The Chancenkarte opened the application for the new visa program on 1 June 2024. The program uses a new points-based system to rate applicants based on specific criteria, including academic qualifications, previous professional experience, and language skills.
Germany’s Federal Minister of Interior and Community, Nancy Faeser, said in a statement to the BBC that the opportunity card will make it easier and quicker for people with potential and experience to find a suitable job and get started.
Those given the opportunity card can reside in Germany for up to a year while actively searching for a job instead of expecting to be sponsored by their employers. This card will also permit individuals to work legally part-time as they search for something more stable. This indicates a significant shift in how the country is currently handling its increasing labor shortage, and it is designated to help boost the number of professional workers in distinguished fields like medicine, manufacturing, education, and engineering.
Reason for the Labour Shortage in Germany
According to Reuters, Habeck said at a news conference while presenting Germany’s government’s 2024 economic report that the country lacks hands and minds. Further emphasizing that unfilled vacancies will be on the rise as a result of the aging population.
Habeck also added that about 2.6 million people in Germany between the ages of 20 and 30 lack professional qualifications.
Germany launches a new visa program to simplify immigration for skilled workers. This visa program is not to be compared with an ordinary digital nomad visa, as the new visa grants non-EU citizens the opportunity to simplify the sophisticated immigration process in Germany and go ahead with their work search. This particular move has been debated to allow asylum seekers who have already been rejected to have access to jobs in Germany.
Relevance of the New Visa Program
Successful applicants will either have the chance to acquire a professional qualification or an academic degree fully recognized in Germany or a good combination of criteria that include Years of professional experience, a particular age, and specific language skills, each of which are awarded a specified number of points.
As Germany launches a new visa program to simplify Immigration for skilled workers, applicants are expected to have a total rating of at least six or more points and show proof of ability to cover the overall cost of living expenses during their job search with a minimum of €1,027 every month to be qualified for the visa.
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The new opportunity visa is currently geared toward those living outside the EU and in Switzerland because the citizens of the EU already have access to live and work in the EU. Swiss citizens do not need a visa for either entry or a permit to work in Germany. The aim of setting up the Chancenkarte, as Germany launches a new visa program to simplify Immigration for skilled workers, was to favor non-EU citizens with valid connections to the country, as extra points have been made available for those with German Language skills.
A former Master’s student at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Alex Masurovsky, who is now based in New York, is mesmerized by the opportunity the new visa grants to enable his return to live and work in Berlin. He further added that the new visa aims to provide a long-term solution to the nation’s shortage of labor, which can be seen as one of the main factors currently contributing to the financial issues in Germany.
Fraser emphasized that they are putting things in place to attract the skilled workers Germany’s economy has intensely needed for years.
