On 7.7.23, the "Act on the Further Development of Skilled Immigration" was approved by the Federal Council and will come into force at the beginning of 2024. Those responsible in hospitals and inpatient care are wondering whether it will make it easier to recruit international healthcare professionals. We think: hardly. This is because most of the changes relate to professions that are not regulated by the state.
What are the benefits of the so-called "recognition partnerships"?
The newly formulated Section 16d states that a residence permit with a work permit can be issued in future if no "notice of deficit" has yet been issued. The skilled worker must have completed at least two years of state training in their country of origin and speak sufficient German. The employer must undertake to offer the foreign skilled worker a suitable qualification measure. In turn, the employer must undertake to initiate the recognition procedure with the recognition body after entry at the latest. However, the recognition body must have established in advance that the conditions for professional recognition are basically met and agree to carry out a qualification analysis. The confirmation of receipt from the recognition office is presumably sufficient for this.
Our assessment
The new §16d does not really make the process any easier, for the following reasons:
1. it is mandatory to go through the recognition procedure sooner or later in order to work as a care professional. If the "notice of deficit" arrives later, the phase in which the specialist works as an assistant takes longer - which can be frustrating.
2. employers need the "notice of deficit" in order to be able to plan the adaptation period. If it arrives later, they cannot plan for the long term.
3. nurses who come straight from university have no professional experience - the new regulation does not apply to them
4. we are still aiming for groups to enter the country and start the adaptation period together. If individual candidates only receive the notification of deficits after entering the country, this creates many individual cases without the group as a whole arriving earlier.
Our conclusion
We have decided to maintain our process and continue to apply for the "Defizitbescheid" while our candidates are still on the language course up to B2 in their country of origin. However, if in individual cases the wait for the "Defizitbescheid" delays entry for a very long time, we use the option of entry without prior professional recognition. In this way, nursing staff and employers do not lose time unnecessarily.