Work-and-stay agency: What is really planned

The discussion surrounding the so-called "Work and Stay Agency" is attracting attention – and raising many questions. The German government has announced initial details about this new institution as part of its fiscal and structural plan for 2025 to 2029. What's behind it? We break down the key points.

Single access point for professionals

The further development of the Skilled Immigration Act aims to make Germany more attractive to international skilled workers. This includes the establishment of a digital "work and stay" agency . This will not be a new federal agency, but will primarily serve as a central entry point for skilled immigration—a kind of digital contact point.

The objective is clear: to simplify, digitize, and centralize processes. The agency is intended to be the point of contact for skilled workers , consolidate applications via a central IT platform, and contribute to the recognition of foreign professional qualifications. However, a fundamental shift in existing responsibilities – perhaps to the detriment of states or municipalities – is unlikely to be planned.

Reality check: Government practice today

The current reality in immigration procedures often looks different. Lawyers vividly describe the problems encountered in practice: Submitted applications remain unprocessed, security requests must be resubmitted after six months, and documents are often outdated. Frustration is immense – also because it creates the impression that the applicants are to blame. This unrealistic view is dangerous, especially when official documents imply that a lack of efficiency is primarily due to negligence on the part of the migrants. Rather, practice shows that the structural deficiencies often lie with the administration .

Bureaucratic jungle becomes even more complicated

In Germany, the visa process is already an inscrutable bureaucratic labyrinth for many affected parties . Numerous different authorities with different responsibilities, complicated forms, multilingual requirements, and long waiting times regularly cause uncertainty and frustration for applicants. The proposal to introduce another "central office" or "contact point" sounds at first glance like a relief – but in reality threatens to exacerbate the existing bureaucratic chaos in migration law. Instead of creating clarity, an additional authority would create new interfaces, conflicts of jurisdiction, and coordination problems. Many applicants already do not know whether they should contact the German diplomatic mission abroad, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, the local immigration authority, or specialized central offices. If another authority is added, the system will become even more fragmented – with the result that procedures take longer, the frequency of errors increases, and people seeking legal advice are even more dependent on legal assistance.

Conclusion: Digitalization is not a panacea

The idea of a digital "work-and-stay" agency makes sense in principle – provided it is equipped with the necessary resources, interfaces, and responsibilities. A central platform can indeed contribute to making recognition and migration procedures more efficient. However, it is crucial that digitalization should not be used to conceal structural deficiencies in administrative practices or increase legal hurdles. A work-and-stay agency can be useful as long as administrative tasks are consolidated instead of creating a new shadow bureaucracy.