Germany Slashes Work Visa Processing Time for Indians to Just 2 Weeks
New Delhi: Germany has Slashed Work Visa Processing time for for Indian skilled workers from nine months to just two weeks. This development comes as part of Germany’s urgent need to attract skilled labor to address its workforce shortages.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized the importance of skilled workers in sustaining the country’s economic growth. “The Federal Agency for Foreign Affairs is the biggest visa office for national visas worldwide already today. And we urgently need skilled workers also here who can continue to support this. In India, Delhi, we have thus been able to reduce waiting times for national visas to two weeks. That used to take nine months,” Baerbock stated.
In 2023, Germany faced around 570,000 job vacancies, with the German Economic Institute (IW) predicting that unfilled positions could lead to a €74 billion loss in production potential by 2027. The expedited visa process is particularly beneficial for Indian companies invested in Germany, which rely on the swift issuance of visas to bring specialists into the country.
From January to June 2024, Germany granted 80,000 employment-related visas, with skilled workers accounting for 50% of these issuances—an increase of 3,000 compared to the same period in 2023.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry launched the ‘Visa Acceleration Action Plan’ in 2023 to address these challenges, although the IW cautioned that the plan might not fully prevent economic losses.
This move coincides with broader efforts to strengthen India-Germany relations, exemplified by recent meetings between Indian and German officials.
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