It appears that skilled workers from third countries are increasingly succeeding in acquiring fake work visas for Germany, according to an internal warning from the Federal Police, reported by the “Spiegel”.
Through “targeted questioning”, fraudsters could be exposed at border controls, the document states. According to the warning, the authorities are registering an increasing number of cases in which migrants are successfully applying for visas at German embassies and consulates under the Skilled Worker Immigration Act, submitting falsified documents, such as altered employment and training contracts, fake documents from foreign authorities, or false school certificates.
During police controls, it has been found that visa holders in some cases did not even know their supposed employer and could only communicate in their native language. The Federal Police Headquarters in Potsdam stated in response to a “Spiegel” inquiry that the affected embassies and consulates are mainly located in North and East Africa, as well as in Asia. No information on the number of cases is available, as the phenomenon is not statistically recorded.
The Federal Police attributes the growing misuse to the “legitimized access to the German labor market” and the resulting high volume of applications. Two years ago, the government coalition had introduced the new law, aiming to make it easier for qualified foreigners to come to Germany to work by lowering the requirements and reducing bureaucracy in the application process.