By Oula Mahfouz
Recently, many young people have enrolled at the German language institutes in the Syrian capital of Damascus—especially medical and nursing students. They hope to get a job abroad so they can leave the country.
There are various reasons for the increasing migration from the areas of the Syrian regime, such as bypassing compulsory military service, searching for a safe place and looking for job opportunities. The economic situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. There are hardly any jobs.
Migration from Syria is fraught with great difficulties. However, doctors are an exception. They have the possibility to obtain travel visas to Germany as professionals. However, there are certain conditions, first of all to reach the highest possible level of the German language.
According to local media, the Goethe Institute in Damascus was the only institute that specialized in teaching the German language and fully met the demand. However, it has been closed since 2012. Today, there are more than 80 private language schools. Students have to register early to get places.
Ahmad, a medical student from Tübingen, knows from his own experience: “It can be a challenge to learn a language like German.” That’s especially true for people from a different language environment, he said. “It takes time, patience and effort to reach a high level of language proficiency, which is necessary to start a career in Germany,” Ahmad says.
In response to the shortage of skilled workers, Germany granted facilitation for the immigration of foreign skilled workers in 2020. At the end of 2021, some 5,404 Syrian doctors were practicing in Germany. They made up the largest group of foreign doctors practicing in the country, according to the German Medical Association.
On March 29, 2023, the German Cabinet approved a bill to reform the Skilled Worker Immigration Act. This is intended to make it easier for foreign specialists to enter the German labor market in the future. The Bundesrat and Bundestag still have to decide on the draft.
“We want skilled workers to come to Germany quickly and get a head start. We want to remove bureaucratic hurdles. If people bring professional experience or personal potential with them, we will make it possible for them to gain a foothold in our labor market,” said Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser.
Detailed information can be found at:
https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/pressemitteilungen/DE/2023/03/fachkraefte-kabinett.html
And
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/erinnern-und-gedenken/fachkraefteeinwanderungsgesetz-2182168
tun23032104
www.tuenews.de
Damaskus. Foto: Arwa Abdulwahed.
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