Angela Merkel’s Government introduces new immigration law in Bundestag

On Thursday, the German government led by Angela Merkel presented much-awaited immigration law in the Bundestag.

With the introduction of the new immigration law, the German government is planning to overhaul the entire immigration process. Notably, new immigration law mainly focus on attracting skilled workers.

The law will come into effect from January 1, 2020. However, the government notified that there is a requirement for 6 months preparation period for Bureaucratic process.

The drafting of the new immigration law was done by keeping two decades long complaints from the business community in mind. The major concern of the business community was the lack of qualified IT specialists and engineers along with other vocational professions such as nurses and health care workers. 

As per a recent report, Germany’s aging population will hamper the growth of the German Economy. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement for qualified skilled workers.

Support for the new immigration law from all corner

Conservative Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said, “Introduction of draft immigration law is a historic moment”.  He further added, that there was always a requirement of certain criteria regarding the immigration process. Especially, focusing on the fact that who should come to Germany for work and under what conditions.

Consequently, Bettina Offer, an immigrant lawyer, said that though the step taken by the government will surely provide a quick solution to immigration. However, full-fledged implementation of the new immigration law will take up to 3-5 years.

Additionally, she said that the government has realized that the main hurdle was not at a legal level, but at a bureaucratic and administrative level.

Important key points of the new immigration law

One of the key points in the new law is the removal of mandatory check of jobs applicants residing outside the EU. 

Surprisingly, new law will also make it easier for the vocationally qualified skilled workers to move to Germany. Previously, the German system favored applicants with high academic qualifications.

To conclude, the new law will provide a fast-tracked procedure for qualified workers.

However, the requirements under new immigration law are as follows:

• Appropriate qualification.
• Basic German language knowledge.
• Necessary financial means.

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