Asylum seekers and people with Duldung (“tolerated”) status will be able to work sooner after arriving in Germany, the government has announced.

German government eases path to work for new group

Germany is looking for solutions to its record-high worker shortage in as many parts of society as possible. Now, the federal government has announced that it will reduce the amount of time that asylum seekers and people with “tolerated” migration status must live in Germany before they can legally begin working.

The new policy will mean that both of these groups will only have to live in Germany for six months before they are legally allowed to work. Asylum seekers without children were previously barred from working for nine months after arrival and for those with “tolerated” status, the waiting period could take years.

At the moment anyone with “tolerated” status who came to Germany before August 1, 2018, is allowed to work. Under the new rules, this date will be pushed to the end of 2022. The minimum number of working hours that such people can carry out per week will also be reduced from 35 to 20.

What does it mean to have “tolerated” migration status in Germany?

“Tolerated” immigration status applies to people in Germany who do not have a residence permit or the right to remain in Germany but cannot be deported for legal reasons, for example, if it would mean unjustifiably separating a family or if deportation to the person’s native country would put them in danger.

There are around 250.000 people who hold this migration status and, though they live in Germany, since the majority are not entitled to work they are also not entitled to claim social security benefits.

Qualified asylum seekers will be able to work sooner

IT workers from India, skilled workers under 35 from all over the world and asylum seekers, are just some of the groups which are set to benefit from Germany opening up its working economy to non-EU nationals.

Under Germany’s new skilled worker immigration law it will become easier for people who came to Germany as refugees before March 29, 2023 to switch their residency status so that they can begin working in the federal republic. In order to do this they won’t have to leave Germany first to switch from an asylum claim to a skilled worker residency application.

However, only those with a qualification and an offer for a job from a company in Germany will be able to switch easily.

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