As per the latest development, Germany has significantly reduced the processing time for long-term visas for Indian skilled workers. If reports are to go by, the waiting time has been cut from nine months to just two weeks. This change, reportedly, reflects Germany’s urgent need for skilled labour to fill a growing number of job vacancies.
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Referring to this, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed the importance of this move, and highlighted the country’s reliance on skilled workers to maintain its economic momentum.
Baerbock pointed out that the Federal Agency for Foreign Affairs, which operates the world’s largest visa office for national visas, has been instrumental in achieving this reduction in processing time. The acceleration has been particularly notable in India, where the waiting time for national visas has been slashed to two weeks from the previous nine-month period. This rapid processing is crucial for Germany as it seeks to attract skilled workers to address labor shortages across various sectors.
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The urgency behind this initiative is in line with Germany’s current labour market challenges. In 2023, the German Economic Institute (IW) reported approximately 570,000 job vacancies, indicating a significant gap in the workforce. This shortage has not only affected the day-to-day operations of companies, but has also delayed the arrival of specialists invited for training and conferences due to prolonged visa processing times.
Indian companies with investments in Germany have also felt the strain, relying heavily on the swift issuance of visas to bring in their experts.
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The economic implications of these unfilled positions are considerable. The IW estimates that the lost production potential from these vacancies could amount to €74 billion by 2027. The situation has prompted the German Government to take proactive measures, including the launch of a ‘Visa Acceleration Action Plan’ in 2023. Despite these efforts, the IW has expressed concerns that the plan may not achieve the desired outcomes and could lead to an economic loss of €49 billion.
From January to June 2024, Germany granted 80,000 employment-related visas, with skilled workers comprising half of these at 40,000 issuances—an increase of 3,000 compared to the same period in 2023. This uptick highlights the growing demand for skilled labor in Germany and the importance of streamlined visa processes in meeting this demand.