The good news first: Germany's governing coalition of conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) is indeed capable of governing. Through late Monday night, parties were working to find a compromise on the diesel debateandimmigration. There are two important questions regarding immigration: How can Germany reduce the shortage of skilled labor through targeted immigration from non-EU countries? And what are the prospects of remaining in Germany for people who have had their asylum applications rejected but have found work and integrated into society? The coalition has agreed on the following key points: Prospects for rejected asylum-seekers The government intends to use the planned law to recruit qualified, skilled labor from abroad. The law is supposed to make it easier for workers to come to Germany. Of course, training and education play an important role. For those with university degrees, there has long been the possibility to get a so-called blue card. But now, others could be afforded a similar privilege. Among them are refugees whose asylum applications have been rejected, but who, for other reasons, cannot return to their home country. Read more: Germans upbeat about immigration, study finds According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, at the end of June 2018, more than 230,000 people who were technically required to leave Germany were living in the country. Of these, just under 174,000 were granted exemptions from deportation. For them, the law will offer the opportunity to gain a better residency permit by securing a permanent job. No 'lane change' Nevertheless, Monday night's agreement states: "We are adhering to the principle of separation between asylum and labor migration." This indicates that the SPD was not able to push through the entirety of the "lane change" they intended. But now, the coalition's compromise provides for a way to accommodate refugees who were not granted asylum, but cannot be deported to their home country and have also integrated well into German society. Read more: Finding skilled labor in Germany: 'It's never been so hard' For such cases, according to Minister for Social Affairs Hubertus Heil of the SPD, "clear criteria for a reliable status regarding [such] refugees" should be included in laws regarding residency permits. However, what these might be is yet to be seen. Heil described the regulation as "pragmatic and realistic." There can't be a situation where "the wrong" asylum-seekers are sent back to their home countries. Fewer restrictions Thus far, skilled workers and academics with qualified training and education were only really able to work in Germany if the Federal Employment Agency had identified a market need. That is changing now; the restrictions are being eliminated. Anyone who has completed a qualified vocational training or degree course, and has signed an employment contract, is to be allowed to fill the position. Previously, there was a requirement to check whether or not a citizen might have been able to take the job before approval could be given. This will be done away with. However, the government is reserving the right to quickly reintroduce the procedure to protect local workers. It wasn't easy, but Heil (left) was able to reach an agreement with his conservative colleagues Easier travel entry to search for work In the future, those interested in working in Germany will have the opportunity to come to the country for up to six months to look for a job. The prerequisite is qualified education or training. Social benefits will not be accessible during that period. Read more: How do deportations work in Germany? "We are adhering to the requirement of proof of a secured income before entering the country," states the coalition's agreement. In a previous draft, incoming workers would have been allowed to take on work below their qualification level to secure an income during their job search. This was later removed. 'We need smart people' Is the new agreement a half-baked compromise or a model for future policy? The reactions on Tuesday ran the gamut. Among them, representatives of the business community expressed positive reactions, saying the points in the agreement were important for maintaining Germany's economic competitiveness. "To do so, we are dependent on qualified workers from abroad," said the chief executive of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations, Steffen Kampeter. The digital association Bitcom stated clearly: "We need the brightest minds in the world." Read more: Women refugees face difficult path to integration in Germany German Trade Union Confederation board member Annelie Buntenbach, on the other hand, called for more extensive and longer-term entry requirements. For the opposition in Germany's parliament, the agreement does not go far enough. "Instead of simplification and easing for migrants," the coalition's agreement just creates "more bureaucracy and opaque regulations," said Green party migration expert Filiz Polat. Katja Suding of the business-friendly Free Democratic Party, meanwhile, said it was "incomprehensible" why "a 23-year-old with a contract for training at a retirement home should be deported to Afghanistan."