Skilled Immigrants? No Thanks

Most developed nations have loosened immigration policies in the competition for skilled labor. But not in Germany. Employers want skilled workers, but the government adds obstacles to hiring immigrants, regardless of education or skill, even as thousands of highly trained Germans leave for jobs abroad. “Ironically, just as the German economy embarks on its strongest boom in years, the country is on the verge of spoiling its own future by making it difficult for German companies to hire foreign nationals,” writes Michael Sauga for Spiegel Online. Immigration authorities reject foreign workers who lack German language skills, claim foreign degrees do not match those from German universities, restrict immigrants’ travel both outside and inside Germany and, perhaps most strange of all, expect German employers to pay exorbitant salaries to immigrants. Analysts suggest that rules designed to protect German workers may actually decrease opportunity as more firms open foreign offices in nations that offer friendlier policies for immigrants. – YaleGlobal