Monitoring
The report below is devoted to immigration from third state countries to Germany in the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 October 2011. The following parameters are applicable:
- The values are sub-divided according to the number of titles issued, as well as by purposes of residence and legal basis/provisions in accordance with the Residence Act (AufenthG).
- Additionally, a distinction is made between titles issued to foreigners who first entered the country prior to 1 January 2011 ("resident foreigners"), and those who first entered from 1 January 2011 onwards (that is current new arrivals). Comparisons are also carried out here with the appropriate periods of the previous years. Where for reasons of simplification only the year is stated, this refers in each case to the comparison period in the respective year.
- The numbers are to be regarded as provisional in terms of set dates, given that subsequent reports will follow.
- Where required, the data can be provided as a table, sorted by residence titles issued by the immigration authorities to non-EU foreigners, purposes of migration and arrival period.
Total number of residence titles issued in a year-on-year comparison
A total of 507,085 residence permits and 188,771 settlement permits were issued nationally in accordance with the Residence Act in the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 October 2011.
The comparison with the periods of the previous year from 2010 and 2009 is composed as follows:
| Year (1 January-31 October) | Titles issued on entry before 1 Jan. of the respective year | Titles issued on entry from 1 Jan. of the respective year | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 411,056 | 66,029 | 507,085 |
| 2010 | 511,055 | 94,674 | 605,729 |
| 2009 | 518,273 | 91,106 | 609,379 |
| Year (1 January-31 October) | Titles issued on entry before 1 Jan. of the respective year | Titles issued on entry from 1 Jan. of the respective year | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 189,238 | 533 | 189,771 |
| 2010 | 163,320 | 622 | 163,942 |
| 2009 | 194,483 | 743 | 195,226 |
The tables show for 2011 that the vast majority of residence titles until the end of October of this year, including extensions, were issued to individuals who entered prior to 1 January.
The largest share of residence permits issued where the individual has first entered the country since 1 January 2011, at roughly 39 percent, is accounted for by immigration for family reasons. 25,774 residence permits were issued for this group during the survey period, whilst there were 38.174 residence permits in the comparison period in 2010.
The focus in the field of settlement permits for persons who first entered the country after 1 January 2011 is accounted for by the special cases in accordance with section 23 subs. 2 of the Residence Act (for instance, according to an agreement reached between the Federation and the Länder, foreigners from specific states or certain groups of foreigner are issued with approval of acceptance) with 294 titles issued, whilst there were 437 in the comparison period of 2010.
Migration for work purposes
The following section presents information specifically on migration for the purpose of gainful employment, but does not take account of labour migration from EU States, since this is not subject to the Residence Act.
The presentation is sub-divided according to the legal provisions underlying each case.
a) Residence permits for studies or other training purposes (sections 16 and 17 of the Residence Act)
A total of 79,302 residence permits were issued for training purposes in the survey period (2010: 101,569).
- 64,413 (that is roughly 81 percent) of these could be specifically attributed to the purpose of “studies” (2010: 83,020 – corresponding to roughly 82 percent).
- 392 individuals took up the opportunity to obtain a residence permit to apply to study (2010: 563).
- 3,758 individuals (2010: 4,321) took up a residence permit offered to graduates in the survey period to look for a job after completing their studies.
- 4,661 residence permits (2010: 6,474) were issued for language courses and to attend school, and
- 5,987 residence permits (2010: 7,080) were issued to attend in-company basic and further training courses.
b) Residence permits for employment (sections 18 and 18 a of the Residence Act)
A total of 60,497 residence permits (2010: 61,300) had been issued for the purpose of employment up to October 2011. 45,703 (2010: 42,784) of these labour migrants had already been in Germany prior to 2011, whilst there were 14,794 (2010: 18,516) new arrivals in 2011.
A distinction made in residence permits in accordance with section 18 of the Residence Act permits one to recognise that
- the vast majority (43,415) of residence permits issued in the survey period 2011 to carry out skilled work was issued in accordance with a legal ordinance (section 18 subs. 4 sentence 1 of the Residence Act) (2010: 42,918),
- 1,407 (2010: 2,097) individuals received permission for skilled employment in the public interest (section 18 subs. 4 sentence 2 of the Residence Act), and
- another 15,604 residence permits (2010: 16,200) were issued to individuals who were engaged in employment without skilled vocational training (section 18 subs. 3 of the Residence Act).
This reveals a ratio of roughly three to one between residence permits issued for the purpose of skilled employment and employment not requiring skilled vocational training.
- 43 residence permits were accounted for by skilled persons whose deportation has been temporarily suspended (section 18 a subs. 1 No. 1 a of the Residence Act) in the survey period.
