Germany Working to Speed Up Visa Process for Non-EU Skilled Workers, Minister Baerbock Says

The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has said that the country’s authorities are working on speeding up the work visa procedures for foreign skilled workers.

At a meeting of the Greens, Minister Baerbock said that the country is in need of foreign workers to support its economy.

For this reason, the authorities are now working to shorten the waiting times for non-EU workers who want to reach Germany for work purposes, Schengen.News reports.

According to Minister Baerbock, the authorities have already taken several steps to facilitate the process for skilled foreign workers in several foreign countries.

As revealed, as part of its measures, Germany has already cut the waiting time for a visa at the Embassy of Germany in New Delhi.

Instead of the previous nine months, Minister Baerbock said that the waiting time at the German Embassy in New Delhi has been reduced but did not give a specific number of days within which work visa applications are now being processed in this embassy.

In addition to the above-mentioned, the Minister also noted that the authorities’ plans include the digitalisation of the visa application process during the time that the current elected officials hold office.

Speaking for DPA, Minister Baerbock said that they aim to make foreign skilled workers feel at home in Germany and, at the same time, emphsised that the authorities are working to simplify some other barriers further.

Germany Needs to Grant 63% More Visas to Avoid Labour Shortages

The announcement of Minister Baerbock that the country is working to speed up the procedures for non-EU workers comes amid the labour shortages that Germany is dealing with.

As DPA explains, in order for Germany to be able to maintain its employment levels, the country needs to increase the number of national visas granted to foreign workers by 63 per cent.

The country needs to issue more visas so that it can accommodate around 400,000 foreign workers who are needed to enter the country every year so that Germany’s labour force shortages do not worsen.

Among many other efforts that the country is making to attract foreign workers, the country just recently launched the Opportunity Card.

This card makes it easier for non-EU nationals to enter Germany to find a suitable job.

Germany will also be issuing a higher number of work visas to nationals of the Western Balkan countries.

Under the Western Balkan Regulation, Germany will be granting up to 50,000 national visas to Western Balkan nationals annually.

Source: https://schengen.news/germany-working-to-speed-up-visa-process-for-non-eu-skilled-workers-minister-baerbock-says/