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IMMIGRATION

Will Germany introduce border controls with Poland?

During a visit to Poland on Tuesday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser addressed how Germany could address the rising number of asylum seekers coming into the country.

Published: 30 May 2023 17:43 CEST
German Polish border crossing
Cars at a German-Polish border crossing in Swinemünde, Poland. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Stefan Sauer

In the debate on how to deal with rising refugee numbers and ease pressure on local authorities, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) gave a strong “Nein” when asked about whether there would be permanently stationed border controls along the German-Polish border. 

However, Germany is set to deploy “several hundred” more police officers there in the near future, Faeser announced during a visit to the Polish border town of Świecko.

READ ALSO: Will Germany introduce tighter border controls?

This step would help stymie the influx of unchecked migration more than stationary border controls, she said, adding that the close relationship between Germany and Poland would be “massively disrupted” by such controls.

At the border with the Czech Republic, high migration figures have been reduced in recent months through a greater police presence, rather than stationary border controls such as those which already exist in Austria, said Faeser. 

Call for stricter controls

However, politicians from the centre-right CDU, including the interior ministers of Brandenburg and Saxony, Michael Stübgen and Armin Schuster, had recently called for firm controls at the border with Poland, pointing out the high influx of asylum seekers coming into their respective states from the neighbouring country. 

According to a spokesman for the coordinator of the Polish intelligence services, Stanislaw Zaryn, Poland’s Border Guard has recorded more than 10,000 attempted ‘irregular’ border crossings at the border with Belarus since the beginning of the year and many who cross in such a way continue on to Germany. 

By comparison, 15,700 such attempts were registered in all of 2022. On Monday alone, Poland’s border guards registered 67 attempted border crossings.

According to data from the European statistics authority last week, more than 40 percent more initial applications for asylum were filed in the European Union (EU) at the beginning of the year than a year ago. 

In Germany, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) registered 110,516 asylum applications in the first four months of the year, or 78 percent more than in the previous year. Most of the applicants came from Syria and Afghanistan.

READ ALSO: Germany sees spike in asylum applications from Russian citizens

At the refugee summit on May 10th, the federal and state governments agreed to introduce stationary controls like those at the border with Austria, and at other German borders with neighbouring countries “depending on the situation”.

Regional leaders have long been demanding more help and money to cope with the new arrivals, with many being forced to build temporary shelters.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Is Germany’s ‘Opportunity Card’ visa too complicated to work?

It's barely been a week since Germany introduced its point-based jobseekers' visa, but some experts are already saying the scheme is destined to fail.

Published: 7 June 2024 14:33 CEST
Is Germany's 'Opportunity Card' visa too complicated to work?

When Germany introduced its new points-based visa for skilled workers at the June, the anticipation was huge: for third-country nationals, it presented a new avenue for accessing Europe’s largest economy, and for the government, a way to attract the workers the country desperately needs.

But barely a week after the Chancenkarte, or Opportunity Card, was introduced, experts have expressed scepticism that the scheme will have the desired effect.

Speaking to the Rheinische Post, migration experts at the German Institute for Employment Research (IAB) cast doubt on the visa’s potential to attract a significant number of new workers.

Herbert Brücker, a researcher at the institute, believes that its impact will be “very modest,” compared with similar schemes in countries like Canada and Australia. 

“Unlike the points system in Canada, for example, which paves the way to permanent residency, the German Opportunity Card is only about the possibility of finding a job,” Brücker explained. 

He pointed out that many prospective workers might opt for other routes, such as remote job interviews or job-hunting on a tourist visa, in order to circumvent the bureaucracy involved in applying for the Chancenkarte.

Hans Vorländer, a migration researcher at TU Dresden and the chair of the Expert Council on Migration, took a similar view, arguing that the points-based system was still far too complicated to act as an incentive for foreign workers.

READ ALSO: How many skilled workers will immigrate to Germany with the Opportunity Card?

“German migration law is now so complicated that only a few people understand it,” he said, adding that the government should have “more courage” to simplify the system.

However, the jobseekers’ visa could go some way to broadening access to the German job market and opening immigration routes for target groups, Vorländer added. 

What is the Chancenkarte?

Whether in IT or industry, Germany is struggling to find the workers it needs to prop up the economy, with recent estimates suggesting that at least 400,000 new workers are required per year to plug the shortage.

As part of its package of immigration reforms designed to attract skilled workers, the government introduced the Opportunity Card, or Chancenkarte, on June 1st.

This allows jobseekers to enter Germany for up to a year to look for a job, provided they earn enough points to be eligible for a visa.

Points are awarded for things like German or English language skills, professional qualifications and experience, age and connections to Germany. 

Applicants need to score at least 6 points out of a total of 14 in order to secure their permit. 

READ ALSO: How many points could you get on Germany’s planned skilled worker visa?

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