Ms. Faeser, you want to introduce new immigration law in the fall to remedy the shortage of workers.

How is this supposed to work?

Ralph Bollman

Correspondent for economic policy and deputy head of business and “Money & More” for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper in Berlin.

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Alexander Wulfers

Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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We are sending an important signal: Germany is a country of immigration and it is time for politicians to acknowledge this.

Business has been demanding for years that we finally find unbureaucratic procedures for the immigration of workers.

So far, we have required a qualification recognized in Germany, an employment contract and German language skills from the family members traveling with us.

Those were high hurdles.

And in the future?

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it becomes more pragmatic.

A qualified degree recognized in Germany will no longer be necessary in every case.

With the opportunity card that we are introducing, a degree and relevant work experience are sufficient.

Age and knowledge of German are further criteria.

That would be a real improvement that is very much in the interests of our country.

The skilled trades in particular have long needed more young people.

Young people need to find a way to us that is less complicated.

Do you have an example?

A draftsman from Jordan with three years of professional experience would like to work in Germany for personal reasons, where she once spent an au pair year after school.

Even without her Jordanian qualification being recognized in Germany, she should be allowed to come here to look for a suitable job.

They want to link this to an annual quota.

How much will that be?

We are now having talks about this.

The main thing is to reduce bureaucracy.

The recognition of professional qualifications must be much faster.

Otherwise, international corporations prefer to hire new staff abroad than here.

We urgently need to change that.

Many companies say: Our immigration law is already quite liberal, the problem is unwilling authorities.

Can the cumbersome bureaucracy be eliminated with a law?

A new mindset is also important for the immigration authorities.

We need a welcoming culture for people who want to work for us.

We still have a lot to do there.

We should look to role models like the immigration agencies in Canada.

Our immigration law has actually become more liberal than it used to be, because we as the SPD have already been able to achieve quite a bit in the grand coalition.

But there were many ideological barriers to the Union.

So we have room for improvement.

The fact that up to now you have had to fulfill specific German qualifications makes it very difficult.

Today, an employee at the immigration office decides whether the training of a Turkish mechatronics technician is equivalent to that of a German.

Should it stay like this?

Specialized recognition bodies based at the federal states and the chambers decide on the equivalence of foreign qualifications.

We want to keep that.

However, we want to change the fact that qualified people in non-regulated jobs can also work for us without formal recognition.

In the case of regulated activities such as doctors, it is important to us that the recognition procedures are carried out quickly.

Once again: If you already have an employment contract, you no longer have to prove that you have a professional qualification that is recognized in Germany.

For example, an engineer from Brazil with professional experience should also be allowed to come without a degree recognized in Germany.

We've been doing this with IT professionals for a number of years.

If the engineer is older than 35 years, only speaks English and has a degree that is not recognized in Germany - then he doesn't get your chance card, does he?