German Parliament reforms immigration law in relief to non-EU jobseekers

German Parliament on Friday (June 23) passed a reform to immigration lawaimed at encouraging non-EU jobseekers to seek jobs in Germany.

"This draft law secures prosperity in Germany," said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) as quoted by German news outlet DW. She presented the reforms in the parliament. She said that the reform would only work if bureaucratic hurdles were dismantled while implementing it.

"It's unacceptable that you have to fill in 17 different applications to bring a new care worker into the country," she said.

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The opposition parties had some objections, though they welcomed some of the government's ideas. The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) criticised the government's plans to lower qualification hurdles for foreign workers. Andrea Lindholz of the CSU said plans to lower the required German language skills would encourage low-skilled workers.

Lindholz argued that reforms do nothing to tackle what she described as the main problem: Bureaucratic bottlenecks.

She added that plans to provide opportunities for asylum seekers who were already inside Germany had a risk of "turning the asylum process into a kind of state-financed job-seeking opportunity in Germany".

Far-right complains

Alternative for Germany (AfD), the far-right party, opposed the reforms vehemently.

"What you have put together in a 100-page draft law could be summed up in one sentence," said Norbert Kleinwachter "Everyone gets in, but no one gets thrown out."

Kleinwachter was quoted by DW.

Green Party's Lamya Kaddor rejected AfD's assertions. She said that speaking German was not the most important prerequisite to working in Germany.

"You integrate best when you have to speak German at work — ever noticed?" she asked sarcastically.

"This is finally, finally, really good news for this country. In the competition with other successful countries of immigration like the US or Canada, we have made some crucial steps forward," she said.

The Free Democratic Party (FDP) which is part of the German government's three-party coalition, supported the law.

"It's ridiculous that it's easier in Germany today to emigrate into the asylum system than the job market," said the FDP's Konstantin Kuhle. "We're turning that around with this law."

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