Immigration to Germany | HEUSER RECHT UND STEUERN
06 • www.heuser.de
The Immigration of Skilled
Workers Act:
What is the Immigration of Skilled
Workers Act?
The Immigration of Skilled Workers
Act regulates targeted and controlled
immigration into the German labor
market. It is therefore fully open not
only to highly qualified people but also
to people with recognized qualifications
which the German economy needs
urgently. The Immigration of Skilled
Workers Act facilitates job search
in Germany and offers more career
prospects for all skilled workers from
means for subsistence. During the search
a marginal employment can be carried
out up to ten hours per week pursuant to
the same field of business. For example,
internships with a potential employer can
also be made possible. The recognition
of the foreign professional qualification
is important in order to be able to work
in Germany as a foreign specialist and
to get a visa. The existing regulations
and the procedures for the recognition
of qualifications are to be bundled and
made more user-friendly by means of
an „accelerated procedure for skilled
workers“.
What is the current status of the legislative
process?
The regulation of the immigration of
skilled workers was already discussed in
the context of the coalition agreement
of 04 March 2018 and substantiated on
02 October 2018.
On 19 December 2018, the Federal
Government finally passed the draft of
the Immigration of Skilled Workers Act.
This was forwarded to the Federal Council
on 04 January 2019, which issued its
opinion on the draft of the Immigration of
skilled workers Act on 15 February 2019
in response to the recommendations of
its committees of 05 February 2019 and
11 February 2019. The Act was passed on
the 15 August 2019.
The Act on the immigration of skilled
workers will come into force on the
01 March 2020.
Which specialists are needed?
It is specialists with completed professional
training who are needed the
most. But there is also an increasing
shortage of specialists with master‘s or
non-EU countries, with sufficient
vocational qualifications.
How does the Act simplify immigration?
In order to make it easier to fill positions,
people with professional training can
be given a six-month stay to look for a
job. The requirements are a recognized
qualification, the necessary knowledge
of the German language and secure