NKR calls for faster reform of skilled immigration system
In its statement, the National Regulatory Control Council (NKR) calls for a swift agreement. The aim is a more comprehensive organisational reform that would significantly simplify procedures.
According to the NKR, stronger bundling of responsibilities would help make skilled immigration overall “more welcoming, simpler and more sustainable.”
At the same time, local immigration authorities could be relieved of administrative burdens and gain more capacity to provide on-the-ground integration support.
Work-and-Stay Agency as a digital project
Background: In November 2025, the German government decided to establish the Work-and-Stay Agency. The goal is to accelerate skilled immigration through digital processes.
The NKR considers the planned platform an important step forward. At the same time, it stresses that digitalisation alone is not sufficient. What is crucial is the overall simplification of procedures and a clear bundling of responsibilities.
Focus on recognition of foreign qualifications
The NKR also sees significant potential in reforming the recognition of foreign professional qualifications. In connection with the planned Work-and-Stay Agency (WSA), this could become a key reform area.
So far, the plan mainly предусматриes handling procedures via a shared digital platform. From the NKR’s perspective, this approach does not go far enough.
Instead, the council recommends:
- a full organisational bundling of equivalence assessments
- central responsibility, for example at the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB)
- alternatively, a comprehensive solution at the federal level
The objective is to make procedures more consistent, faster and more transparent.
Federal states need to create the conditions
However, implementing such reforms requires further action at the level of the federal states. In particular:
- legal frameworks for state-regulated professions would need to be aligned
- documentation requirements would need to be standardised
Without these adjustments, a full bundling of responsibilities is likely to be difficult to achieve.
Source: table.media
