Germany as Migration Destination

For many international migrants Germany seems a desirable destination because of its stable economy. In 1994 its GDP per head was more than $25,000 per year; compared to some of Germany's neighbor countries, like Poland, which GDP was $5,336 and the Czech Republic which had a GDP of $7,824 in the same year (U.S. Department of Commerce 835), Germany is a wealthy country and is, therefore, an attractive state to migrate to. In fact, as a survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation reveals, in 2012 Germany has become the second most desirable destination to move to permanently after the USA. Financial crises in the Southern European states led people to leave their home countries and migrate to Germany. Permanent migration rose 38% from 2009 to 2012, and in 2012 400,000 permanent migrants came to Germany. One in three migrants in Europe is moving to Germany now; in 2007 one out of ten moved to the nation. Consequently, Germany is undergoing a migration boom (Webb).

Back in the 1950s Germany did not have enough working force. Therefore, the Foreign Ministry started to recruit workers from Italy, Spain, Turkey and Yugoslavia. But they were not regarded as a problem back then because they were scarce and only stayed for a few years after being replaced by new ones who also stayed for a short amount of time. Additionally, they were mostly living in barracks which were close to their working place, therefore, many Germans did not even interact with them (O'Brien 1069-1070). Today migration has changed. There are about 7 million foreigners (Spiegel) and around 2 million refugees living in Germany (Schmalz-Jacobsen 92). International migrants who live in Germany do now have the right to unite their families, consequently, it became hard to control and count the number of new permanent immigrants. Nevertheless, even though families are now allowed to be united, immigration control in Germany still accurately selects who is permitted to enter the country permanently, and only a small amount of people is actually able to stay in Germany (Vogel 390).

There have been many complains by German people that immigrants take away German workplaces and exploit their welfare system because if immigrants do not succeed in finding or keeping their job, they have the exact same rights as Germans to benefit from Germany's welfare apparatus. However, scholarship shows that immigrants rather add to Germany's economy, or do not benefit more from it than they are supposed to (Simon). Additionally, immigrants without a German passport do not have the right to vote or apply for a position in the public office (O'Brien 1067). Hence, the assumptions mentioned above are not justified. Still, as Peter O'Brien puts it, migration in Germany has its “risks produced by the success of various modern projects designed to deal with migration - the economy so strong that it attracts more people than it can probably sustain, the welfare state so generous but so indebted that it potentially threatens the welfare of all, and the polity so liberal that it promotes illiberalism” (1074). Furthermore, there is still much illegal immigration to Germany and the state is not able to cope with this problem because employers are always looking for cheap labor and consumers are interested in low prices. For this reason, many illegal foreigners still enter the country and work there, while being excluded from substantial rights (Vogel 393).

Xenia Suschkow 

Works Cited:

"Einwanderungsland Deutschland: Der Anteil von Auslaendern und Migranten an der Bevoelkerung" spiegel. Spiegel Online GmbH, 15 October 2010. Web 8 November 2014. 

Leggewie, Claus. Druck von Rechts. Munich: Beck, 1993. Print.

O'Brien, Peter."Migration and Its Risks." International Migration Review 30.4 (Winter 1996): 1067-1077. Print.

Schmalz-Jacobsen, Cornelia. Bericht der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung fuer die Belange der Auslaender ueber die Lage der Auslaender in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Bonn: Beauftragte der Bundesregierung fuer die Belange der Auslaender, 1994. Print.

Simon, Julian. The Economic Consequences of Immigration. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1989. Print.

U.S. Department of Commerce. Statistical Abstracts of the United States 1996. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1996. Print.

Vogel, Dita. "Migration Control in Germany and the United States." International Migration Review 34.2 (Summer 2000): 390-422. Print.

Webb, Alex. "Germany Top Migration Land After U.S. in New OECD Ranking." bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P., 20 May 2014. Web 8 November 2014.