Germany Follows Canadian-Inspired Points-based System to Attract Skilled Workers

Germany will issue an additional 10% professional visas in 2024, the German government said on Sunday after easing some rules in a bid to address labor shortages.

With 1.34 million job vacancies, the liberalization of rules on the migration of skilled workers last year is addressing a severe shortage in Europe’s largest economy, whose growth has stalled in recent years.

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

The statement added that visas for students from third countries (non-EU) increased by 20%, the number of vocational training visas doubled and the recognition of foreign qualifications increased by almost 50%.

“We are working to attract the skilled workers and professionals that our economy urgently needs for years,” Interior Minister Nancy Pfizer said.

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

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

With an aging population and an annual shortage of 400,000 workers, reforms need to move forward, Foreign Minister Annalina Birbock said. The healthcare, services and technology sector is short of the workforce.

But immigration is a hotly divisive issue in the country, with the right hoping to gain more support in the upcoming legislative elections following the collapse of Germany’s tripartite coalition government last week.

The number of jobs in Germany increased by 1.6 million in five years, with 89 percent of these jobs being for foreigners. Without foreigners, the number of jobs would have decreased in 2023.