The German government has announced that it is on track to approve 200,000 professional work visas for migrant workers by the end of 2024, 10% more than last year. The announcement will be welcomed by many as Germany has struggled for years to reform its infamous recruitment bureaucracy amid a historic shortage of hard work. However, recent turbulence in German politics threatens to hinder any increase in immigration in the run-up to the 2025 snap elections.
In recent years, Germany has implemented long-awaited reforms to its immigration and visa procedures, making it less difficult to locate work and relocating to Germany, and offering greater flexibility once one is in the country. The government has also made efforts to speed up the process of detecting foreign qualifications, an effort that has had some good luck in recent years.
A year later, the new reforms appear to be bearing fruit. According to the German government, around 200,000 more people are expected to obtain a professional painting visa until the end of 2024, 10% more than in 2023. This will be greatly welcomed by entrepreneurs in many sectors in Germany, who expect difficult operating conditions and historical. Shortage. The effect of an aging population and a decline in the number of young Germans turning to trades and apprenticeships means that many sectors are struggling to recruit the people they want, with thousands of positions vacant each year. The government’s own projections recommend that the challenge will only get worse, with labor shortages likely in the millions.
While the news of increased labor immigration will be welcome for the German business network and employers, it comes at a tense time for the country, especially when it comes to migration. The fragile government coalition led by the Social Democrats finally collapsed, meaning the country will have new elections in early 2025.
The far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party made abundant electoral gains in the 2024 regional elections and is currently leading in polls ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats ahead of snap elections in February. The party is known to oppose any further immigration to Germany, whether normal or abnormal. Party leaders attack corporations that employ large numbers of foreigners and business ventures that promote diversity in the workplace. This has caused prominent members of the German business network to speak out. He opposes the party. Some worry that such anti-diversity and anti-immigration rhetoric may simply deter would-be migrant workers, exacerbating problems of hard work.
At the same time, well-ahead in the polls are the Christian Democrats – technically two parties, the CDU and CSU but broadly the same. The party of former chancellor Angela Merkel, known for her liberal stance on immigration in 2016, has hardened considerably. Prominent members of the bloc are now talking about adopting a asylum processing scheme similar to Italy’s Albania scheme, and have used recent incidents of violence to emphasise the need to clamp down on immigration as a security concern. Whatever happens in February’s elections, it is likely that further restrictions on immigration are on the way.
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