Speaking in Berlin on 4 July, Dr Martin Bergfelder – the Federal Foreign Office’s Special Representative for Skilled Immigration – launched a fresh campaign aimed at attracting engineers, nurses and IT specialists from outside the EU. In an interview with Indonesia’s ANTARA News Agency, Bergfelder said the demographic crunch had finally forged an “all-party consensus that Germany needs large-scale skilled immigration.”
![Berlin steps up global talent drive as labour shortages bite]()
For prospective applicants wondering how to navigate the paperwork, VisaHQ’s Germany portal offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and online application management; the service can liaise with German missions to track processing in real time, helping both employers and candidates save precious days under the new 30-day visa mandate.
The campaign bundles several measures that quietly took effect on 1 July under the amended Skilled Immigration Act: a simplified ‘Opportunity Card’ points system, lower salary thresholds for the EU Blue Card, and a new “Work-and-Stay Agency” that promises one-stop digital handling of visas, recognition of qualifications, housing and family services. German missions in Jakarta, Manila, New Delhi and São Paulo are the first to pilot the revamped processes. For employers, the most important change is speed: consulates are now instructed to issue national work visas within 30 days once documentation is complete, and candidates can start employment on arrival while their residence permits are printed locally. The government has also doubled funding for intensive German courses overseas but removed the language prerequisite for IT professionals under Section 19c to lure global coders. Business-immigration lawyers welcome the streamlining but warn that local Foreigners’ Authorities (Ausländerbehörden) remain a bottleneck for residence card appointments. Companies are advised to use the federal online portal to pre-book slots and keep redundancy in project timetables until the new agency proves its throughput.
For prospective applicants wondering how to navigate the paperwork, VisaHQ’s Germany portal offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and online application management; the service can liaise with German missions to track processing in real time, helping both employers and candidates save precious days under the new 30-day visa mandate.
The campaign bundles several measures that quietly took effect on 1 July under the amended Skilled Immigration Act: a simplified ‘Opportunity Card’ points system, lower salary thresholds for the EU Blue Card, and a new “Work-and-Stay Agency” that promises one-stop digital handling of visas, recognition of qualifications, housing and family services. German missions in Jakarta, Manila, New Delhi and São Paulo are the first to pilot the revamped processes. For employers, the most important change is speed: consulates are now instructed to issue national work visas within 30 days once documentation is complete, and candidates can start employment on arrival while their residence permits are printed locally. The government has also doubled funding for intensive German courses overseas but removed the language prerequisite for IT professionals under Section 19c to lure global coders. Business-immigration lawyers welcome the streamlining but warn that local Foreigners’ Authorities (Ausländerbehörden) remain a bottleneck for residence card appointments. Companies are advised to use the federal online portal to pre-book slots and keep redundancy in project timetables until the new agency proves its throughput.
