Martindale Retrospectives 5 November 2024 Retrospective on Christopher Hok-Hoi Tam, “Acceptance or Alienation: Foreigners in a Reunited Germany” from The Continuing Challenges of German Reunification Perspectives on Business and Economics, Volume 16, 1998 Christopher Hok-Hoi Tam ‘98 is a doctor of psychiatry at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, in Ontario, Canada. Tam discussed Germany’s historically low naturalization rate and reasons behind the country’s declaration as a “non-immigrant” country. Have immigration laws changed in Germany since 1998? Since publication of this article in 1998, Germany’s immigration views and policies have evolved. Recently, the German cabinet has enacted citizenship reforms. Draft new laws would enable foreigners to obtain German citizenship without giving up their current citizenship. This would allow dual citizenship, something not previously available to immigrants. “The government also intends to make procedures for applying for citizenship easier, claiming that the move will mark ‘a new beginning in migration and integration policy as is right for a modern country of immigration’” (Symons, 2023). There was an influx following Brexit, with a high of 128,900 foreigners becoming German citizens in 2019. In addition, the 2020 Skilled Immigration Act and its recent modifications aim to mitigate labor shortages in Germany by making it easier for non-EU skilled workers to enter the country for work. It is estimated that these reforms could increase non-EU workers in Germany by 60,000 per year. As of 2023, there were an estimated 1.74 million job vacancies throughout Germany (Logan, 2023). Nancy Faeser, Interior Minister for the coalition government “called the reform an acknowledgment of a modern Germany ''(Logan, 2023). This is one of the most important reform projects from the coalition to date. These reforms will encourage more immigrants to enter Germany. How has the perception of Auslander (foreigners) shifted since 1998? In 1998, Germany was still experiencing nonnegligible degrees of xenophobia towards foreigners and immigrants. However, far-right, anti-immigration extremist parties are becoming less prevalent in Germany. Immigration skepticism remains evident but has declined. One survey in 2022 found that “Germans are more optimistic about migration and immigration than they were a few years ago” (Witting & Hänel, 2022). Many Germans realize the importance of immigration for the economy: 66% of respondents to the survey believe that immigration helps to balance an aging society; 50% also said that immigrants can help with the shortage of skilled workers and expect immigrants to bring additional revenue for Germany’s pension fund (Witting & Hänel, 2022). Because of the labor shortage, Germany has incentives to open its doors to more immigrants to stimulate the workforce and economy. An anticipated “13 million workers will leave the labor market over the next 15 years, almost a third of all currently available workers. The Federal Employment Agency estimates that 400,000 new immigrants will be needed annually to compensate for the shrinkage of the German workforce” (Boutelet, 2023). Because of the competitive nature of Europe's economy, immigrants are valued more than ever. References Boutelet, C. (2023, March 6). Germany, facing labor shortage, plans reform to become an “immigration” society. Le Monde. Logan, O. (2023, August 23). Dual citizenship law passes through German cabinet. IamExpat. Symons, A. (2023, June 21). Moving to Germany will be easier in 2024 under a new visa scheme. euronews.travel. Witting, V., & Hänel, L. (2022, February 16). Germans less skeptical of immigration. DW. Retrospective by Randi Conroy ‘25 Finance, with mass communication minor
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