- Ten residence permits were issued for individuals with a recognised higher educational qualification (section 18 a subs. 1 No. 1 b of the Residence Act), and
- 18 residence permits were issued for specialist workers with qualified vocational training and three years’ uninterrupted employment (section 18 a subs. 2 No. 1 c of the Residence Act).
c) Settlement permits for highly-skilled workers (section 19 of the Residence Act)
679 settlement permits (2010: 584) were issued to highly-skilled workers in the survey period. 528 of these individuals (2010: 460) were already in Germany prior to 2011; 151 (2010: 124) were new arrivals from 1 January onwards. This indicates a considerable increase in the number of settlement permits for highly-skilled workers issued to new arrivals, who are particularly significant for the German economy, albeit the level remains low.
d) Residence permits for research purposes (section 20 of the Residence Act)
A total of 368 residence permits (2010: 339) were issued in the survey period 2011 for the purpose of research. Two of these residence permits were accounted for by the purpose of issuing in accordance with section 20 subs. 5 of the Residence Act to researchers who had been admitted in another EU Member State.
e) Residence permits for self-employment (section 21 of the Residence Act)
The number of residence permits issued for self-employment totalled 3,286 (2010: 3,133) in the survey period. This means that there was a roughly 13 percent increase in this area. 2,718 permits were issued to individuals who had already entered the country prior to the start of 2011 (2010: 2,609), whilst 568 residence permits were issued to new arrivals (2010: 524).
The differentiation which has been possible in the Central Register of Foreigners since February 2009 permits one to recognise that
- 868 residence permits (2010: 1,037) were issued because of a superordinate economic interest (section 21 subs. 1 of the Residence Act),
- 125 residence permits (2010: 98) were issued on the basis of mutual relaxations of regime under international law (section 21 subs. 2 of the Residence Act), and
- 2,293 residence permits (2010: 1,998) were issued for the purposes of self-employment (section 21 subs. 5 of the Residence Act).
f) Individuals moving abroad or to an unknown location (with residence permits in accordance with sections 16 subs. 4, 18, 20 or 21 of the Residence Act)
At a total of 905 in the survey period from January to October 2011, fewer individuals moved abroad or to an unknown location to whom residence permits had previously been issued in accordance with the above employment-specific provisions of the Residence Act than in the same period in the previous year. These are
- 31 residence permits (2010: 41) for looking for work after studies (section 16 subs. 4 of the Residence Act),
855 residence permits (2010: 855) for the purpose of employment (section 18 of the Residence Act), of whom
- 182 residence permits not requiring qualified vocational training (section 18 subs. 3 of the Residence Act), and
- 600 residence permits requiring skilled vocational training (section 18 subs. 4 of the Residence Act),
- 1 residence permit (2010: 4) for the purpose of research (section 20 of the Residence Act), and
- 18 residence permits (2010: 22) for the purpose of self-employment (section 21 of the Residence Act).
Other types of migration
The description below refers to those types of immigration which are relevant in a more or less close connection with the above migration for work purposes or for the labour market.
a) Residence permits because of the subsequent immigration of dependent family members to join Germans (section 28 of the Residence Act)
A total of 123,614 residence permits were issued on this legal basis from January to October 2011, 113,298 of which to individuals who had already entered prior to 2011, and 10,316 to individuals whose entry date was in 2011. In comparison with the comparison period in 2010 (with a total of 148,951 residence permits, of which 133,814 were issued to persons entering prior to 2010, and 15,137 to persons entering in 2010), fewer titles were issued both to individuals who had already come to Germany prior to 2011 and to those who entered Germany in this year.
b) Residence permits because of spousal reunification (section 30 of the Residence Act)
A further focus of family-specific immigration is spousal reunification. In accordance with the relevant legal provisions, a total of 48,204 residence permits were issued in the survey period 2011. This was 10,338 residence permits fewer than in 2010, when there were a total of 58,542 residence permits. The year-on-year fall of approx. 18 percent was largely caused by titles being issued to persons having entered prior to the respective survey period.
c) Residence permits because of the subsequent immigration of parents (section 36 subs. 1 of the Residence Act)
116 residence permits (2010: 179) were issued in accordance with this legal basis in the survey period.
d) Residence permits because of acceptance by the highest Land authority (section 23 subs. 1 of the Residence Act)
The number of titles issued in accordance with this legal basis remains high, at 16,202 residence permits in the survey period. These are however not the first titles to be issued, but ones which have been re-issued on the basis of the resolution of the Conference of Ministers of the Interior of 5 December 2009 on the right to remain.
e) Residence permits for persons with long-term residence rights in other EU States (section 38 a of the Residence Act)
781 residence permits were issued in accordance with this legal basis in the survey period (2010: 362 residence permits).
f) Residence permits on probation (section 104 a subs. 1 sentence 1 of the Residence Act)
214 residence permits were issued in accordance with this legal basis in the survey period in the context of the regulation on existing cases. The value for comparison from 2010, with 582 titles issued, shows that this number has fallen considerably.
g) Residence permits because of acceptance by the highest Land authority in conjunction with transitional regulations/regulations on existing cases (section 23 subs. 1 sentence 1 in conjunction with section 104 of the Residence Act)
A total of 1,372 residence permits were issued in accordance with this legal basis in the survey period 2011; this number has also fallen considerably on a year-on-year basis as against 2010 (3,405).
The number of residence permits issued nonetheless remains very high. These are however not the first titles issued, but titles re-issued on the basis of the resolution of the Conference of Ministers of the Interior of 5 December 2009 on the right to remain.
