Manpower-short Germany ups skilled worker visas

BERLIN

Germany will issue upwards of 10 percent more professional visas in 2024 after it relaxed some rules in a bid to tackle chronic labour shortages, the government has said.

With 1.34 million jobs vacant, last year's liberalization of rules concerning immigration of skilled workers addresses a critical shortage in Europe's largest economy, whose growth has spluttered in recent years.

Following the adoption of a points-based system inspired by Canada, 200,000 professional visas will be issued in 2024, a government statement said.

Third-country student visas rose by 20 percent, the number of apprenticeship visas have doubled and the recognition of foreign qualifications saw a near 50 percent climb, the statement added.

"We are working to attract the skilled workers and professionals that our economy has urgently needed for years," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

The new points system means that foreigners who are not EU nationals will find it easier to enter the German labor market and possibly bring their families with them.

Knowledge of the German language, professional experience and age are among the criteria for collecting the points.

With an ageing population and an annual shortage of 400,000 workers, the reforms need to go further, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

Manpower shortages plague important sectors such as healthcare, services, and technology.

But immigration is a divisive hot-button issue in the country, with the far right hoping to gain ground in upcoming legislative elections following the collapse of Germany's three-way coalition government two weeks ago.

Germany's employment has grown by 1.6 million in five years, with 89 percent of those positions attributed to foreigners.

Without non-Germans, employment would have fallen in 2023.