The Financial Control of Undeclared Work (FKS) under Kiel’s customs office carried out a coordinated inspection of 19 beauty salons across northern Germany on Saturday, revealing seven individuals working without the necessary residence or work permits. Four of the undocumented staff were discovered in a single nail studio in Trittau, with the others spread across shops in Ratzeburg, Geesthacht and Stockelsdorf. All seven workers now face criminal proceedings for illegal employment, while their employers are being investigated for facilitating unauthorised stay and for suspected social-security evasion. Officers also logged eight breaches of Germany’s ‘immediate notification’ rules for new hires and three cases of missing working-time records. The sweep formed part of a nationwide FKS blitz on the hair-and-beauty sector, a trade class that has fallen under stricter anti-black-market rules since January 2026. For global companies using third-party grooming services—for example during product launches or trade fairs— the case is a cautionary tale: organisers remain liable for due-diligence failures in their subcontractor chains. It also underscores Germany’s stepped-up interior enforcement strategy. While the new Skilled Immigration Act eases pathways for qualified foreign workers, authorities are pairing liberalisation with tougher workplace audits to deter abuse. HR teams placing non-EU nationals in customer-facing roles should therefore double-check that titles and work scopes match the permissions stamped in employees’ residence cards.
Source: Presseportal (Hauptzollamt Kiel)
