What to know about Germany's new job opportunities for Nigerians, others

The German parliament passed an immigration law on Friday aimed at encouraging more people from outside the European Union, including Nigeria, to come to Germany for work.

According to Nancy Faeser, Interior Minister of Social Democrats (SPD), the draft law secures prosperity in Germany.

“It would only work if the bureaucratic hurdles were dismantled during its implementation,” she said.

She said it is unacceptable that you have to fill in 17 different applications to bring a new care worker into the country.

A major innovation under the law is a new “opportunity card” and its associated points system, which allows foreigners who don’t yet have a job lined up to come to Germany for a year to find employment.

A prerequisite for receiving a card will be a vocational qualification or university degree, according to the government.

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“The cards will be awarded to those who fulfill a certain number of conditions, for which they will be awarded points.

“These could be German and/or English language skills, existing ties to Germany, and the potential of accompanying life partners or spouses on the German labor market,” it added.

The opportunity card also permits casual work for up to 20 hours a week while looking for a qualified job, as well as probationary employment.

Over the past few years, Germany has been undertaking measures to make its immigration system more flexible for foreign skilled workers by scrapping numerous bureaucratic procedures and introducing facilitations for third-country workers with professional qualifications.

Its Skilled Immigration Act which was introduced in 2020 has made migration to the country easier for skilled workers especially from non-European countries.

Its shortage of skilled workers created a need for the Act.

The country is amongst the top countries to immigrate to due to its superior education system, diverse work opportunities, and growing economy.