The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) have presented a first evaluation of the practical implementation of the current immigration law for foreign professionals with the "Wirkungsanalyse des rechtlichen Rahmens für ausländische Fachkräfte" (Impact analysis of the legal framework for foreign professionals).
"Germany is well on the way in decisively improving the culture of welcome. This is of elemental significance both with respect to co-existence in our society and for strengthening our economic competitive capability. I am very pleased that our efforts of the past years have borne fruit: the German legal framework for the immigration of foreign professionals was appropriately opened up. Now it is important to successfully implement these regulations into practice. This is why our working group in the context of the demographic strategy has already started to work on several of the study's recommendations", said the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel.
All in all, the legal framework itself is being evaluated as positive, also in an international comparison, with Germany's liberal implementation of the Blue Card EU and the improved immigration options for qualified professionals being particularly noteworthy.
Domestic potential alone not sufficient
However, the researchers of Rambøll Management Consulting have identified some potential for optimisation in the actual administrative performance. For instance, information deficits on part of the authorities still lead to inconsistent decisions and incomplete electronic transmission systems impede the visa process.
The study moreover recommends increasing the appeal of Germany for international professionals by way of improved customer-orientation and proactive guidance regarding the options for immigration and remaining in the country. Foreign university graduates present a huge potential of skilled professionals. The aim is to increasingly advise and support them and to integrate them into the employment market.
"Many enterprises in Germany face increasing difficulties in finding skilled employees; this begins with finding suitable apprentices", emphasises DIHK President Dr Eric Schweitzer. "Our domestic potential alone is not sufficient. This is why we have to place greater attention on employing foreign professionals - both from within Europe and from third countries. In the past years, the legal framework conditions have created improved conditions for facilitating the immigration of qualified professionals to Germany. Now it is important to facilitate the implementation into practice."
Successfully integrate international professionals
The impact analysis has been carried out by the working group "Ausländisches Arbeitskräftepotenzial erschließen und Willkommenskultur schaffen" (Tapping foreign labour potential and creating a culture of welcome) that is headed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the DIHK in the context of the federal government's demography strategy.
The aim of the working group is to support small and medium-sized enterprises in winning over and successfully integrating international professionals and to further promote the culture of welcome in administration, businesses and society. To this end, existing measures are being bundled and new ones are being developed.