milestone, “When the law came into force a year ago, I said that the Skilled Workers Immigration Act is a milestone in German migration policy,” “Today I can refer to the figures because they speak for themselves. Just one year after its introduction, we are successful in the competition for qualified workers and at the same time offer people a legal route into the German labor market. ”
All provisions for protection against the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 apply to the entry of skilled workers from third countries (e.g. the coronavirus entry regulations and the quarantine regulations of the federal states)
With the Skilled Workers Immigration Act, qualified skilled workers from non-EU countries can come to Germany in an orderly and expeditious manner. In this way, the law helps to meet the skilled labor needs of the German economy.
The low-skilled are generally excluded from the new immigration regulations.
Key Points of the new immigration law
Germany’s new immigration law mainly brings the following changes into the old immigration system:
- Suspension of the checks if there are available workers either in Germany or EU countries for the applied job of the foreigners. This will surely help to make the job offer process faster and more vocational and skilled jobs would be open for non-EU workers.
- The previously exercised norm, immigration only for highly skilled ‘Academically Qualified’ persons is to be joined by the vocationally skilled workers. This will help even diploma holders and ones with having professional experience in skilled work to count.
- Under some restrictions, students will be able to come to Germany to attend vocational training courses.
- Permanent residency possible with less time
Permanent settlement permit for those who have completed a vocational training course in Germany: The new act enables foreigners who have successfully completed a vocational training course in Germany to receive a permanent settlement permit after two years, the same period as applies to graduates.
Examination of the equivalence of qualifications and the examination of working conditions remain a prerequisite for access to the labor market. The law makes the measures for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications more attractive and more practical. In addition, IT specialists with extensive practical experience can also travel to Germany without a formal qualification.
A work contract from a German employer, basic knowledge of the German language, and required qualification (with recognition report from Germany) will be sufficient enough to make the applicants through. Employers will need not provide proof of job availability(“Vorrangprüfung”) from BAMF (Germany’s Federal immigration office) which will make the process more easy and hectic free. One can also apply for this visa even if his profession is not on a shortage occupation list..