"Anyone who wants to successfully attract people must also know what would make them leave. It is about long-term retention through fair chances, reliable administrative procedures, good support and an environment that allows people to have long-term prospects." This is the conclusion of Laura Gossner from the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research on the topic of qualified personnel who quickly leave Germany.
The organization conducted a survey among people between the ages of 18 and 65 who arrived in the Federal Republic by April 2025. The purpose of the study: to find out why they left so quickly afterwards and what the main reasons were. The survey shows that family relationships played a leading role. Discrimination is also cited as a reason. Many of the factors depend on politics - for example, bureaucracy, housing issues or language skills.
Young people prefer Spain or Switzerland
But who are the people who most often leave Germany? "These are usually the younger ones. They have lived in Germany for a shorter period of time and more often have partners and children abroad. They also rarely speak German, but they have excellent English skills,", labor market expert Theresa Koch told DW.
60% of those who have left Germany again return to their home countries, but the remaining 40% go to other countries. The most preferred are Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Croatia. "In terms of qualified specialists, we are competing with other European countries", points out Yulia Kosyakova, head of the department of migration, integration and international market research at the institute.
Bureaucracy is one of the main obstacles
Many of the criticisms that those who have left Germany make are not new: the excessively cumbersome procedures for processing documents for citizenship, for residence status in the country, for a visa or for the recognition of foreign qualifications. Migrants often have to wait a long time for German services to respond to their applications. High fees for processing documents are also cited, as is insufficient support when it comes to work and careers - for example, from employment agencies, city authorities or employers.
All this makes long-term planning, access to work and the connection with Germany difficult, says Laura Gosner. Administrative procedures affect immigrants' plans for their future in Germany. "If the procedure is too long, incomprehensible or difficult to access, many people think about their prospects of staying," the expert points out. "We see that migrants who have more negative experiences with these procedures in Germany are less likely to feel welcome in the country."
Language remains the key to the German labor market
"The answer to the question of why people pack their bags again after a short stay in the country is clear," Tilman Frank, head of the company TalentOrange GmbH, which has already hired a number of qualified specialists for work in Germany, told DW. "If you want to settle in Germany and in particular in the labor market, the key is the language", he points out.
"If in Germany the foreigner has contact with the right people and speaks the language sufficiently, there are no problems, but otherwise - they will definitely be there. Then the probability of people leaving is relatively high. That is why we take care to give our staff the opportunity to master the language and direct them to the right contacts for them. Then the quotas of those who stay are very high."
Hunger for caregivers and caretakers of the elderly
Currently, opportunities to live in Germany are mostly sought by people from Kenya, India and Vietnam. In Kenya, the Ministry of Labor is forcing the departure of young unemployed people, and India and Vietnam are getting involved, because the chance for their children to acquire qualifications in Germany is attractive to parents there. In the Federal Republic, the need for personnel is particularly high in the field of elderly care.
That is why Tilman Frank is calling on the government to promote German language training in the home countries. "Attempts to come to Germany without knowledge of German do not work in the long term. The same is true of international student programs where students study in English, and people think they can work in Germany without German. But that does not work so well."
There are other problems - for example, when foreign workers do not get an adequate job position in Germany. "It happens, for example, that people who worked in intensive care units in their homeland are appointed as caregivers for the elderly in Germany." This probably does not satisfy some of them for long.
Is there a chance of change?
Added to all this are the paradoxes of the German bureaucratic jungle, which trip up many arrivals. For example, it happens that two officials give two different opinions and deadlines for the same visa application, says Frank.
That is why professional consultations are mandatory, and yet politicians have also understood in the meantime that international specialists, in addition to coming, must also stay.
"The Federal Employment Agency has introduced a central system that is more secure and reliable. The creation of a "Work and Stay" agency at the federal level is also planned," Frank points out.
But in operational terms, the lack of administrative staff creates many difficulties. "We are making progress with digitalization, but very slowly and with the individual efforts of individual provinces or municipalities. There is still no unified approach."
Author: Oliver Pieper