Germany’s Federal Council (Bundesrat) last week approved landmark reforms to further increase the immigration of skilled workers in the country.

Earlier this year, the Federal Cabinet passed the ‘Skilled Immigration Act’. In June 2023, the reforms were then passed through Germany’s parliament and last week it was approved by the Federal Council.

Euractiv reports that the new law will try to make good on the promise of the coalition agreement to transform Germany into a more immigration-friendly country by lowering restrictions and creating new opportunities, following the example of the points-based Canadian system.

The law also marks a recent shift in how Germany is handling migration, as the country has been sceptical to increase regular migration for decades.

The reforms offer three routes to enter Germany.

With the EU blue card, IT specialists, who are currently particularly in demand in Germany, can come to Germany with a recognised qualification. The salary threshold will be lowered for these workers, the length of professional experience required will also be shortened and proof of German language skills is waived.

The Skilled Immigration Act also relaxes rules around qualifications. Anyone who has at least two years of professional experience and a professional qualification obtained abroad, and which is state recognised in their country can come as a skilled worker in the future. The degree no longer has to be recognised in Germany beforehand.

According to the Cabinet, this means less bureaucracy and therefore a shorter process. A salary threshold will also ensure that these skilled workers have good long-term prospects on the job market, it added.

Workers who do not reach the necessary salary threshold must continue to have their professional qualifications recognised. So that the recognition procedure does not delay the start of work, the possibility of a recognition partnership between employees and employers will be created.

The government also announced an ‘opportunity card’ will be introduced for people who do not yet have a specific job offer but have potential for the labour market. This is based on a points system. The criteria include qualifications, knowledge of German and English, professional experience, connection to Germany, age and potential of the life partner or spouse.

The possibility of extending the opportunity card by up to two years is provided if the immigrant has an employment contract or a binding job offer for qualified employment in Germany and the Federal Employment Agency agrees.

"With the Skilled Immigration Act, we are laying the foundation for a modern immigration country that not only accepts qualified immigration, but also wants it," said federal labour minister Hubertus Heil.

Nancy Faeser, the interior minister, said, “The lack of skilled labour is deemed to be one of the worst drags on growth for the German economy. Therefore, we also need immigration. We need almost 400,000 people to come to our country.”

The 400,000 figure comes from the Federal Employment office which said Germany needs to make up a shortfall of workers every year.

The reform could increase the number of workers from countries outside the EU by 60,000 people a year, Reuters reports, citing the government’s draft legislation.

Further obstacles to the immigration of skilled workers from third countries will also be lowered.

The so-called Western Balkans regulation is to be extended and the quota doubled. This means that up to 50,000 nationals from the six Western Balkan states of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia will be allowed to immigrate to Germany every year. They can enter Germany for any job without having to prove professional qualification.

Asylum seekers who entered the country before 29 March 2023 and who, among other things, have the appropriate qualifications and a job offer or who are already in a corresponding employment relationship can end their asylum procedure by withdrawing their application and apply for a residence permit as a skilled worker without first leaving the country and going through a visa procedure to have.

The government added that that it will also be possible for the parents of a skilled worker to be granted a residence permit for family reunification. The same applies to the skilled worker's parents-in-law if their spouse resides permanently in Germany.

“The Skilled Immigration Bill supports the Federal Government Skills Strategy,” the Cabinet stated. “At the same time, it is important to exploit all domestic potential for securing skilled workers - such as increasing the labour force participation of women and older people. But also to make the employees fit for the working world of tomorrow.

Hans Vorländer, a political scientist at the TU (Technical University) Dresden and chair of the Expert Council on Integration and Migration established by the federal government, told Euractiv that the law might create administrative bottlenecks and longer processing times, making it “doubtful if the law will actually lead to the desired figures.”

“The efficiency of the law is a question of its implementation and of administrative investment,” Vorländer said.