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IMMIGRATION

German authorities simplify visa process for skilled Russian workers

Sanctions against Russia have led to a spike in skilled workers looking to emigrate - and Germany is giving some of them a helping hand.

Basilius Cathedral Moscow
The towers of the Basilius Cathedral in Moscow. Photo: picture alliance / Thomas Hodel/KEYSTONE/dpa | Thomas Hodel

According to reports by DPA, German authorities have stepped in to remove bureaucratic hurdles for Russian visa applications amid a spike in migration since the war. 

Under the new conditions, Russian workers who who earn at least €43,992 a year and who want to transfer to Germany with their current employer will be granted “global access to the labour market”. 

This special status means they can be automatically granted a long-term visa rather than applying for one through Germany’s Federal Employment Agency. The scheme will provisionally run until September but can be extended if necessary. 

Along with the fast-track visas, German authorities have also taken steps to make the application process easier for Russians who could face difficulties in getting appointments or providing documents.

According to media reports, embassies are now accepting documents submitted via email rather than requesting original copies by post. This is because no postal services are currently running between Germany and Russia.

In addition, embassies are offering group visa appointments for multiple employees within the same company, since many firms are deciding to transfer whole departments to Germany in the wake of the war. 

EU visas have been in the spotlight recently as the Commission is examining whether their “golden passport” schemes for wealthy individuals have allowed Russian oligarchs to launder their ill-gotten gains. 

However, there’s also been speculation that the bloc will offer easier routes for skilled Russians to emigrate as a means of worsening the country’s brain drain and benefiting from the skills of well-qualified Russian immigrants.

READ ALSO: ‘Shady characters’: Will EU countries now put an end to ‘golden passport’ schemes?

Russian emigration

Since the beginning of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, hundreds of skilled workers from Russia have decided to move to Germany – the vast majority of whom already work for a German company.

Russian employees of international companies have been particularly hard hit by the sanctions, with many facing an uncertain professional future after the invasion.  

“In April, around 350 visas for the purpose of gainful employment were issued to Russian nationals in Moscow,” the Foreign Office has stated.

In St. Petersburg, the German Consulate General reportedly issued 190 work visas in the same month.

German immigration attorneys have also reported a spike in the number of visa application cases they have supported Russians with in recent months. 

“We have assisted with more than 400 applications for work visas from Russian citizens who want to come to Germany in the weeks since the war began,” said Katharina Vorländer, a lawyer at Fragomen Global LLP in Frankfurt am Main, a law firm specialising in labour migration. 

According to Vorländer, around 30 percent of these applicants have already made it to Germany. This was only possible due to the support of the German authorities, she said. 

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has taken in around 600,000 Ukrainian refugees. People who were living in Ukraine at the date of Russia’s invasion on February 24th are currently entitled to live and work anywhere in the EU without a visa. 

READ ALSO: EU countries agree to lift visa rules for Ukrainians fleeing war

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FAR-RIGHT

Germany issues entry ban to Austrian far-right activist Sellner

Radical Austrian nationalist Martin Sellner has been banned from entering Germany, it emerged on Tuesday, days after he was deported from Switzerland.

Germany issues entry ban to Austrian far-right activist Sellner

Sellner, a leader of Austria’s white pride Identitarian Movement, posted a video of himself on X, formerly Twitter, reading out a letter he said was from the city of Potsdam.

A spokeswoman for the city authorities confirmed to AFP that an EU citizen had been served with a “ban on their freedom of movement in Germany”.

The person can no longer enter or stay in Germany “with immediate effect” and could be stopped by police or deported if they try to enter the country, the spokeswoman said, declining to name the individual for privacy reasons.

READ ALSO: Who is Austria’s far-right figurehead banned across Europe?

“We have to show that the state is not powerless and will use its legitimate means,” Mike Schubert, the mayor of Potsdam, said in a statement.

Sellner caused an uproar in Germany after allegedly discussing the Identitarian concept of “remigration” with members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) at a meeting in Potsdam in November.

Reports of the meeting sparked a huge wave of protests against the AfD, with tens of thousands of Germans attending demonstrations across the country.

READ ALSO:

Swiss police said Sunday they had prevented a hundred-strong far-right gathering due to be addressed by Sellner, adding that he had been arrested and deported.

The Saturday meeting had been organised by the far-right Junge Tat group, known for its anti-immigration and anti-Islamic views.

The group is also a proponent of the far-right white nationalist Great Replacement conspiracy theory espoused by Sellner’s Identitarian Movement.

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