Germany is becoming increasingly effective at attracting skilled workers to its labor market, but a large share of them do not choose to stay for a long period.
According to Laura Goßner of the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), anyone aiming to successfully manage immigration must also understand the reasons for emigration. During a press conference in Berlin, she stressed that keeping people in the long term is tied to offering the right opportunities, reliable procedures, quality support and an environment where they can build stable prospects for the future.
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Up to April 2025, the organization conducted an online survey of people aged 18 to 65 who had left Germany, in order to understand why they had taken that step and which factors had weighed most heavily in their decision. The study concludes that departure cannot be explained by a single reason. According to the findings, family factors carry the greatest weight. Respondents also mentioned experiences with discrimination. A considerable share of the factors, such as bureaucracy, housing and language learning, can be influenced by public policy.
So who are those most likely to leave Germany again? IAB expert Theresa Koch explains that emigrants who leave again are on average younger, have spent less time in Germany and more often have partners or children outside the country. According to her, they were also less likely to have a good command of German, while having stronger English skills.
Around 60 percent of emigrants return to the country where they were born, while 40 percent move to other states. Among the most preferred destinations are Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Croatia.
“We are competing with other European countries for skilled workers,” said Yuliya Kosyakova, head of the Migration, Integration and International Labor Market Research Department at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB).
The frustrations linked to Germany are not new: delays in processing naturalization, residence permits, visas and recognition of qualifications obtained abroad are frequently mentioned.
Immigrants are often forced to wait a long time for German authorities to answer their questions. Another obstacle is the high bureaucratic costs. A lack of support for work and career development also remains a problem, whether at employment centers, in cities or from employers themselves.
Laura Goßner emphasizes that all of this makes long-term planning, entry into the labor market and the creation of a sense of belonging to Germany more difficult. According to her, administrative procedures directly affect how immigrants view their future in the country. If these processes are perceived as lengthy, unclear or difficult to follow, that also affects their prospects of staying.
“We see that immigrants with more negative assessments of such procedures feel, on average, less welcome in Germany.”
Another key element for integration into the German labor market remains language. Tilman Frank, chairman of the board of the Federal Association for International Skilled Workers (Bundesverband internationale Fachkräftegewinnung e.V.) and managing director of TalentOrange GmbH, a company that has already recruited and supported thousands of nurses, educators and physiotherapists for Germany, says that knowledge of the language is essential for finding the right path in the country and especially in the labor market.
According to him, difficulties arise from the very beginning when the process of moving to Germany is not properly structured, when the right people are not selected and when language learning is not sufficiently supported. In such cases, the chances that these people will return to their home country are relatively high. Conversely, if the language is learned and the right people are chosen — those who are sufficiently prepared for the move to Germany — then retention rates are very high.
Frank also raises the question of whether current training programs for nurses are suitable. He explains that at present, especially people from Kenya, India and Vietnam are seeking to secure a place in Germany.
In Kenya, this is happening because the Labor Ministry there is encouraging the emigration of unemployed young people. Meanwhile, in India and Vietnam, parents see this as an opportunity for their children to receive good training. Demand remains particularly high in elderly care. For this reason, Tilman Frank is calling on the German government to support the teaching of German in countries of origin.
He stresses that efforts to come to Germany without knowledge of German are not sustainable in the long term. As an example, he mentions international degree programs conducted in English, in which people hope they will be able to work in Germany. According to him, this does not work.
Another possible reason for departure is the unsuitable employment of immigrants. Frank gives as an example cases in which people trained in acute care in hospitals in their home countries, without this being clearly communicated to them, are placed in Germany in nursing homes to provide basic care.
He is also closely familiar with the difficult stories linked to Germany’s bureaucratic jungle, where many immigrants encounter serious obstacles. His company even keeps an Excel spreadsheet documenting in detail the absurdities of situations that can occur, such as when two caseworkers send different decisions and different deadlines for visa processing.
For this reason, professional support remains essential. According to him, German policymakers have finally understood that international skilled workers not only need to come, but also to stay. He concludes that Germany has both positive and negative elements.
“The Federal Employment Agency has introduced a centralized system, which is faster and more reliable. Hesse is introducing a central immigration authority. There are also plans for a ‘Work and Stay’ agency at the federal level.”
However, staff shortages in state institutions are significantly complicating many operational processes. In his assessment, digitalization is moving forward slowly — indeed very slowly — while different states and municipalities are following separate approaches. A unified model still does not exist. /DW
