Germany to let more migrants earn a living

New rules enabling work for asylum seekers will address labor shortages

Migrants in Germany will soon be allowed to work while their claims for asylum are processed, after the country's Cabinet approved the idea on Wednesday.

Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told the state-owned German news agency Deutsche Welle that migrants will be allowed to work after spending between three and six months in the country. Previously, they were forced to wait for at least nine months.

"This is, above all, about the people who are already here, where we think getting them into work early for reasons of integration is helpful ... and of course, it leads to acceptance in the rest of the population if people who come here also work," she said.

Faeser added that the proposed change would also help Germany deal with a labor shortage that threatens to stifle production.

"We must also use, as best we can, the professional potential and qualification of people who already live in Germany," she said. "To do that, we must get them into work as quickly as possible."

Parliament will now debate the idea, which Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said was largely aimed at getting migrants "out of the social system and into employment".

Germany's Cabinet also vowed this week to crack down harder on the people-smugglers who bring migrants into the country illegally.The intended crackdown, which also needs the approval of Parliament, includes a proposal to make most offenses connected to people-smuggling punishable by at least one year in custody. Previously, the minimum term had been six months. Germany's Cabinet also backed a proposed change that will mean people-smugglers involved in incidents in which a migrant dies can be punished by sentences of between 10 years and life. Currently, sentences range from three years to 15 years.

Germany's Cabinet also backed proposals to make it easier for migrants who have had their asylum requests denied to be deported, and for them to be denied the right to work while they are awaiting deportation.

"Those who come from safe countries, whose asylum applications are clearly unfounded, or who refuse to clarify their identity, they will not be allowed to work," Faeser explained.

The government has also called for changes in the country's laws, to allow the police to routinely tap the phones of suspected peoplesmugglers.

Germany's ruling coalition government has been under heavy pressure to deal with the huge influx of migrants that have entered the country in recent years, largely from the Middle East and Africa.The large number of irregular arrivals has fueled resentment among many Germans, and led to a rise in the popularity of far-right political parties.

The migration issue was one of the main reasons why Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition performed poorly in state elections last month, the Associated Press news agency reported.

The issue is likely to be front and center when Scholz meets Germany's 16 state governors on Monday, with many likely to want assurances from him that he will find ways to ensure the issue ceases to be a vote-winner for far-right political rivals.

The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said there has been 87,777 asylum applications so far this year, and that there were 244,132 applications in 2022.