White-collar or high-skilled emigration from India is not new. As per the World Migration Report 2020, India is the country of origin of the largest number of international migrants, with 17.5 million Indians living abroad, followed by Mexico and China. But what is perhaps new and interesting is that Indians are now choosing new countries to immigrate to. While the top destination is still the United States of America, the European Union with its blue card has emerged as a formidable competitor.
Interestingly, Germany has so far welcomed the most number of white collar immigrants from a third country to live and work there as blue card holders and Indian migrants top the chart. Data released by Institut der deutschen Wirtschaf show that between 2010 and 2020, the total number of Indians in Germany (57.6% of whom are white-collar immigrants) has increased from 48,000 to 1,51,000. The number of Indian students joining German universities has gone up in the last two years from 25,149 to 33,753. It is thus safe to say that the blue card is gaining popularity among Indians. It would not be ambitious to project that this number will continue to grow given the current unemployment rate in India and the labour shortages in Germany.
There are several reasons behind the popularity of the blue card. It not only offers work permits to potential employees but also to their spouses. The immigration pathway is less bureaucratic as well; for instance, migrants are able to move as a family (unlike in other cases where they have to apply for a family reunion visa which takes months to process). This framework has been popular among Indians in their mid-30s, who move with small children and partners with careers. The blue card is thus highly in demand among Indians choosing to emigrate to Germany for sophisticated labour laws, equality in gender relations, and less political polarization affecting everyday lives.
In a post-pandemic global order, immigrants are increasingly interested in long term opportunities rather than short-term gains, and family matters continue to weigh as much as employment. In the light of this, Germany has emerged as a popular destination for Indians because of the work-life balance. It is also interesting to witness that Indian students are choosing Germany, often over other popular education destinations. This is because the tuition fees at German universities are nominal in comparison to, say, the US. In the last 10 years, Germany has been more open to English language programmes at university levels. But the Indian students emigrating to Germany for higher education are future blue card holders. For these students, the promise of the blue card is not just immediate but futuristic.
Given the growing success of the blue card, the German government has announced an opportunity card called Chancenkarte, as an extension of the existing job-seekers’ visa. The expectation is that this will increase white-collar immigration from non-EU countries to live and work in Germany. As the visibility of Indian immigrants in Germany continues to grow and the country simplifies its permanent residency and citizenship processes, it is expected that Indians will emerge as a formidable community a decade from now. With growing rightwing waves in the European Union on the one hand and the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, claiming that Germany will soon be an immigrant society on the other, it would be interesting to witness the role of Indian immigrants there.
Having said that, one concern that Indians in Germany are increasingly grappling with is the transnational practice of elderly care of parents in the home country. Unlike Canada and the US, Germany is yet to make policy shifts where immigrants’ (outside the European Union) parents can easily get long-term visas. This could impact India’s immigration momentum to Germany in the long run.
Amrita Datta is a Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Siegen. Arani Basu is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Krea University
