German immigration expert says country is in need of STEM professionals
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The option of migrating to Germany legally is made more accessible to people working in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by law ratified last month, an expert on legal immigration to Germany said on Thursday.
“The good news is Germany is finally waking up and understanding that Germany is a migration country, and that they have to ease up the laws to let legal immigration to Germany and to let people enter the country legally for work purposes, which has been a little bit different in the last decades,” Ramon Hansmayer told Rudaw.
Hansmayer explained that while age considerations depend on the profession applicants are seeking to pursue in Germany, the basic requirement that must be met is for them to have “enough years left to pay into the pension system that you will not be dependent on social welfare,” adding that after the age of 45 the difficulty of the process increases.
He stressed that due to the demographic change in Germany, the country is currently in need of workers in the fields that German youth do not choose to delve into. According to Hansmayer, this includes STEM-related fields, hence why there are ample open places for engineers, as well as professionals in the fields of medicine and trade, among others. “Basically it’s everything that the young generation, Generation Z or the millennials do not like that much to do, the door is wide open in Germany to come there,” he said.
For those who are interested in migrating to Germany for study purposes on the other hand, the only requirement to meet is that of a high school degree or a similar degree obtained following 12 years of schooling. Hansmayer noted that pursuing a high-class degree in Germany to later on find employment in the country is the “easy path” to obtaining a German passport.
“The moment you work in Germany, legally, as a registered, social security paying employee, after five years you can apply for a German passport usually, and it’s just a normal process,” said Hansmayer, adding that “If you behaved as a normal law-abiding citizen, normally you will be granted German citizenship.”
The first step applicants must take when embarking on the process of immigrating to Germany is to decide on what legal basis they are making their way to the country.
“Currently there are several legal bases which the new law can open, for example you want to go to Germany to study, or to do a dual education program, which I highly recommend and which is very open to third parties, third country foreigners here from Iraq. Or you have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, or you are a truck driver,” said Hansmayer, adding that the chosen profession will determine the language level required, with IT experts needing as low a level as A1 and registered nurses being expected to reach a B2 level.
“The good news is Germany is finally waking up and understanding that Germany is a migration country, and that they have to ease up the laws to let legal immigration to Germany and to let people enter the country legally for work purposes, which has been a little bit different in the last decades,” Ramon Hansmayer told Rudaw.
Hansmayer explained that while age considerations depend on the profession applicants are seeking to pursue in Germany, the basic requirement that must be met is for them to have “enough years left to pay into the pension system that you will not be dependent on social welfare,” adding that after the age of 45 the difficulty of the process increases.
He stressed that due to the demographic change in Germany, the country is currently in need of workers in the fields that German youth do not choose to delve into. According to Hansmayer, this includes STEM-related fields, hence why there are ample open places for engineers, as well as professionals in the fields of medicine and trade, among others. “Basically it’s everything that the young generation, Generation Z or the millennials do not like that much to do, the door is wide open in Germany to come there,” he said.
For those who are interested in migrating to Germany for study purposes on the other hand, the only requirement to meet is that of a high school degree or a similar degree obtained following 12 years of schooling. Hansmayer noted that pursuing a high-class degree in Germany to later on find employment in the country is the “easy path” to obtaining a German passport.
“The moment you work in Germany, legally, as a registered, social security paying employee, after five years you can apply for a German passport usually, and it’s just a normal process,” said Hansmayer, adding that “If you behaved as a normal law-abiding citizen, normally you will be granted German citizenship.”
The first step applicants must take when embarking on the process of immigrating to Germany is to decide on what legal basis they are making their way to the country.
“Currently there are several legal bases which the new law can open, for example you want to go to Germany to study, or to do a dual education program, which I highly recommend and which is very open to third parties, third country foreigners here from Iraq. Or you have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, or you are a truck driver,” said Hansmayer, adding that the chosen profession will determine the language level required, with IT experts needing as low a level as A1 and registered nurses being expected to reach a B2 level.