<doc-sep>Germany's coalition government announced in the early hours of Tuesday that they had agreed on new immigration laws after several months of back and forth over immigration policy. The new laws will be inspired by the oft-touted Canada model, and would make it more difficult for the poor and uneducated to immigrate to Germany, according to a draft of the deal seen by journalists. The deal "adheres to the principle of separating asylum and labor migration," and ensures that those who have a legal right to claim asylum under German law will still be able to do so. The outline of the proposed law states, however, that non-EU citizens without higher education or, preferably, a concrete job offer, will not be able to live in Germany: "We do not want any immigration from unqualified third-country nationals," the deal states. Like the Canada model, prospective immigrants would be ranked according to level of education, age, language skills, job offers, and "financial security." No special treatment for well-integrated rejected refugees The agreement was signed by the Social Democrat (SPD) Labor Minister Hubertus Heil and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU). Seehofer has been pushing for immigration reform since taking office, going so far as to threaten to resign in June if his demands were not met. "Skilled workers from abroad are already making an important contribution to the competitiveness of the German economy," the paper states, noting the need for more highly-qualified employees. One issue not included in the deal is a special dispensation sought by the SPD for refugees whose asylum applications have been rejected but are already well integrated in German society. Heil told German news agency DPA that Seehofer had agreed, however, that the government should more closely take care "not to deport any of the wrong people." The government will also retain the right to close off immigration for certain job categories as it sees fit. es/aw (dpa, Reuters)<doc-sep>The German government is preparing a new immigration law aimed at bringing more skilled workers to Germany – but has apparently rejected the "points-based" system that other countries favor. The new "key-point" paper, seen by DW, acknowledges that low unemployment and an aging population in Germany have meant that companies are struggling to fill posts with qualified people, and even creating more opportunities for other European Union citizens will not meet the shortfall – so [Germany has to] be "significantly more successful in winning qualified specialist workers from third countries" – meaning countries outside the EU. The paper, produced by the Interior Ministry and already broadly agreed on by the Labor and Economy Ministries, is to be presented to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet on August 29. The Interior Ministry, which is headed by Horst Seehofer, leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), is determined to avoid "immigration into the social systems," the paper underlined. Read more: Home care rules leave gaps for the off-the-books work The points system not called a points system It was quickly noticed that the German government's paper does not mention a "points-based" immigration system, as is used in the UK, Canada, and Australia, and others. It sees non-citizens looking for work earn points for education, wealth, language fluency, existing job offers, and other factors – and if they meet a certain score threshold, they are admitted into the country. A points system was previously suggested in 2016 by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and also favored by other center-left parties in Germany. The points outlined in the new document suggest that people will be chosen by criteria including qualifications, age, language skills, "concrete job offers," and their ability to secure their own livelihood - effectively making it a points system. But, as Thomas Liebig, migration researcher at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), put it, "the devil is in the details. I have quite a few questions about how they're going to do this." "I'm not sure how they are going to have different criteria without a points system," he said. "If you want to trade off different criteria, you need a points system, one way or another. That's what points systems are there for." Read more: Can Germany be a new home for young Venezuelans? University-educated workers are already welcome in Germany Germany lacks skilled builders, nurses Germany currently has one of the easiest immigration laws for people with high education levels – "It's easier to go to Germany than for example to Canada, under the current conditions," said Liebig. "The German system right now is very much focused on formal qualifications, so if you have high qualifications and a corresponding job, then you can come – you don't even have to speak German." Germany also even has a job-search visa for people with top-notch qualifications – so you could enter the country without an actual job, but can search for one. But what Germany is lacking is people with what are called medium-level qualifications: nurses, caregivers, kindergarten helpers, and skilled laborers such as electricians or carpenters: anything that requires a vocational qualification. This, according to Liebig, amounts to around 60 percent of the German labor market. Recognizing such qualifications from different countries has proved a particular obstacle so far, something which the government's paper sees as a "key to successful job market integration." But what remains unclear from the paper is what other requirements will be needed: what level of German should a potential immigrant have? Should there be a concrete job offer from a German company, and which jobs exactly will be counted as medium-skilled? Scandinavian-style visas At present, the German government appears to be considering a job-search visa for medium-skilled jobs, which has proved popular in Denmark. But it has not been tried in Germany before – and much will depend on whether German employers are willing to take a risk on people with a job-search visa. "That's going