Forget the US. Germany has stepped up efforts to attract Indian workers and students as the United States tightens visa rules.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Wednesday that Berlin wanted to “create more opportunities for Indian skilled labour and students”. He was speaking at a joint press conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
“With 60,000 students currently in Germany, Indian students make for the largest group of international students in the country,” said Wadephul. “Many of these students choose to stay back and cater to the urgent need we have for highly skilled labour.”
Call for skilled talent
Wadephul described the contribution of Indians as a “genuine success story”, noting that they often earn above the average income. He said the process for issuing visas should be “digitised” to make it faster and more efficient.
He also stressed the need for language learning. “We are working with a good institute for expanding infrastructure for German language tuition and language exams,” said Wadephul. Germany wants to expand its partner schools in India from 58 to 1,000.
Germany’s labour shortages are acute. At the end of 2024, companies reported 1.4 million unfilled positions across healthcare, IT, education, construction, and public transport. One in five nurses is now an immigrant, and foreigners make up over 16 per cent of the total workforce — double the share in 2010.
Demand across sectors
Dr Philipp Ackermann, Germany’s ambassador to India, has been vocal about the shortage.
“We are really looking for talent. We are looking for the smartest, the brightest ones—the ones who maybe had an idea to go elsewhere,” said Ackermann in June. “There is first-class education in Germany, especially in STEM, and most of it is in English.”
In May 2025, he estimated that Germany needed 500,000 skilled workers every year. “We need bakers, butchers, plumbers—people across the skills spectrum,” he said.
Survey reveals mixed plans
Despite rising opportunities, Germany faces challenges retaining migrants. A survey by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), conducted between December 2024 and April 2025, interviewed 50,000 foreign-born individuals aged 18 to 65. It excluded asylum seekers without recognised residence status.
The findings showed:
• 57 per cent, about 5.7 million people, want to stay long term
• 12 per cent, around 1.2 million, see their stay as temporary
• 30 per cent, nearly 3 million, are undecided
Around 2.6 million immigrants said they had considered leaving Germany in the past year. Of them, 300,000 already had concrete emigration plans.
“Twenty-six per cent, or around 2.6 million people, say that they actually considered leaving Germany last year,” said Yuliya Kosyakova, head of migration and labour market research at the IAB. “Around 3%, or 300,000 people, already have concrete plans to leave.”
Why some want to leave
The IAB found several reasons for return or onward migration:
• Family ties drawing people back home
• Higher pay and career growth in other countries
• Dissatisfaction with bureaucracy, taxes, and political climate
“Almost two-thirds of immigrants report perceived discrimination, for example at work, on the housing market, in public spaces or in contact with the police,” said Gallegos Torres, a researcher at the institute. “A third of immigrants also feel either not at all or only slightly welcome. These are factors that significantly increase the tendency to emigrate.”