Germany Woos Indian Workers Spooked by U.S. Visa Changes
Selling the prospect of high wages and stable migration rules, Germany’s ambassador to India makes a pitch to skilled Indian workers.
By Melissa Eddy
Melissa Eddy covers German businesses and economics and reported this story from Berlin.
Comparing its migration policy to a German car — reliable, modern and predictable — Germany’s ambassador to India made a pitch for skilled Indians to come to his country, taking an indirect jab at the United States over its crackdown on skilled foreign workers.
In what he described as “a call to all highly skilled Indians,” the diplomat, Philipp Ackermann, posted a video to social media on Tuesday, playing up the prospects for well-paid jobs for skilled Indians in Germany, which is facing a rapidly aging society and a dwindling labor force.
“Our migration policy works a bit like a German car — it’s reliable, it’s modern and it is predictable,” Mr. Ackermann said in the video. “And you don’t have to fear a full brake at a top speed. We do not change our rules fundamentally overnight.”
That tone contrasted with recent comments from Washington, where President Trump on Friday signed a proclamation that adds a $100,000 fee for new applicants for H-1B visas, which allow foreign workers like software engineers a chance to be employed in the United States. Indians account for the largest nationality of workers who are granted the visas.
Germany would like to attract some of them. Already, about 124,000 Indians work in Germany, according to government data. Most of them have jobs in computing, science or technology, making them among the top earners there.
“The average Indian working in Germany earns more than the average German working in Germany,” Mr. Ackermann said in the video, which included a link to information on how to begin the visa application process and where to learn the language.
Last year, Germany started a program aimed at making it easier for more workers from India to come to the country by opening up a larger contingent of visas for them and streamlining the application process.
But Indians coming to Germany have to learn a new language, which many find daunting. Among the 50 Indian students awarded a two-year Erasmus scholarship to complete a master’s program in the European Union, nearly half of them chose to study in France. Only seven chose to study in Germany.
Germany needs tens of thousands of skilled workers to fill open jobs, especially in its technology sector. As many as 387,000 jobs remained unfilled as of March, according to the German Institute for Economic Research. That number is expected to more than double in the next two years.
Every fifth citizen in Germany is now older than 67, and the country’s baby boomers — born between 1955 and 1970 — are beginning to retire and there are not enough young workers making payments into the social system to support it.
But reports about attacks on foreigners and the rise in popularity of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party have spooked many young Indians, said Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s state senator for the economy, who toured India this summer in an effort to attract more workers to the German capital.
Melissa Eddy is a Times reporter based in Berlin who reports on Germany’s politics, businesses and economy.
Explore Our Business and Tech Coverage
Dive deeper into the people, issues and trends shaping the worlds of business and technology.
Hunt for ‘Missing’ Oil: Going against conventional wisdom, explorers at a Norwegian energy company drilled horizontally to find oil in an abandoned natural gas field.
Can the Galápagos Adapt to Airbnb?: The islands that Charles Darwin made famous have become more accessible. Too accessible, say some residents and researchers, who fear nature is imperiled.
Hamburger Helper Sales Rise: The price of beef and other grocery items are climbing, and consumers are turning to canned meats and a 1970s staple to try and stretch their dollars.
Race to Make Rare Earth Magnets: After Beijing exerted its power over the valuable magnets as leverage, other countries started to add production, but only incrementally. And China is far ahead.
Robot Fights: The artificial intelligence boom, which has brought techies flocking back to San Francisco, has fueled a resurgence of live — and sometimes futuristic — events.
U.S. Sues Ticketmaster: The Federal Trade Commission and seven states sued the ticket sales website and its parent company, Live Nation, claiming they misled artists and consumers.