German Ambassador on the new law: First qualification recognition, then visa

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - German Ambassador to BiH Margret Uebber sent a video message regarding March 1st and the entry into force of the new German law on the immigration of specialists.

"Today I want to present to you several innovations and basic features of this law. The Skilled Immigration Act supplements and expands the existing provisions on immigration to Germany. This law specifically establishes the basis for orderly and sustainable immigration of skilled workers.

It will apply in all professional fields.

Skilled workers are particularly sought in so-called MINT professions, which are professions in the fields of mathematics, IT, natural sciences, and technology, but there are also numerous opportunities for trades. This new law applies to citizens of all countries around the world, it is not limited to a specific regional area or group of countries. It is intended for qualified workers.

These are individuals who have a university degree or vocational qualification. We speak of vocational qualification when a vocational training lasting at least two years is required for the corresponding reference occupation in Germany. Therefore, anyone who has a university education or a vocational qualification that has been recognized by the official German authorities and can prove that they have an employer's guarantee for a job can apply for a work visa for Germany at the German embassy.

So: first qualification recognition, then visa. This also means: A visa will still be required for employment in Germany in the future. The recipient of the visa application is therefore the responsible German embassy, in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is the German Embassy in Sarajevo.

Those individuals who are not covered by the Skilled Immigration Act can continue to submit their visa applications according to the rule for Western Balkan countries. This rule will currently remain in effect, according to current knowledge, until the end of 2020. In addition, the Federal Government will make a decision on this during this year. With this brief overview, I cannot, of course, clarify all the details of the new law for you.

However, I would like to point out that the Embassy has published detailed information about the Skilled Immigration Act on its website. Therefore, I can only advise you to inform yourself there, and if you do not find answers to your questions there, you can contact the visa department of the German Embassy by e-mail or by phone.

Finally, I want to say that the Federal Government of Germany is aware of its responsibility for ethical and sustainable immigration and respects the principles that can be applied in this regard. This means that we will also contribute to creating prerequisites in the host country for young people to stay and we will take care of their prospects in their homeland.

Within the framework of development cooperation, the Federal Republic of Germany is engaged here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, among other things, particularly in the area of capacity building in public administration, in the area of improving the private sector, including vocational training, as well as in the area of energy. I am particularly concerned with the area of vocational training, as Germany possesses a great deal of expertise in this regard.

Within the framework of our projects, we are therefore trying to establish structures here through which young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina can receive education and thus qualify for the domestic labor market and have prospects.