Ahead of the German federal election on February 23rd, migration rules and changes to citizenship law have been at the top of some political parties' agendas - including the frontrunners, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the CSU.
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But what these parties are not talking about during their campaign is the need for immigration to Germany.
The truth is that Germany is suffering a massive worker shortage - and immigrants from abroad are a big part of the solution.
There are more than a million unfilled roles across the labour market, from the IT industry and construction to education and the health sector.
Experts say that Germany is in need of around 400,000 people from abroad every year to enter the job market because of demographic changes like the retiring 'baby boomer' generation and the declining birth rate.
Without immigration, the number of people able to work is forecast to shrink by 7.9 million by the mid-2030s. That's almost 8 million fewer people paying into Germany's pension pot at a time when hundreds of thousands are entering retirement each year.
This glaring problem facing German society is one of the reasons that the previous 'grand coalition' government, made up of the CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD) passed the Skilled Worker Immigration Act back in 2019.
And the recent 'traffic light' government - made up of the SPD, Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP) launched a further reform of immigration and citizenship laws.
With the points-based visa, the Chancenkarte (opportunity card), as well as easing family reunification rules and cutting Blue Card earnings requirements, the government wanted to encourage non-EU nationals to pick Germany as a destination to settle in.
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"Measures to deal with the shortage of skilled labour in Germany are an important issue for the entire federal government," a spokesperson from the German Foreign Office told The Local.
"As part of the new regulations on the immigration of skilled labour, new immigration options have been created and further important steps have been taken to simplify procedures."
Another big change was Germany's easing of rules to get citizenship which came into effect in June 204. The government hoped that allowing dual citizenship for all would help to convince foreigners to integrate fully and live in Germany in the long-term.
How many visas have been issued?
The first stage of the Skilled Immigration Act came into force in November 2023.
In the first year, the government said the number of visas issued increased by around 10 percent.
A spokesperson from the Foreign Office told the Local that their department "prioritised the processing of applications for skilled worker visas with the Visa Acceleration Action Plan".
"In doing so, we want to harmonise the visa procedure with the requirements of a modern and attractive immigration country. In particular, the use of external service providers and the digitalisation of the visa process will be expanded."
According to initial projections, German visa offices processed 198,000 visas for employment purposes in 2024, up from 177,578 recorded in the previous year.
"This includes over 11,000 EU Blue Cards, almost 5,000 Opportunity Cards, over 8,000 visas to researchers and around 20,000 visas to trainees." a spokesperson from the Foreign Office said.
In 2024, more visas were issued and processed for the purpose of gainful employment than ever before, said the Foreign Office.
READ ALSO: How many skilled workers have applied for Germany's opportunity card?
How can Germany attract foreigners?
But there is still some way to go.
Studies have highlighted that obstacles including burdensome bureaucracy and an unwelcoming culture is holding Germany back from attracting the talent it needs.
Foreign nationals in Germany have also spoken out about the hurdles they have faced, including xenophobia and racism.
In a survey from last year, Simone, 37, who works as a doctor in Nuremberg told us: “Germany may say that it desperately wants skilled foreign workers, but the country’s ridiculous bureaucracy, ingrained xenophobia, and general allergy to change or modern technology all tell a different story.”
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Some high-profile German political parties acknowledge there is work to do.
In its manifesto, the SPD says that Germany has "long benefited from the fact that we are a country of immigration". The party says it will continue to develop skilled immigration laws and argues that Germany needs more talent from abroad to handle its demographic pressures.
And the Green party pledges to cut down on bureaucracy to "ensure that the best skilled workers can and want to come to us easily - with simplified immigration procedures".
In a statement from the Foreign Office, a spokesperson told us the digitalisation of the visa process "will be expanded" among other initiatives to help them better connect with potential workers coming from outside the EU.
At the start of the year, Germany launched a fully online portal for applying for entry visas from abroad. This is designed to speed up the process for applicants.
"In addition, the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs will be more closely involved in order to increase the processing capacities of the visa centres at the German missions abroad," the spokesperson said.
"This will allow more appointments for visa applications, which will reduce waiting times. Thanks to the so-called visa jumper pool, we can provide flexible support from colleagues to visa centres that are particularly busy at short notice."
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