German coalition parties agree to British-style points-based immigration system

The three parties planning to build the next German government want to overhaul the country’s immigrantion system by introducing a points-based model similar to the British one.

A preliminary agreement published by the Social Democrats, Greens and FDP ahead of formal coalition negotiations next week stated that they intend to introduce a “second pillar” to the country’s immigrations system in order to attract skilled migrants.

Describing Germany as a “modern immigrant country,” the paper says that the next government would “introduce a points system for attracting qualified specialists".

The inclusion of the clause marks a victory for the liberal FDP, who have long called for a new immigration system based on the Canadian model, which judges potential migrants based on attributes such as language skills, professional qualifications and job offers.

The rules would only apply to skilled workers from outside the EU, since freedom of movement rules would still apply for all EU citizens.

“We have had to make concessions, as is necessary in coalition talks,” FDP leader Christian Linder said on Friday. “But the overall policy that is now emerging is a real gain for the country."

He described himself as “particularly pleased” at the inclusion of the points-based immigration law.

On Saturday, Armin Laschet, the chief of outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, took the rap for its worst ever poll result and said he would quit as the head of the country's most populous state.

Mr Laschet said the conservatives should now prepare to enter the opposition in the Bundestag, a position they have not had since 2005.

There is a general acceptance in Germany that skilled labour is urgently needed in order to fill gaping holes in the job market and to shore up the pension system, which sucks almost €100 billion out of the federal budget every year.

Both the Greens and SPD had also pledged a reform of migration rules in which the recognition of professional qualifications would be streamlined.

In the build-up to the election, the FDP said that Germany needed half a million migrants every year to plug the gaps.

"If we manage to turn Germany into an open, modern immigrant country while stabilizing our pension system, we will gain more as a society than we can imagine," FDP finance spokesman Christian Dürr told the German Press Agency in September.

The last reform to German labour law only came into force last year.

The Skilled Immigration Act opened up visa applications to non-EU workers with vocational training certificates while also abolishing the obligation for companies to give priority to EU citizens.

But the act has only led to a slight increase in the number of work visas being approved, although the pandemic is also likely to have played a role.

Friday’s pre-coalition proposal already calls for an overhaul of the 2020 law, saying it needs to be “made more practical".