Skilled workers from Africa – “And then the madness with the visa began” 

A big thank you to Deutsche Welle for this data-driven report. I find it very insightful and can only underline the key points. I would add the following points:

• It’s not the case that many of Africa’s highly qualified professionals necessarily want to come to Germany. Countries like the UK, Canada, and the US are clearly in the spotlight, if only because of the English language. Their recently more restrictive visa policies would actually open the door to Germany. But for that to happen, we also need to promote Germany as a business location – if we really want that. (@Khadi Camara is absolutely right with her point)

• Two practical examples:

1. We obtained two digital certificates of professional qualification (DAB Anabin) for electricians from Ghana. Both were positive. It worked perfectly digitally. For recognition, the same documents must now be submitted to the Chamber in original form, along with a certificate of authenticity. This is bureaucratic madness.
2. The visa service of the German Embassy in Rwanda was previously outsourced to the Belgian Embassy. After the Belgian Embassy was closed, the visa service for Rwandan citizens wishing to travel to Germany was outsourced to the Belgian Embassy in Kenya. With all due respect for the hard-working colleagues at the German Embassy, this is insane.

The question always arises: do we really want skilled immigration or not? If we don’t want it, we just need to finally stop pretending.