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NEWS about the German Skilled Worker Immigration Law

10.11.2020  |  Application, European Visas, Helpful

Essential information on the German skilled worker immigration procedure

The German immigration authorities recommend obtaining the prior approval of the responsible employment agency, even for skilled workers in professions in shortage occupations. Even, if there is no labor market examination for skilled workers in shortage occupations, the responsible employment agency will issue a corresponding letter with which a visa D can be applied for. We are happy to help you here.

Important: With a visa D for employment, the key worker can start work immediately after entering Germany

After entering the country with Visa D, the key worker must apply for a residence and work permit at the competent immigration authority within 4 months. This residence and work permit is issued for up to 4 years.

The accelerated application procedure

An accelerated application procedure was developed with the §81a AufenthG in order to be able to deploy the skilled worker even more quickly in the new job.

Usually, the employee himself applies for a Visa D to start working in Germany at the foreign mission in his home country.

§ 81a AufenthG gives companies or employers the opportunity to approach the immigration authorities independently. If a potential employee has been found and a concrete job offer is available, companies can submit an application to the responsible immigration authorities themselves, with the employee's power of attorney.

The accelerated procedure for skilled workers initiates a so-called pre-notification of the foreigners authority with the application. The immigration authority examines whether the essential conditions for granting the permit are met and subsequently initiates a procedure to determine the equivalence of the professional qualification acquired abroad, obtains the approval of the employment agency if necessary or informs the employer immediately if further documents are required. It acts as a kind of interface between the employer and various bodies involved in the procedure.

The aim of the application according to § 81a AufenthG is the granting of a so-called preliminary approval for the granting of the visa according to § 31 Abs. 3 AufenthV. This means, that a significant part of the application review is already completed and the procedure is shortened overall. In accordance with § 31a AufenthV, an appointment will be made with the embassy within three weeks of the preliminary approval and a decision will be made on the application after three more weeks at the latest.

For which residence titles does the accelerated procedure apply?

An accelerated procedure for skilled workers according to § 81a AufenthG is provided for the following residence purposes:

- Admission to vocational training (§ 16a AufenthG);

- recognition of foreign professional qualifications (§ 16d AufenthG);

- Admission to employment as a skilled worker with vocational training (§ 18a AufenthG);

- admission to employment as a skilled worker with academic training (§ 18b AufenthG);

- highly qualified specialist with academic training (§ 18c Abs. 3 AufenthG);

- Other qualified employees (section 81a (5) AufenthG).

What fees are incurred in an accelerated procedure?

According to § 47 (1) No. 15 AufenthV, the fee for the accelerated expert procedure is currently 411 euros. For the regular application procedure, fees of 75 euros are incurred.

The regular procedure

In addition to the accelerated procedure, it is still possible to use the regular procedure as before. The procedure according to § 81a AufenthG does not replace the regular application procedure but represents a further alternative.

For the regular application procedure, the foreign specialist must submit a corresponding application for a national visa to the responsible foreign representation (embassy / consulate). In this procedure, the embassy must then examine the application completely and comprehensively itself, so that the procedure will take considerably more time in practice.

Due to the current worldwide danger situation caused by Corona, the German authorities have issued further general conditions for the application for a visa D.

A proof of urgency is required. In order, to process a visa application, please submit a declaration from the future employer stating that the presence of this key worker in Germany is economically necessary and cannot be replaced or postponed by work from abroad.

The economic necessity results from Germany's economic relations with other countries and/or the domestic market. In addition, the future employer must explicitly point out the possible disadvantages that the company would suffer if it did not hire the key worker. The corresponding written declaration of the employer must be submitted with the visa application.

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