The German government predicts that it will issue 10 percent more skilled worker visas in 2024 than were issued in 2023, before the new skilled worker immigration law was introduced.

Germany set to issue 200.000 skilled worker visas in 2024

Just over a year after Germany introduced the first stage of its Skilled Immigration Act, the government has announced that it is on track to process 200.000 skilled worker visas in 2024. If the target is reached, Germany will have issued 10 percent more skilled worker visas than it did in 2023.

The Skilled Immigration Act was adopted to soften Germany’s record-high worker shortage by allowing non-EU nationals with a vocational qualification or university degree to take on a job in Germany, regardless of whether the position is directly related to their qualification.

There are currently 1,34 million vacant jobs in the country and the head of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Office) has estimated that Germany needs to welcome 400.000 migrants per year to plug current and coming shortages.

The government also announced that Germany has issued 20 percent more student visas to non-EU nationals than in 2023. Visas for vocational trainees have increased by two-thirds and the number of non-Germans looking to have their qualifications recognised has risen by nearly 50 percent.

Chancenkarte criticised for lacking ambition

While the figures suggest that Germany is starting to see the benefits of adopting the first stage of its Skilled Immigration Act one year after implementation, the same cannot be said for the Chancekarte (Opportunity Card), which was launched as part of the second stage in June 2024.

The new visa, modelled on the Canadian points-based system, makes it easier for qualified non-EU nationals to come to Germany without a concrete job offer. While ministers thought prospective migrant workers would jump at this chance, four months after its launch just 2.360 people had applied for the card.

Researchers at the German Institute for Job Markets and Career Research (IAB) and TU Dresden had already deemed the points-based visa scheme too complicated and limited to be effective, saying Germany needed “more courage to simplify”. 

Speaking to Rheinische Post, IAB expert Herbert Brücker predicted the outcome of the Chancenkarte to be “negligible” because applicants have to jump through so many hoops to get a card in the first place, and that’s before they can even start looking for work.

TU Dresden’s Expert Council on Migration and Integration Hans Vorländer added that Germany’s shortage isn’t limited to skilled workers, “we need labour in general,” he told Rheinische Post.

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