The new Skilled Immigration Act (FEG) has been rolled out gradually since 18th November 2023. Since then, the Recognition Partnership, which also allows the procedure for recognising existing occupational qualifications to be started after a skilled worker has moved to Germany, has simplified the immigration of skilled workers. In addition, people with recognised occupational qualifications also have more flexibility in their target role, and – last but not least – the quota that applies to the West Balkans Regulation has been doubled. The third and final stage of the Act took effect in June 2024 with the introduction of an “Opportunity card” for skilled foreign workers.

"It is still too soon to draw definitive conclusions, but it is clear that the Act has had a positive impact,” said Vanessa Ahuja, Chair for Support and International Affairs at the Federal Employment Agency. “The provision of support and advice to people interested in moving to Germany for work and the official figures on labour market admissions have risen to record levels. Skilled foreign workers are expressing increased interest in moving to Germany. In terms of the international competition, however, Germany isn’t in the fast lane. The lack of digital interfaces between the public authorities, processes that are distributed across several different offices and the exceptionally complex and lengthy recognition procedures for qualifications discourage many people.”

Initial successes of the Skilled Immigration Act

Within one year, in 2023, the number of skilled workers living abroad who received advice and support increased by 68,000 to 233,000.

In the area of gainful employment, between January and September 2024, 172,261 approvals for residence permits were issued – an increase of 6,854 compared with the same period in the previous year. This demonstrates the increasing levels of interest from skilled workers – and the opportunities available to them – for making a start in Germany.

For persons with recognised qualifications, the rules have been improved so that they have more flexibility in terms of their choice of occupation. From January to September 2024, the number of approvals for non-academic roles increased by 28 percent to approximately 28,400.

The quota for the “West Balkans Regulation” has been doubled from 25,000 to 50,000 workers. Numerous workers from the countries of the West Balkans use this opportunity to work in Germany in roles that pay social security contributions. For several countries, however, it has been necessary for the further processing of labour market admission enquiries to be postponed, as the processing quotas at the visa offices have already been exhausted – either in relation to the respective month or the entire annual quota for the respective country.

Bureaucracy and interfaces still need to be addressed

In comparison with other countries, Germany is now keeping pace, but isn’t yet in the fast lane. The large number of public authorities involved, the differing responsibilities of the federal government and federal states and the lack of digitalisation continue to make the immigration process complicated and in many cases too slow. This is where all the stakeholders can make improvements.