People without higher education will also be able to look for work in Germany
To further develop its economy, Germany needs to attract labor from abroad. That is why the German government has approved a bill designed to significantly ease the employment of qualified specialists from abroad. Deutsche Welle reports on its main provisions.
Parties such as the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens agreed to this long ago. In turn, the conservatives from the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU and CSU), who have been in power in the country for 12 years, long refused to pass a law that would significantly simplify the procedure for attracting labor migrants to Germany.
Now the ruling coalition parties have finally decided to draw a line under this discussion. On Wednesday, December 19, the German government approved a bill on the immigration of skilled workers. Now the German parliament will have to vote on it.
The main provisions of the new law were agreed upon back in early October. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer then stated: "The shortage of skilled workers is the main problem for companies in Germany, and this problem will become increasingly acute on the domestic labor market."
The new rules are intended to regulate and significantly facilitate employment in Germany for people from so-called third countries, in other words, from states outside the EU, be it China and India or Ukraine and Russia. And not only specialists with higher education, but also representatives of working professions.
Foreigners with higher or secondary specialized education can already obtain a job in Germany along with a residence permit under certain conditions. According to the new law, this opportunity will now be available to all migrants who have a certificate of professional qualification recognized in Germany.
Currently, the list of regulated professions in Germany includes 62 specialties and their subgroups, which is 14 more than in 2017. Another innovation is that when hiring, citizens of Germany and the EU will no longer have priority over foreigners.
True, the government reserves the right to reintroduce restrictions by profession if a downturn and layoffs begin in certain sectors of the German economy.
In addition, the law provides that foreign specialists will be able to find employment in Germany even after arriving in the country. Until now, a future migrant needed to have a signed employment contract with a German company before leaving for Germany.
Now this condition will no longer be mandatory. A person with qualifications recognized in Germany and knowledge of the German language will still be able to come to Germany and look for work for six months.
But during this period, he will not be entitled to receive social assistance and must prove that he can support himself. The German authorities also intend to simplify the procedure for recognizing foreign diplomas and other documents on higher or vocational education.
Meanwhile, the most heated debate in the ruling coalition was caused by the issue of changing the status of migrants who have been denied asylum but are well integrated and have found a place on the German labor market. This possibility was ultimately rejected.
Instead, the law provides that a foreigner will only receive a deferral of deportation for two years, provided that he has had a job for at least 18 months with at least 35 hours of work per week and social contributions are made from his earnings.