What are the main sources of immigration law in Germany?
-The main source is the German Immigration Act (Zuwanderungsgesetz), which is composed of the German Residence Act (Aufenthaltsgesetz) for non-EU citizens and the EU Freedom of Movement Act (Freizügigkeitsgesetz/EU) for EU citizens. Basically different statutes apply to EU nationals, nationals of Switzerland and the European Economic Area (EEA, i.e. Liechtenstein, Norway or Iceland) on the one hand and third-country nationals on the other hand. If third-country nationals want to start an employment in Germany, the consent by the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) is required. Principally the consent shall be given, if (1) a provision gives access to the German labour market, (2) no adverse consequences for the labour market arise from the employment of foreign staff, (3) no employees entitled to preferential access to the labour market (Germans, EU citizens, citizens of EEA states) are available, and (4) the foreign worker is not employed on terms less favourable than those which apply to comparable German workers.
What authorities administer the corporate immigration system in Germany?
-The trade office (Gewerbeamt), Register of Commerce and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce. In some cases a certain approval is necessary, which depends on the branch. For example, in case of the setting up of a branch in the financial services sector, an approval by the Federal Agency for Financial Services Supervision (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht – BaFin) is required.
Originally published in the August 2014 edition of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Corporate Immigration; published by Global Legal Group Ltd, London.
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