Who hasn't heard of Silicon Valley? California's wonderful climate, its major universities and high-tech companies, each individually worth more than the annual budget of some European countries. This place's rapid rise began in the United States back in the first half of the last century, tied to the development of semiconductor electronics. Silicon is the main element used in semiconductors. Then the integrated circuit was invented there too, and soon cybernetics followed. California's economy started growing like wildfire. Today, that single state's annual budget significantly exceeds the entire budget of the Russian Federation. And by no means only graduates of American universities are building this world of prosperity. Roughly half the co-founders of the Valley's largest companies are foreign nationals — and the same holds true for those companies' employees. No one has really tried to explain this phenomenon, but the best mathematicians tend to come from Russia, Ukraine, France, and India. And it hardly matters why, as long as there is a worthy use for their talents. Inspired by the successes of the high-tech economy, Europeans also decided to follow the US example and, in 2009, adopted a directive on attracting highly educated and highly qualified migrants from non-EU countries. Based on that directive, Germany's "Blue Card" law came into force in August 2012.
Life Got Better
Permanent Settlement Permit
Unlike an ordinary residence permit, the Niederlassungserlaubnis is issued for an unlimited period and is not tied to a specific purpose of stay in Germany.
Germany is not among the world's most highly educated countries. The percentage of people with a university degree is, as they say, somewhere in the middle of the pack. But the development of high-tech, knowledge-intensive sectors of the economy calls for entirely different requirements. Fortunately, Germany found itself next door to countries in a rather paradoxical situation — where the level of education remains high, while living standards and demand for specialists just keep falling. This mainly refers to people from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. That has been the main, though not the only, stream of highly qualified specialists flowing into German businesses, research institutes, and medical centers. The Blue Card law simplified the entry procedure to the utmost. Knowledge of German was not required to become part of German society. All that was needed was an employment contract for a certain amount of annual income — not a small amount, it must be said — with a term of at least two years.
A Foreign National Can Obtain an EU Blue Card in Germany Without Much Difficulty If They:
1. Hold a German university degree, or a foreign university degree recognized in Germany, or a foreign university degree with a German equivalent.
2. Have a signed employment contract or a guaranteed job offer from an employer in Germany. The job the applicant intends to take must match the qualification obtained at university. The gross annual salary must exceed the minimum threshold set for this category of migrants.
3. For specialists in a number of particularly sought-after professions, the minimum gross annual salary threshold is considerably lower than for other categories of Blue Card applicants.
Particularly sought-after professions in Germany include those in the so-called MINT group (Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaft, Technik — mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, technology/engineering), a fairly broad group that includes, among others, scientists, mathematicians, programmers, doctors, and engineers.
The Blue Card is issued for a period of up to 4 years, or for the duration of the employment contract plus three months. During the first two years of employment, the Blue Card holder is "tied" to their employer, meaning that every time they change jobs, they must obtain fresh approval from the immigration authority (Ausländerbehörde). The employment contract can be extended or a new one entered into with a different employer in Germany or in another EU state, but for no more than four years in total. The Blue Card grants the right to work and live legally in Germany and to bring one's family to join them. Family members are entitled to work, start their own business, and study in Germany and other EU countries.
If a Blue Card holder has worked continuously for at least 33 months, and mandatory insurance contributions were made throughout that period, they become eligible to apply for a permanent residence permit — in other words, permanent residence. That period is shortened to 21 months if the foreign specialist has an adequate command of German. A B1 level is generally sufficient in most cases.
And That Was It
It's easy to work out that, if the first wave of people entering Germany on a Blue Card — accounting for all the bureaucratic procedures — arrived in 2014, then the line for a permanent settlement permit formed at the immigration authority in 2017. Programmers aren't lawyers, but the law, one would think, shouldn't have any hidden traps either. Except things aren't quite that simple in the Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors. Germany's migration policy draws plenty of criticism. Its policy toward top-tier specialists is yet another stone thrown at the lawmakers.
The fact is that Germany amends the rules for obtaining this type of residence permit — the Blue Card — every year. The amendments touch on a number of contractual details between employer and employee. But neither employers nor employees are informed of these amendments. The result is a situation where the rules you started playing by — say, in a game of chess — become outdated with every new move, but only the referee knows the rules have changed. That's roughly how the situation with Germany's immigration law regarding the "Blue Card" can be described.
Imagine a situation where a person prepares all the documents, gets dressed properly, and arrives at the scheduled time at the immigration authority to finally obtain a permanent settlement permit and stop worrying about the future — theirs and their family's. As if to say, they've passed the test and are worthy of living in the European Union. But no, apparently not worthy. The officials have every reason to revoke the Blue Card as no longer compliant with the current law.
It is precisely this problem that has begun to affect, en masse, Blue Card holders who were happy just yesterday and who went to their appointment without first consulting a lawyer. Bringing in a lawyer at later stages, after a refusal to extend the residence permit, already comes with a number of difficulties. Here is what a typical exchange looks like today between a Blue Card holder applying for a permanent settlement permit and the authority.
The person shows up with their whole family and a stack of documents. In their view, every prerequisite for obtaining a permanent residence permit has been met. But the officials see it differently. It turns out that certain amendments to the law have taken effect. The employment contract, however, was signed before those changes and was never updated to reflect them. As a result, your Blue Card is being revoked. You may try to find a new job and wait another three years before you're entitled to apply for a permanent settlement permit.
The stunned, highly qualified employee turns to a lawyer. The lawyer goes to talk with the officials and proposes amending the contract to reflect the necessary changes, so as to preserve the right to apply for a permanent residence permit right then and there. But no — in the officials' view, that would look like tailoring the terms to fit the current rules after the fact, which could lead to a refusal of any further stay in Germany. Such are the legal paradoxes here, and there's little point dwelling on them emotionally. What matters is drawing the right conclusion: before heading to the immigration authority, it's best to first stop by our law firm for a consultation.
All rights reserved. Copying or republishing this article requires a link to the original source.
