🇩🇪 GERMANY

On June 23rd, the German Parliament voted on a new law aiming to create easier access to the German labor market for third-country nationals.

Germany has faced a significant shortage of skilled workers for a long time, commonly known as the “Fachkräftemangel.” Like many other European countries, the population is aging, and there aren’t enough young professionals entering the job market to compensate for those who are retiring.

The goal of the German government is to become more attractive to third-country nationals, facilitate the migration process, and expand the possibilities, especially in the field of work migration. The new law of 2023 aims to focus on three pillars for work migration:

• The skilled labor pillar
• The experience pillar
• The potential pillar

While the idea is great and we support the initiative, we can also see shortcomings in the new law. Want to know more? Read our latest article on Linkedin or reach out to us at germany@expatmanagementgroup.com

🇧🇪 BELGIUM

In 2021, Belgium introduced the search year residence permit for third-country students who obtained a degree at a Belgian university or college of higher education. Since then, many foreign students applied for this type of residence permit after graduation. It allows them to start working for any employer in Belgium, without having to wait for the approval of a work/single permit. The search-year permit is valid for 12 months.

The advantage for employers is that they can hire foreign graduates immediately and can apply for a single permit for them, soon after hiring. 

Want to know more? Expat Management Group can provide further information and handle the single permit applications for holders of a search-year permit. Reach out to info@expatmanagementgroup.com to get more details. 

🇳🇱 THE NETHERLANDS

As of July 1, 2023, the Expat Center Rotterdam will start charging a fee for their services related to assistance with immigration formalities. The fees can be paid immediately upon scheduling the appointment through the renewed online appointment tool on the website of the Expat Center Rotterdam. More information can be found on their website.