Germany to present immigration policy concessions

German Minister of the Interior Otto Schily is expected to present a new draft law to regulate labour immigration on 3 August. Mr Schily is likely to offer concessions to the opposition parties regarding migration of highly qualified workers and family reunion. Such a move would facilitate cross-party support and ensure the law can be passed in the upper house of the parliament.

The new law will allow Germany to legally allow in workers from non-EU countries. Skilled workers will be allowed to take permanent residence in the country if there is a need for their kind of skills in the German labour market.

The law will introduce the criteria for the selection of desirable immigrants, such as age, qualifications and language skills. A commission, appointed by Mr Schily, to present recommendations on new immigration law, called for a quota system for immigrants. It proposed that Germany allows in 50,000 immigrants in the first year.