German government has made new immigration rules which will come into force on 1st March 2020. The set of new immigration rules is known as “skilled immigration act”. The new German immigration rules will open more opportunities for foreign skilled workers and it will enable German employers to recruit foreign skilled workers easily as compare to past. The major changes in German immigration rules are as follows:
Germany Work Visa for Skilled Workers:
According to skilled immigration act of Germany, Foreign workers with vocational training of at least two years will be to get Germany work visa. There will be no need for employers to get permission from Federal employment agency in order to recruit foreign skilled workers. A valid job offer with a job contract will be enough to apply work visa for skilled workers. Foreign workers must get their skills recognized from relevant German department before visa application. It is not required to have occupation included in “skilled occupation list”.
In past, Germany work visa rules was favorable only for high qualified professionals with university degrees. Germany immigration news laws opened doors for people who do not have university degrees. However, candidates must have at least two years diploma of vocational training.
Job Seekers Visa:
Contrary to past, Job seeker visa is now open from 1st march for skilled workers who have vocational training of at least two years. In order to get this visa, they need to have enough funds for their stay in Germany. They must have passed German language test with B1 level. Further more, they need to get their skills recognized from relevant German department. With job seeker visa foreigners can stay up to 6 months in Germany to find a job. They can work 10 hours per week on trial bases to make better understanding with employer for future employment visa.
Once they have successfully secured a job offer, they can apply for Germany work Visa. Job seeker visa was previously available for High qualified professionals only but it is now open for skilled workers as well. Read More about Germany Seeker Visa.
Permanent Residence for Workers:
Previously, foreign workers were able to get Permanent residence of Germany after five years. they will be able to permanent residence after 4 years according to skilled immigration act 2020.
Permanent Residence for Students:
According to new German immigration rules, foreign students doing vocational training courses in Germany would be able to get permanent residence after two years of completion of their course. This facility was previously available for university graduate students only.
Changing Visa Status from Student Visa to Work Visa:
Change of status from student visa to work visa already exist in Germany. However, Germany New Skilled Immigration Act 2020 expands this facility and make it easier for international students to change their status from student visa to work visa. This allows students who get job offer during their study, they can change their status from student to employment visa and residence. However, government of Germany may imposed certain conditions for this transition.
EU Blue Card and High Qualified Professionals:
There will be no change for EU blue card and visa for highly qualified professionals. Read About Germany Blue Card.