to be a big question," said Liebig, noting that many German companies are reluctant to employ people from abroad. "We've asked German employers, are you interested in looking abroad? And they said: no way." "At the moment, it seems they are introducing a two-step system: you have people coming, looking for a job, then you admit them if they find a job," he added. France has also recently sharpened its immigration law to make it easier to attract people with special skills or education. Like Germany, part of the new law is intended to simplify the bureaucracy – in France's case, this especially applies to executives for multinational companies earning more than €5,000 ($5,700) a month, scientists, people in the entertainment industry, seasonal workers, and regulated professions. Sweden, meanwhile, has a much more liberal policy – "you can basically come for any job. France is pretty closed, so Germany is probably somewhere in between."<doc-sep>BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel hopes a new immigration law will make it easier for foreign workers to find jobs in Germany, but her push to fill a record number of vacancies risks angering voters who still resent her open-door refugee policy. FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a top candidate of the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) for the upcoming general elections poses for a selfie during an election rally in Stralsund, Germany September 16, 2017. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo With an aging population and a shrinking workforce, Germany needs greater flexibility to fill more than a million empty positions, business leaders say. (GRAPHIC: Germany's shrinking labour force - tmsnrt.rs/2edwT7n) “We will continue to depend on foreign professionals,” Merkel said in the Bundestag last week, defending her immigration plans against criticism from opposition politicians. “Companies should not be leaving the country because they can’t find staff,” Merkel said, adding that many entrepreneurs were more concerned about hiring skilled workers than getting tax relief. The new law to be discussed by Merkel and her cabinet later this month aims to attract workers from outside the European Union, although they will need a professional qualification and German language skills when applying for a work visa, according to a paper drawn up by officials. Government officials see the law, which is welcomed by employers, as a game-changer in the global race for talent since other countries are espousing stricter immigration rules. (GRAPHIC: Germany's rising job vacancies - tmsnrt.rs/2NC9UIR) But it could anger voters who feel left behind after Merkel’s decision to welcome more than a million refugees in 2015. An opinion poll this month showed 51 percent felt her government did not take Germans’ concerns about immigration seriously. In eastern Germany, the figure was 66 percent. There are regional elections next year in the eastern states of Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to make strong gains at the cost of Merkel’s conservatives and her center-left coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD). INFLUX The unprecedented 2015 influx of asylum seekers, mainly from Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, has already caused popular anger and propelled the AfD, which rejects the new immigration law, into the national parliament. Deep divisions became apparent last month in the eastern city of Chemnitz, scene of violent far-right protests after migrants were blamed for the fatal stabbing of a German man. Referring to Chemnitz, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, leader of the Christian Social Union, Merkel’s Bavarian sister party, described migration as the “mother of all political problems” in Germany. Merkel may escape a political backlash if she can convince voters the new law will address specific labor shortages and not increase overall competition in the jobs market. “If she can credibly make the point that this is about Germany’s economic self-interest, it won’t fuel angst among those who already feel alienated in their own country,” said Gero Neugebauer, a political expert at Berlin’s Free University. “But if not, then this law will backfire on Merkel, especially taking into account that there are three local elections next year in eastern Germany,” he said. There are also regional elections next month in Bavaria and Hesse, where the rise of the AfD could make it harder to form coalition governments. Allowing even more foreigners into the country is a risk for Merkel - even if the labor force in Europe's biggest economy is forecast to shrink drastically and can only be stabilized with net immigration of 400,000 people every year until 2060. [tmsnrt.rs/2edwT7n] Due to a prolonged economic upswing, job vacancies have hit a record high of 1.2 million while unemployment is at its lowest since German reunification in 1990, according to the Labour Office. [tmsnrt.rs/2edwT7n] Labour shortages cost the economy up to 0.9 percentage points of output every year, according to the IW German Economic Institute. STRUGGLING Among companies struggling to find staff is Eyeem, a Berlin start-up that connects millions of photographers globally with agencies and clients through an online platform. “We’re 100 percent affected by labor shortages,” Eyeem’s personnel chief, Michael Jones, said at the company’s headquarters in Kreuzberg, a multicultural Berlin district that is home to many European immigrants. Slideshow ( 3 images ) “We’re struggling to fill numerous vacancies in areas such as software engineering and sales,” Jones said. In some cases, it can take six months for a