Skilled Immigration: What German Law Makes Possible for Small Businesses

Why immigration is an option for small businesses too

The skills shortage eased somewhat in 2025 but has not disappeared. The Federal Employment Agency counted 157 occupational groups with shortages and stressed that immigration continues to gain importance. The German Economic Institute expects a gap of 723,000 skilled workers by 2029. The talent shortage in sales describes how a sales team deals with the shortage.

Large companies have HR departments that organize visas, recognition, and relocation. A business with 20 employees does not. This article therefore asks: What does the Skilled Immigration Act concretely make possible for a small business, and where does hiring from abroad fail in practice? To answer it, we first clarify the routes, introduce a thinking model, look at the figures and studies, weigh two views, and describe the procedure. This article is not legal advice; details change and should be checked before every hire.

Which routes the law opens today

The Skilled Immigration Act governs the conditions under which people from outside the EU may work in Germany. It came into force in 2020 and was substantially amended in 2023; the changes took effect between November 2023 and June 2024. Since then, three pillars have stood side by side: the skilled-worker pillar for recognized qualifications, the experience pillar for experienced workers, and the potential pillar for job seeking.

The fast-track procedure for skilled workers is particularly important for small businesses. The employer files the application at the competent immigration office with power of attorney from the skilled worker; approval by the Federal Employment Agency and the recognition check are bundled there and bound by deadlines. The procedure costs a fee but often saves months.

The thinking model: pull, push, and the obstacles in between

In 1966, the US demographer Everett Lee described a model of migration that is still cited today. Whether a person emigrates depends on four groups of factors: what holds or drives them at the place of origin, what attracts or deters them at the destination, intervening obstacles, and personal circumstances. Obstacles include distance, costs, laws, and language. Lee stressed that the same obstacles affect different people very differently: trivial for some, insurmountable for others.

For a business, the model is useful because it shows where it has influence. It cannot change Germany's pay level or reputation. But it can reduce some intervening obstacles itself: by helping with recognition, using the fast-track procedure, supporting housing and dealings with authorities, providing German courses. Every obstacle the business removes makes it more attractive to applicants than a competitor who leaves them to fend for themselves.

An analogy: whoever invites a guest from a distant city cannot make the journey shorter. But he can send directions, pick the guest up at the station, and say where to park. Whether the guest comes is often decided by exactly these details.

A business rarely wins a skilled worker from abroad with pay. It wins them with the obstacles it takes off their hands.

What the figures show about the use of the new routes

The new routes have been used to very different degrees. According to an analysis of government answers to a parliamentary question, around 17,500 opportunity card visas were issued between June 2024 and November 2025. The recognition partnership has produced around 1,100 visas since March 2024, the experience pillar 838 in almost two years. According to the same analysis, the number of Blue Card visas issued per month has more than halved since August 2025 compared with early 2024.

For the opportunity card, it is unclear how many holders actually found a job. For the experience pillar, which is intended precisely for smaller businesses, the numbers are low. This speaks less against the law than for the fact that many businesses do not know the route or shy away from the effort. In 2025, the federal government adopted key points for a digital Work-and-Stay Agency to bundle procedures. No law on it had been passed at the time of writing.

What studies show about recognition and hiring

Brücker, Glitz, Lerche, and Romiti (2021) examined for Germany what formal recognition of a foreign qualification achieves. They linked survey data with social security records and tracked immigrants month by month before, during, and after the procedure. Three years after full recognition, they earned 19.8 percent more and were 24.5 percentage points more likely to be employed than a comparison group. Their wages subsequently converged fully with those of comparable natives.

It is striking why so few apply: most did not consider recognition important, others saw no chance or did not know how. Fees hardly played a role. The authors stress a limit: those who apply probably expect more from it, so the effects do not apply equally to all immigrants.

On the employer side, Damelang, Ebensperger, and Stumpf (2020) found in an experiment with hiring managers that a recognized foreign qualification clearly improves the chances of an interview but does not fully close the gap to applicants trained in Germany. Buch, Burkert, Hell, and colleagues (2025) also show, using German regional data from 2004 to 2017, that xenophobic attitudes in a region reduce labor immigration to it. A business's surroundings are thus among the obstacles in Lee's sense.

Two views: a solution or a detour?

Both views describe the same situation from different directions. The law has reduced the legal obstacles. The practical obstacles, procedure length, language, housing, onboarding, still lie with the business and the skilled worker. I therefore consider immigration a real option for small businesses, but only for those that plan it as a project with their own effort and not as a quick answer to a vacancy.

Before searching abroad, it is worth asking whether there is potential internally. The capacity ladder from The talent shortage in sales orders the levers: retain, relieve, develop, recruit. Immigration belongs to the fourth step.

How to proceed: from vacancy to first working day

1. Clarify the position and the route

   Check which route fits the position: a degree and salary for the Blue Card, work experience for the experience pillar, ongoing recognition for the partnership. The federal government's portals and the Federal Employment Agency's employer advisory service help.

2. Start recognition early

   Clarify whether the qualification must be recognized and support the application at the competent chamber. The study by Brücker and colleagues shows that this pays off for both sides.

3. Use the fast-track procedure

   File the application as the employer with power of attorney at the immigration office. This bundles approval and checks and shortens the wait for the visa.

4. Prepare the arrival

   Plan housing, a bank account, registration, and a German course. Onboarding new employees describes how the first months go well.

5. Think about retention from the start

   Those who come alone also leave more easily. A fixed contact person, contact with colleagues, and a clear development path help retain. Employee retention in small businesses describes what keeps good people.

Cultural differences also play a role in everyday work, for example in dealing with hierarchy or direct criticism. Cultural differences in sales discusses which dimensions help understand them. Bureaucracy in SMEs describes why procedures cost small businesses so much time.

Conclusion: the law opens doors, the business must walk through them

To the guiding question: the Skilled Immigration Act today makes much more possible for small businesses than before 2023. With the experience pillar, recognition partnership, and fast-track procedure, there are routes usable without a large HR department. When hiring fails, in practice it is less often due to the law than to the obstacles in between: unfamiliar routes, long procedures, lack of support with recognition, housing, and language. Lee's model explains why that is exactly where a business's lever lies.

Whoever plans immigration as a project, supports recognition, and takes arrival seriously gains a skilled worker. Whoever only posts a vacancy usually gains a procedure.

• For an open position, check which immigration route fits qualification and salary.
• Arrange an initial meeting with the Federal Employment Agency's employer advisory service.
• Name one person in the business who accompanies procedures and arrival.
• Plan housing, a German course, and a fixed contact person before entry.