Motorists in Germany should not exceed the limit of 8 points in the register of traffic offenders, otherwise the authorities will withdraw their driving license.

For people from abroad who want to prove themselves on the German job market, on the other hand, a minimum number of 6 points in the new skilled labor immigration law will be the key to success.

Because anyone who achieves it, for example through professional experience and a good knowledge of German, should be given a "chance card" as a legal residence permit without any further requirements.

This results from the draft law on the planned reform of immigration law, which the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Labor have now completed.

It is available to the FAZ.

Dietrich Creutzburg

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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With this, the ministries want to anchor the introduction of a points system announced by the traffic light parties in the coalition agreement as a new “second pillar” in skilled labor immigration law.

The so-called first pillar regulates access for foreign workers who already have a firm prospect of an employment contract with a German employer.

A major innovation is that interested parties who have not yet conducted negotiations with local employers from abroad should also have easier access to a kind of probationary period on the German job market.

earn their own living

The opportunity card is then valid for a limited period of one year - anyone who successfully finds a job during this time can legally stay longer in Germany, otherwise not.

In any case, the holders of the opportunity card should earn their living themselves, without the German welfare state.

Together with further reforms of the rules and procedures for skilled workers, the new points system should make a noticeable contribution to defusing the shortage of workers in Germany.

According to the Federal Government, the planned regulations "can increase the immigration of qualified third-country nationals for the purpose of economic migration by 50,000 people per year", the draft justifies.

With an additional planned expansion of the so-called Western Balkans regulation, which has existed since 2016, the potential will be increased to 65.

The Federal Employment Agency expects that Germany will soon need 400,000 workers from abroad every year to fill the gaps that will open up when the "baby boomers" retire.

The ministries also cite a study by the Boston Consulting Group.

According to this, “Germany loses 86,000 euros in economic output annually for every skilled worker that is missing”.

In the new points system, interested parties should be able to collect points, above all with professional qualifications and language skills, but there are also other criteria such as age.

Specifically, it looks like this: Anyone who can offer at least three years of professional experience will receive three of the six required points.

Anyone who brings along a professional qualification that is at least partially recognizable right away according to local law even receives four points for it.

Applicants with a degree that is fully recognized in this country do not have to worry about collecting points - they receive the opportunity card directly.

No lucky ticket

Another discipline in the points system, on the other hand, is the “Germany connection” of the applicants.

It applies above all to language skills: Anyone who already speaks German well, at level B2 of the EU classification, receives two points for it.

One point is awarded for advanced basic knowledge (B1).

There is a further point for applicants who have already lived legally in Germany for at least six months in the past five years.

There is also an additional point for applicants who have a “sponsor” in this country who has declared that they want to support them on their way to work.

The third discipline with potential points is age: Anyone under 35 years old receives 2 points;

there is one more point for under 40-year-olds.

Older people, on the other hand, must have all the more to offer in the other categories.

The reason given is that younger people usually find it easier to learn and adapt.

Of course, the “chance card” itself is not designed as the big lucky ticket, because according to the draft you cannot work with it unrestrictedly: It only entitles you “to work for a total of up to 20 hours a week and for up to two weeks at a time unlimited trial jobs".

But if you find a regular full-time job, the draft assures you that you also have the prospect of a suitable long-term residence permit.