In this article I will refer to the issue of high demand Jobs in Germany and also to the changes in Germany's immigration policy that were announced on 23.6.23. These changes significantly facilitate and ease the process of finding work in Germany. Before I address the changes in the immigration policy, let's actually understand what "high demand jobs" means.
For you as an immigrant coming to Germany, the expression "high demand jobs" is not really important and I do not necessarily suggest that you focus on these jobs either. Yes, you read that right!
Why you should not necessarily focus on high demand jobs in Germany when you are searching for a job opportunity in Germany (regardless of the relief already given to non European job seekers coming outside of the European Union)?
First, we need to remember that Germany is full of immigrants. Some work in simple jobs, some work in high demand jobs and some work in other jobs and that's great! We are different in our inclinations, skills and desires which is why our world is diverse, and therefore we are able to find services in so many different fields.
In case your current profession belongs to the high demand job list, excellent! You can apply for a job in your field. But what do I advise to those immigrants who are not on the high demand job list? Do they have to change their profession? For example, let's suppose a doctor is on the high demand job list. An immigrant who has no inclination nor will to study the medical profession and does not like this profession, doesn't have to study for several years at university and become a doctor just because this profession is on Germany's high demand job list.
This is not his passion, and even when he will finish his medical studies after several years at the university and after that he will start working as a doctor, he willdefinitely not enjoy his job. Therefore, the list of jobs in high demand should not interest you as an immigrant(the list is being updated every year anyway and may change).
Always remember that you should connect with your professional tendencies and follow your heart regarding choosing a profession and that's why you shouldn't really care about that list.But just for the record, this is the list of high demand jobs in Germany 2023:
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Now I will focus on the immigration changes announced by the German government on 23.6.23 intended for immigrants who do not possess a European passport (EU Schengen area). The first relief is the qualification to receive an EU Blue Card. What is the EU Blue Card? The EU Blue Card is actually another type of work visa but unlike the regular work visa is considered more prestigious due to the fact that after only 33 months the holder of the Blue Cardwill be able to apply for permanent residency in Germany (in case the holder passed the German language test at the B1 level, he will be able to apply for German permanent residency after 21 months only). More information about the German permanent residency, you can find in my next article – Permanent residency in Germany.
In the past, in order to obtain the EU Blue Card, the candidate had to meet several criteria, the first of which was to have an academic degree, and because of this, the candidate had to find a job solely according to the degree he studied. Today, following the easing of immigration changes in Germany, the candidate does not have to find a job according to the academic degree he studied, but he could already submit an application to work in other fields that are not necessarily related to the degree he studied at the university. The second criterion concerns IT specialists. In the past, in order to receive the EU Blue Card, IT specialists had to have an academic degree, but following the new policy, IT specialists are no longer required to have an academic degree. By the way, if you don't know whether you should study academic studies, read my next article - Academic studies - is it really important?
The next criterion for receiving the EU Blue Card is the salary criteria. And this is actually the big disadvantage of the EU Blue Card because in order to receive it the candidate must meet a salary criterion and therefore, not always the employing company is willing to pay according to this salary criterion. So, in case the EU Blue Card holder loses his job, he will have to find a new job only according to the salary criteria of the EU Blue Card. Before the easing of the immigration policy, the salary criterion for the EU Blue Card was at least 58400€ gross(brutto) annually, but following the recently announced easing of the immigration policy, it will be possible to get the EU Blue Card with a salary of 43800€ gross(brutto) annually.
Additional reliefs due to changes in Germany's immigration policy are regarding family reunification. In the past, an immigrant who worked in Germany could only bring with him to Germany direct family members, such as spouses, fiancés and children, however following the new laws in Germany's immigration policy, the immigrant will be able to bring his parents to Germany (also applies to parents-in-law). This is a great ease of immigration policy as it allows immigrants to reunite with their parents after immigrating to Germany.
Now I will move on to further easing the immigration policy to Germany and it is related to your work experience. The German government has decided to give great value to work experience, therefore if you have accumulated work experience of at least two years in a certain field, this is a huge advantage for you because even for many employers in Germany it is considered a more important criterion than an academic degree (depending of course on the field of employment). Your employment experience of at least two years can be an advantage even if as an immigrant you do not have the criteria for receiving the EU Blue Card, because you will still be able to apply for a job in Germany (regardless of any salary criteria).
Now I will move on to further easing the immigration policy to Germany and this is related to your potential to settle in Germany. This is actually a card called Chancekarte. This card is based on the accumulation of points that include training, knowledge of the German and English languages, the age of the immigrant (the younger the immigrant, the higher number of points he will receive), the immigrant's employment experience and his connection to Germany (for example, if the immigrant was in Germany in the past for the purpose of learning the German language or for the purpose of an internship he will receive additional points).
The Chancekarte actually replaces the current job seeker visa. This card allows any immigrant who has an academic degree to look for a job in Germany. This card is valid for one year only and because of that it reminds me a lot of the working holiday visa which also allows a one year stay in Germany.
The minimum number of points that the candidate must accumulate when applying for Chancekarte is 6 and it will also always help to show that candidate has a good financial situation including secure livelihood.
Another advantage of the Chancekarte is that it will allow the immigrant to work up to 20 hours a week. This is a significant creation because it will allow the immigrant to finance himself and perform a better integration in Germany while he is searching for a long-term job in Germany.
So as for the big question, when will this new immigration policy be implemented? I can not say for sure but according to my estimation it will take approximately twelve months (yep, that's how it usually goes in Germany I know it's a bummer but you need to be patient).
