Germany sets cornerstones for liberal migration reforms – government source

By Holger Hansen

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s ruling coalition has put the cornerstones in place to change the immigration system to make the country more attractive for skilled workers and fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in the labour market, a government source told Reuters on Friday.

The reforms include introducing a so-called “opportunity card” which will entitle people to look for jobs in Germany based on a points system, with language skills, professional experience and connection to Germany among the criteria, the source said.

Germany’s interior and labour ministers want to turn Europe’s biggest economy into an immigration destination, as the need for skilled labour increases with the aging population posing a demographic time bomb for Germany’s public pension system and risk for economic growth.

“Germany needs qualified specialists to remain economically successful,” Labour Minister Hubertus Heil said on Friday.

A Labour ministry study expects the gap between demand and offer of skilled workers to grow to around 240,000 people by 2026.

The Cabinet will decide on these cornerstones by mid-November and a draft law is expected in the first quarter next year, the source said.

Easing the process of recognising foreigners’ qualifications, obtaining longer-term residencies upon employment and removing barriers to long-term recruitment of top academics are among the envisaged reforms.

For example, people who have come to Germany for a language course would be able work part-time for up to 20 hours a week and the minimum salaries to obtain the EU-wide Blue Card as a work permit should be lowered for university graduates or those with professional qualifications.

A priority check for foreigners entering Germany to start an apprenticeship will be abolished, meaning there will be no need for a certification from the Federal Labour Agency that no German applicant is being displaced by a foreigner for the spot.

Qualified non-EU nationals should be able to travel to Germany for even without prior formal recognition of their professional qualifications.

Berlin is even considering a “contingent and limited entry regardless of qualifications” in case of an acute shortage of workers in certain sectors.

Abroad, Germany will expand its offering of language courses and examinations, while looking into making them more affordable. It also plans to expand offers of vocational training programs with integrated German language training, especially in the nursing sector.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Holger Hansen; editing by Grant McCool)