‘Foreigners' office staff who speak English': How Germany could ease immigration
There are high hopes that Germany's new Skilled Immigration Act will help plug worker shortages. But experts are calling for the law to go even further to ease bureaucracy for newcomers.
The German parliament recently passed a new skilled immigration law, aiming to attract workers from non-EU countries by relaxing immigration rules and introducing a points-based system for job seekers.
The law seeks to simplify the process of immigration and integration for experienced skilled workers, to help address critical shortages in Germany’s labour market.
Though the new law must still go through the Bundesrat before coming into force, the timeline suggests that we can expect to see these changes taking effect later this year.
READ ALSO: 8 things to know about Germany's new skilled worker immigration law
Though there are high hopes that the new law will go a long way to helping increase immigration to Germany, economist Monika Schnitzer, a member of the German Council of Economic Experts, has said that overall progress in making immigration to Germany easier is not as fast as it should be.
Speaking to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Schnitzer said that: "Germany needs 1.5 million immigrants per year if we want to maintain the number of workers by accounting for significant emigration and having 400,000 new citizens every year."
She talked about the urgent need for a more welcoming culture in Germany, especially from the immigration authorities, saying that they should act as service providers instead of discouraging immigrants.
"We shouldn't demand that foreign skilled workers know German for every job. Instead, we should ensure that the staff at the immigration authorities can speak English."
READ ALSO: 'More jobs in English': How Germany could attract international workers
Schnitzer further called for increased investment in children's education to address the shortage of skilled workers, criticising the fact that "one in four fourth-graders cannot read properly".
She also highlighted the importance of companies keeping older employees engaged to prevent them from retiring prematurely.
A recent study by the Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Workers - part of the Institute of the German Economy – found that 84 percent of German companies consider the main challenge in recruiting foreign skilled workers to be the "complexity of existing legal regulations".
READ ALSO: Could backlogs at Germany's foreigners' offices stifle skilled immigration?
Nearly 60 percent of companies consider the recognition of foreign professional qualifications as a barrier, though Labor Minister Hubertus Heil is aiming to eliminate this issue when the new skilled immigration law comes into force.
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The German parliament recently passed a new skilled immigration law, aiming to attract workers from non-EU countries by relaxing immigration rules and introducing a points-based system for job seekers.
The law seeks to simplify the process of immigration and integration for experienced skilled workers, to help address critical shortages in Germany’s labour market.
Though the new law must still go through the Bundesrat before coming into force, the timeline suggests that we can expect to see these changes taking effect later this year.
READ ALSO: 8 things to know about Germany's new skilled worker immigration law
Though there are high hopes that the new law will go a long way to helping increase immigration to Germany, economist Monika Schnitzer, a member of the German Council of Economic Experts, has said that overall progress in making immigration to Germany easier is not as fast as it should be.
Speaking to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Schnitzer said that: "Germany needs 1.5 million immigrants per year if we want to maintain the number of workers by accounting for significant emigration and having 400,000 new citizens every year."
She talked about the urgent need for a more welcoming culture in Germany, especially from the immigration authorities, saying that they should act as service providers instead of discouraging immigrants.
"We shouldn't demand that foreign skilled workers know German for every job. Instead, we should ensure that the staff at the immigration authorities can speak English."
READ ALSO: 'More jobs in English': How Germany could attract international workers
Schnitzer further called for increased investment in children's education to address the shortage of skilled workers, criticising the fact that "one in four fourth-graders cannot read properly".
She also highlighted the importance of companies keeping older employees engaged to prevent them from retiring prematurely.
A recent study by the Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Workers - part of the Institute of the German Economy – found that 84 percent of German companies consider the main challenge in recruiting foreign skilled workers to be the "complexity of existing legal regulations".
READ ALSO: Could backlogs at Germany's foreigners' offices stifle skilled immigration?
Nearly 60 percent of companies consider the recognition of foreign professional qualifications as a barrier, though Labor Minister Hubertus Heil is aiming to eliminate this issue when the new skilled immigration law comes into force.
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