In 2022, Germany received 669 000 new immigrants on a long-term or permanent basis (including changes of status and free mobility), 25% more than in 2021. This figure comprises 49% immigrants benefitting from free mobility, 13% labour migrants, 15% family members (including accompanying family) and 22% humanitarian migrants. Around 65 000 permits were issued to tertiary-level international students and 20 000 to temporary and seasonal labour migrants (excluding intra-EU migration). In addition, 489 000 intra-EU postings were recorded in 2022, a 14% increase compared to 2021. These posted workers are generally on short-term contracts.
Ukraine, Romania and Poland were the top three nationalities of newcomers in 2022. Among the top 15 countries of origin, Ukraine registered the strongest increase and Croatia the largest decrease in flows to Germany compared to the previous year.
In 2023, the number of first asylum applicants increased by 51%, to reach around 329 000. The majority of applicants came from Syria (103 000), Türkiye (61 000) and Afghanistan (51 000). The largest increase since 2022 concerned nationals of Türkiye (37 000) and the largest decrease nationals of Iraq (‑4 000). Of the 217 000 decisions taken in 2023, 62% were positive.
Emigration of German citizens to OECD countries increased by 0.8% in 2022, to 150 000. Approximately 16% of this group migrated to Switzerland, 14% to Austria and 12% to Poland.
Germany’s Law on the Immigration of Skilled Workers, which aims to facilitate labour migration from third countries, has been implemented in three stages. The first stage, effective from November 2023, lowered salary thresholds and expanded eligibility for the EU Blue Card. Furthermore, family reunification was facilitated for EU Blue Card holders using long-term mobility. It also removed restrictions tying workers with recognised vocational or university qualifications to specific job fields for which their training qualifies them, except in regulated professions. The second stage, which came into force in March 2024, removed the requirement to have a foreign qualification formally recognised by a German authority (for non-regulated professions) in order to acquire a visa – and subsequently a residence permit for certain purposes, extended work rights and the validity of student permits. It also eased some rules on permanent residence and family reunification. A further reform, the introduction of a one‑year job-seeker permit, known as the “Opportunity Card”, took effect in June 2024.
In addition, the Western Balkans Regulation, set to expire at the end of 2023, has been extended, and its annual visa quota doubled from 25 000 to 50 000. This regulation allows citizens from the Western Balkans to obtain work visas for any type of employment if they have a binding job offer from a German employer.
At the same time, the country has implemented measures to curb irregular migration and enforce deportation rules more consistently. A new law, which came into force in December 2023, designates Moldova and Georgia as safe countries of origin. The asylum procedure for nationals from these countries is accelerated in the sense that an appeal against the administrative decision has no suspensive effect and a shortened time limit for filing an appeal is statutory. Furthermore, in January 2024, the German Parliament passed the Repatriation Improvement Act. The law removes the one‑month notice requirement for deportations, except for families with young children, and extends the maximum period of detention prior to deportation from 10 to 28 days. It gives the authorities greater powers to locate people to be deported and simplifies the deportation of criminals, human traffickers and members of criminal organisations. In addition, the law extends the period for which asylum seekers receive reduced welfare payments from 18 months to three years and reduces the waiting period for employment eligibility from nine months to six months for those in reception centres.
In the area of integration, the German Parliament passed a law to simplify the naturalisation process, which came into force in June 2024. The law reduces the minimum residence requirement from eight to five years (or up to three years in exceptional cases) and allows German citizens to hold multiple citizenships, which was previously only possible under certain circumstances. Additionally, Germany has intensified its efforts to combat discrimination. In 2023, the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) received EUR 5 million to support civil society initiatives and establish a civil society network of counselling centres for victims of discrimination across the country.
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