Happy Birthday? The Green Card Turns Two

Two years ago, Germany's information technology sector was in a bind.

Thousands of positions were available, but no German qualified enough to fill them. So Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's government looked East - far East.

The result: The Green Card program, a radical change to the country's immigration policies which sought to bring in thousands of qualified IT experts, mainly from Central Asian countries such as India. On Thursday, August 1, the Green Card officially turned two.

Some 8,500 foreign IT experts are currently working in Germany, far below the tens of thousands Germany had envisioned, but an encouraging number nonetheless.

The new immigrants benefit from a radically streamlined immigration process Schröder's government set up for bringing non-EU nationals to work in the IT field. Upon arrival, they are offered five years unrestricted employment in a country famous for its stiff immigration policy.

Booming industry cooled off, what now?

At the time of the introduction, German firms estimated they needed roughly 200,000 new foreign employees a year to keep up with the then-booming industry.

But the present miserable state of the IT industry across the globe, and particularly in Germany, means that although many companies have been taking advantage of the programme by filling vacant positions, lack of business has left many Green Card holders twiddling their thumbs.

Apart from the weak job market and downturn in the economy, the successful applicant faces many problems. A different lifestyle, a different culture, and for many, a difficult language.

Many arrive without being able to speak German, and although the government has introduced schemes and conditions to ensure workers learn and have a working knowledge of the native tongue, the first few months can be hard. Above all, Green Card holders have had to get used to a different way of life by moving to Germany.

"People's attitudes are a problem"

Those who have found work through the Green Card programme have had varying experiences as part of the German workforce.

Salman Mahmood has been working with internet company Mercateo in Munich since 2000. After working in Britain and the United States, he has found his integration into German society to be difficult.

"I find that people's attitudes are a problem", Mahmood told DW-WORLD. "You don't see many friendly faces here. That was completely different in England and the US. If that doesn’t change, foreign experts just won't want to come to work in Germany."

Personal experiences aside, the Green Card programme has made life easier for many workers and companies alike by dispensing with much of the bureaucracy that dogged the previous immigration process.

Bettina Karsten, from the Human Resources department at telecommunications giant Ericsson Deutschland GmbH, has had more positive experiences with the Green Card scheme.

"We used to wait for months for the proper papers, and now we have them in one or two weeks," she said.

Deniz Yilmaz was one of the first employees with a Green Card at Ericsson.

For her, the new regulations came as a pleasant surprise. The Green Card process smoothed her transition from Istanbul student to technology worker in Germany while her company took care of most of the paperwork.

What next for the card in the current political climate?

So, two years of the Green Card have brought mutual benefits and problems to all those involved; employers and employees alike.

With immigration high on the policy list of politicians all over Europe at the moment, who can tell what changes the next two years will have in store for current and prospective card carriers?