A City’s Calling Card? Foreigners’ Registration Offices and the Services They Offer Highly Skilled Immigrants.
SVR Info | August 2011
(Only available in German)
As the calling card for their city, foreigners' registration offices play a key role in the international competition to attract skilled foreign workers. But what can they actually do to compete for highly skilled immigrants and how well are their services adapted to this task? In this case study, the Expert Council evaluates the services of foreigners' registration offices for highly skilled workers in Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt and provides recommendations for further, across-the-board improvements. This includes becoming more service-oriented, processing work and residence permits more quickly, increasing transparency, improving language proficiency and acting as guides for newcomers. It is the first study for modernising foreigners' registration offices and administrative practices dealing with highly skilled migrants in Germany.
