Some 25,000 Serbians, particularly medical staff, apply for German work visas every year in search of better working conditions and few reasons to remain in the country.
According to recent data, the German Federal Employment Agency annually issues up to 25,000 visas for Serbian nationals. As demand for visas is far outstripping the processing capacities, allocation is made via computer-controlled random selection, with health workers amongst those most likely to leave.
EURACTIV Serbia spoke to several individuals who have sought better opportunities in Germany. M.F. got a job in Germany four years ago after almost two decades of working as a nurse in Belgrade. Due to low salaries, she decided to look for a job abroad.
“I passed the B1 German language, got a work visa and a job in a clinic with much better conditions. I have been here for five years, and I intend to stay here,” she said.
Her plans include further education. “I hope that my children, who stayed in Serbia with my ex-husband, will come here after finishing school. Most of my friends left Serbia, so there are fewer reasons to return there,” she added.
Another nurse from Serbia, now working in Germany, T, said, “In Serbia, I had to work two and sometimes three jobs to provide for my family. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I decided to leave.”
She found work through a job agency with her partner, who is also a medical technician.
“I arrived in Germany in September 2019. In six months, I passed the necessary exams and the B2 level of German language. It wasn’t easy for me to work, learn the language, and all that in a foreign country during the COVID-19 pandemic. I worked in that clinic for two years and decided to apply for a job in a clinic in Stuttgart,” she told EURACTIV.
Another citizen, GT, has recently received a visa extension, and she will soon apply for a visa for an unlimited stay in Germany.
“I completed an additional education for intensive patient care. I plan to stay here for at least another year. Unfortunately, In Serbia, nothing has changed regarding improving working conditions, which demotivates me to return. I am grateful to the agency that helped me find a job in Germany because now I see you can live with dignity,” she concludes.
(Milena Antonijević | EURACTIV.rs)
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