We come bearing good news! Germany has significantly reduced the time taken to process long-term work visas for Indian foreign skilled workers from nine months to just two weeks! The news has been confirmed by the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. She also confirmed that Germany is currently facing a skilled worker shortage and to fulfil this need, they have decided to shorten this work visa processing time. Read on to know more about this.
Germany Cuts Down Visa Processing Time For Skilled Indian Workers
The German government has decided to decrease the time taken to process long-term visas for Indian foreign skilled workers. As per The Economic Times report, the work visa processing time for Indians has now been reduced from nine months to just two weeks!
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has confirmed this news. She also mentioned that Germany will reduce the waiting time for 400,000 people who are affected by long waiting times when they apply for national visas. According to her, Germany “urgently needs skilled workers” who can support the country. That’s why they decided to reduce waiting times for national visas to two weeks for Indian applicants. This earlier used to take up to nine months!
As per The Economic Times, many German businesses rely on swift visa issuance to address labour shortages. In the same way, Indian firms investing in the EU country depend on prompt visa processing to ensure that specialists can be dispatched to Germany without delay.
Also Read: 8 Unique Experiences Waiting For You In Germany
Skilled Worker Shortage & Unfilled Jobs Fuel The Move
The work visa processing waiting period for Germany has been cut down due to the country’s growing need for skilled workers. As per the German Economic Institute (IW), Germany had around 570,000 job vacancies last year. However, due to prolonged visa processes and a shortage of skilled workers, many of these jobs were left unfilled. If this continues, Germany will, reportedly, face a production potential loss of €74 billion by 2027 due to unfilled jobs.
In 2023, Germany’s Foreign Ministry launched a ‘Visa Acceleration Action Plan’. However, IW felt that it may not have the best resultsGermany cuts visa processing time for Indian skilled workers and could cause an economic loss of €49 billion. The shortage of skilled workers is impacting Germany’s economy, which could improve and grow more rapidly with a larger workforce.
What is your opinion on this work visa processing time reduction by Germany? Let us know in the comments.
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