For 10 years, the official website "Make it in Germany" has accompanied many stories in the field of skilled immigration. On this page, qualified professionals share their personal experiences, voices from our partner network reflect on political developments and employers provide insights into successful recruitment abroad. Moreover, our timeline below shows what has happened in the last 10 years.
We made it!
10 years of "Make it in Germany"
10 years of success stories – with international professionals, companies and a strong partner network.
"Make it in Germany" reaches people all over the world
Facts & figures
More statements from our partner network
Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK)
Dr Achim Dercks, Deputy CEO
German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH)
Hans Peter Wollseifer, President
Welcome Center/ThAFF
Kirstin von Graefe, Consultant at the Thuringian Agency For Skilled Personnel Marketing (ThAFF)
Further voices from the practice of international experts, companies and consultants
Manfred Inden, Eiffage Infra-Nordwest GmbH
The CEO advises other construction companies to use the portal as a central point of contact.
Marie Campos made it!
For biochemist Marie, Germany is a very special country.
Patrick Marzell, advisory hotline (BAMF)
"Good integration is a task for society as a whole", says the advisor from the "Working and Living in Germany" hotline.
Vesna Kragic made it!
For the nurse from Bosnia and Herzegovina, one thing is clear: Germany is the right place to move forward and learn new things.
Myra Mani about "Make it in Germany"
The employer recommends that especially companies that have not yet had any contact with international recruitment use the portal.
Learn more about: "Marie Campos about support" 
Marie Campos about support
Marie from the US reports how the support from people around her made it easier for her to arrive.
See what happened during the past 10 years ...
2012
Milestones in Germany's immigration policy
Development of "Make it in Germany"
Qualified professionals from abroad are part of the Federal Government’s demographic strategy.
“Make it in Germany” goes online as a welcome portal for qualified professionals from abroad.
The Recognition Act of the Federal Government for foreign professional qualifications comes into force.
The “Law to improve the assessment and recognition of professional and vocational education and training qualifications acquired abroad” (the Recognition Act, for short) enters into force on 1 April 2012. The purpose of the Act is to attract and integrate skilled foreign workers by regulating and standardising the procedure for the recognition of foreign professional and vocational education and training qualifications.
As a result of the Act, regulations under the EU Recognition Directive were extended to non-regulated professions and to professional qualifications from third countries. Since then, the Recognition Act has regulated the procedures for the more than 600 professions and occupations that fall under federal jurisdiction. In contrast, recognition for professions and occupations subject to state law is regulated by the Acts of the Federal States which follow until 2014.
For more information on the topic of recognition and the underlying legal basis, please refer to the “Anerkennung in Deutschland (Recognition in Germany)" portal.
The “EU Blue Card” enters into force.
The EU Blue Card (Section 18b(2) of the Residence Act (AufenthG)) is a special residence permit for foreign academics seeking qualified employment in Germany. The relevant law transposed the EU’s Highly Skilled Workers Directive. It entailed improvements in residence and aliens’ employment legislation for groups such as international students, graduates and apprentices. A residence permit for job-seeking academics was also introduced.
To find out more about the “EU Blue Card”, visit the website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Information on requirements is provided in our “Visa” section.
2013
The interactive world map showing German institutions is launched.
A reform facilitates immigration for non-academic shortage occupations.
The purpose of the amended version of the Ordinance on the Employment of Foreigners (BeschV) was to simplify aliens’ employment legislation. It also sought to meet the needs of an immigration policy geared to attracting skilled workers. The reform made it easier for people from third countries with professional and vocational education and training qualifications to access the labour market by allowing this group to immigrate for the purpose of employment in non-academic “shortage occupations” (e.g. nursing staff and construction electricians).
2014
The launch of the “Working and Living in Germany” hotline provides a personal advisory structure on the portal.
2015
Twitter and YouTube channels are launched.
A new residence permit is introduced.
A new law, the Act on the redefinition of the right to stay and the termination of residence, which entered into force on 1 August 2015, improved recognition and immigration opportunities for skilled workers with foreign vocational qualifications. Among other things, the law is intended to make it easier for skilled workers to obtain full recognition of their vocational qualifications acquired abroad. To this end, a new residence permit for the purpose of adaptation qualifications was created (previously Section 17a Residence Act (AufenthG)).
The title enables foreign skilled workers to complete refresher training in Germany for a maximum of 18 months. Refresher training includes a variety of educational measures in the context of the recognition procedure: adaptation periods, education and training, language courses, etc. Section 17a also enables immigrants to
- remain in Germany after training for the purpose of job seeking,
- enter Germany for the purpose of taking a proficiency test and
- take up similar employment to the intended occupation in parallel to refresher training.
oday, residence for recognition is regulated by §16d Residence Act (AufenthG). You can find more information on our portal under "Recognition" and "Visa for the recognition of foreign qualifications" as well as on the recognition portal "Anerkennung in Deutschland".
2016
Visitors to the portal can explore the federal states on an interactive map.
Visitors to the portal are invited to explore Germany using the interactive map of federal states. Besides providing details of key contact persons and services for skilled foreign workers, the map also enables you to discover facts such as the capital cities, population figures and economic sectors of each federal state.
2017
The newsletter informs readers about current issues in the field of skilled labour immigration.
Employers in Germany can use a separate area of the portal for easy access to information.
2018
“Make it in Germany” officially becomes the Federal Government’s official website for qualified professionals.
2019
by the German Bundestag in June 2019
2020
The Skilled Immigration Act expanded the framework for the immigration of qualified skilled workers from countries outside the EU to Germany. The term “skilled worker” is now given a standard definition, and it is easier for skilled workers with vocational, non-academic qualifications to immigrate to Germany for work purposes; existing regulations for professionals with a degree are further eased in some cases.
The new rules include the following:
- It became easier for skilled workers to enter the labour market, by discontinuing the need for the Federal Employment Agency to undertake a “priority check”.
- Employment of skilled professionals with vocational training is no longer limited to “shortage occupations”.
- In addition, they can also enter Germany for the purpose of job seeking.
- Individuals may also enter Germany for the purpose of seeking an apprenticeship.
- The possibilities for entering and staying in Germany for the purpose of undertaking qualification programmes are expanded.
- The fast-track procedure for skilled workers is introduced.
- The Service Center for Professional Recognition (ZSBA) was established. It acts as a contact point for people from abroad wishing to apply for recognition of their vocational qualification.
To find out more about the changes to the Skilled Immigration Act, visit the “Visa & residence” section of our portal.
"Make it in Germany" starts offering webinars for professionals and employers.
"Make it in Germany" starts offering webinars for professionals and employers in 2020. The “Make it in Germany” webinars provide international qualified professionals and German employers with information on the opportunities offered by qualified immigration. Previous webinars have addressed the following topics: recruitment, integration, job seeking, higher education and language acquisition. You can register for the next webinar or view recordings of past events on our portal.
2021
Job listings are now available in four languages (DE, EN, FR, ES).
The “Make it in Germany” job listings enable skilled workers from abroad to find vacancies from the job search engine of the Federal Employment Agency where employers have explicitly stated their willingness to accept applications from skilled workers from abroad. An integrated translation function now also makes it possible to display jobs in English, French and Spanish. Try it out here!
2022
The German Federal Cabinet has adopted a set of "Cornerstone policies on skilled labour immigration from third countries". With the new policies, the government wants to augment the Skilled Immigration Act.