foreign candidate to get the green light from immigration authorities. In one case, Eyeem wants to hire a specialist from Egypt but is still awaiting final confirmation. This makes it hard for Eyeem to plan and for the Egyptian worker to get on with moving to Germany. Other sectors affected by labor shortages are construction, education, child care and geriatric nursing. Arno Schwalie, chief executive of nursing home operator Korian in Germany, says the number of elderly people needing permanent care will rise by more than a quarter over the next 15 years. “By then, we might have to deal with a shortage of more than 250,000 workers in the care sector,” Schwalie said. “Qualified immigrants can help close this gap. This is not the only solution, but part of the solution.” Health Minister Jens Spahn has said young people from Kosovo and Albania could help fill 50,000 geriatric care vacancies. Labour unions say nursing homes could attract local workers by improving pay and conditions. The AfD rejects the new law, saying it will encourage immigration and lead to “wage dumping” at the expense of less-educated locals. “If you look at the very small wage rises, then you don’t need to be an expert to say that there actually is not a lack of skilled workers,” AfD lawmaker Uwe Witt said. Merkel stresses that the immigration law is accompanied by a 4 billion euro program to help Germany’s 800,000 long-term unemployed find work. CHANGE While a growing number of the 2015 migrants are finding jobs, the process is slow given the urgency of the need for workers. It takes three to five years for a poorly-educated Syrian or Iraqi to learn German and get a professional qualification.<doc-sep>
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s coalition parties agreed on a new immigration law on Tuesday to attract more skilled workers from countries outside the European Union, in a politically risky push to fill a record number of job vacancies and stabilize the public pension system. FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer address a news conference following the so called a housing summit on rising rents in many German cities and a general shortage of affordable housing in Berlin, Germany September 21, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Record-high employment and falling joblessness have led to a tightening labor market in Europe’s largest economy, with employers struggling to staff more than a million positions and work-related bottlenecks limiting overall economic growth. As Germany’s workforce is expected to shrink over the next decades due to an ageing population and low birth rates, more migrants are seen as crucial to help firms find workers whose pension contributions support the growing number of retirees. But the new immigration law, agreed over night by center-right Chancellor Angela Merkel, hardline Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and Social Democrat Labour Minister Hubertus Heil, risks angering those voters who already feel neglected following the arrival of more than a million refugees since 2015. The unprecedented influx of asylum seekers, mainly from Muslim countries in the Middle East, has already caused a popular backlash and propelled the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party into the national parliament. Seehofer said the compromise deal would remove labor market hurdles for non-EU citizens with job qualifications and German language skills while avoiding new incentives for refugees. “We maintain the principle of separation of asylum and labor migration,” Seehofer told reporters during a joint new conference with Heil and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier. “With today’s agreement, we have made it possible for the economic upswing to continue without an abrupt end,” Altmaier said, adding that it would strengthen Germany’s competitiveness at a time when other countries were espousing stricter immigration rules. STIMULATE GROWTH “With this, we can stimulate additional economic growth by several tenths of a percent. This is quite a lot,” he added. The coalition parties agreed the outline of the law, approved by cabinet on Tuesday, that companies will be allowed to recruit foreign workers in all professions, regardless of an official list of sectors suffering labor shortages. The paper also proposes that the government will no longer insist that companies give preference to German citizens in filling vacancies before looking for non-EU foreigners. In addition, foreign graduates and workers with vocational training will get an opportunity to come to Germany for six months to look for a position if they meet certain job qualifications and German language requirements. They also have to prove that they have enough financial resources so they will not depend on welfare benefits during their stay in Germany, the parties agreed. The parties also found a compromise wording on the disputed question of how to avoid the deportation of well-integrated asylum seekers who have found work and learned German. Seehofer, whose CSU party fears losing voters to the far-right in a Bavarian election later this month, was initially against allowing migrants to switch out of asylum into residency status. He feared this would encourage future immigration by asylum seekers without the right skills. The parties agreed to define a residence status for rejected but well-integrated asylum seekers who cannot be deported -- because of security concerns in their home country -- to enable them to earn a living and to give their employers more security when planning. “It’s a pragmatic solution which ensures that we’re not sending back the right people,” Heil said.