Germany sets cornerstones for liberal migration reforms

Germany’s ruling coalition has put the cornerstones in place to change the immigration system to make the country more attractive for skilled workers and fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in the labour market, a government source told Reuters on Friday.
The reforms include introducing a so-called “opportunity card” which will entitle people to look for jobs in Germany based on a points system, with language skills, professional experience and connection to Germany among the criteria, the source said.
Germany’s interior and labour ministers want to turn Europe’s biggest economy into an immigration destination, as the need for skilled labour increases with the aging population posing a demographic time bomb for Germany’s public pension system and risk for economic growth.