In Germany, which is hosting hundreds of thousands of foreigners, there is still no migration law
As Deutsche Welle notes, there are more than 50 types of documents allowing a foreigner to legally stay in Germany: a visa for artists, a temporary residence permit, a permanent residence permit, the so-called European Blue Card for highly qualified foreign specialists, etc.
A separate, special area is granting asylum to persons in need of protection, who are also part of the migration flow. In addition, German legislation provides for a whole range of rules and regulations concerning migration issues. But there is still no migration law in Germany. However, apparently, one will appear soon.
For many years, the development and adoption of a migration law has been one of the main demands of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its junior coalition partner, the Christian Social Union (CSU), opposed such a law.
Initially, the Christian parties argued that Germany is not a country of immigrants. Debates about a migration law were held even before 2015, when a stream of refugees poured into the country. Then the initiative for a migration law was blocked with the argument that Germany already has enough rules and regulations governing this area.
But the Social Democrats still believe that such a law is necessary. "The current migration rules are a bureaucratic monster," said SPD politician Burkhardt Lischka. "If Germany wants to win the international competition for highly qualified foreign specialists, it needs a simple, clear, understandable migration law," he explains.
The politician emphasizes that the migration law will regulate precisely the rules for the entry of labor into the country. During the negotiations on forming the ruling government coalition in Germany in January 2018, the parties discussed this issue but did not reach an agreement.
Now the CDU and CSU are ready to return to discussing a migration law, but this does not mean that it should be adopted on the basis of the coalition agreement, which deals with the migration of highly qualified specialists, clarifies Philipp Amthor, a CDU deputy and chairman of the Bundestag committee on internal affairs.
Already in October of this year, Federal Minister of the Interior and CSU leader Horst Seehofer intends to present a document regulating migration in Germany. What its content will be is not yet clear. The Social Democrats also developed their own version of a migration law before the parliamentary elections, which is based on the Canadian model.
According to it, Germany should have an annual quota for migrants. A decisive role in issuing visas will be played by points that are awarded for knowledge of the German language, education, work experience, and the presence of relatives in Germany.
One of the developers of this concept is Karamba Diaby, a Bundestag deputy from the SPD. "With the adoption of a migration law, we want to achieve transparency and show who can live and work in Germany and under what criteria," noted Diaby, a native of Senegal who came to study in the GDR, graduated from university, and earned a doctorate in Germany.
According to this model, migrants can theoretically enter the country without having a specific job offer. Therefore, politicians from the bloc of Christian parties do not support this format. "If we are talking about migration, one thing should be clearly stated: migration to Germany is possible only if there is a job," believes CDU Bundestag deputy Armin Schuster.
However, the CDU and CSU admit that the current rules governing migration issues are too complex. "Until now, we have had too strict obstacles for migrants," states Philipp Amthor from the CDU.
Meanwhile, experts from the parliamentary commission in their annual report speak of the most liberal rules for migration to Germany for highly qualified specialists. But conditions for entry should also be eased for persons of other professions in demand in Germany. In Amthor's words, when talking about labor migration, one must understand that it is not only about super-programmers from India, but also about cooks from Ukraine.