Germany: Berlin opens labor market to engineers and doctors from all over the world

Encourage immigration from non-European specialists.  Until now, German businesses who wanted to recruit workers from a country outside the EU had to wait for the Federal Employment Agency to ensure that no German or European citizen can fill this position.  From now on, this national (and European) preference clause upon recruitment is removed for three trades: mechanical engineers, power engineers and doctors.      These are sectors where the shortage of skilled workers is already particularly marked.  After the Council of Ministers, Ursula von der Leyen, German Minister for Employment and Social Affairs pointed out that this was only the beginning and that other measures would be taken in the mid-run to facilitate the recruitment of foreign skilled workers.  Thus, the parties of the German coalition will debate, in the coming weeks – within the framework of the introduction of the European Blue Card –, the need to lower the “wage barrier” for third-country nationals.  Until now, they had to earn at least €66,000 a year to obtain a residence permit in Germany.  The Minister of Labor wants to bring this number down to 40,000.  “We shouldn’t set the bar higher than the others” the conservative (CDU) Minister warned, reminding that all the countries were now looking for the best talents, not simply Germany.  The Minister also supports employers’ recommendation for immigration managed by a point system as in Canada or Australia.  The Minister said she was convinced that a new Immigration Act would be debated during this legislative term.