7 hours agoKosovo's Long Expectation for Family Union in Germany
Periskopi(6 years ago)
(6 years ago)More than a year must be expected for families from Kosovo and Serbia to join their relatives in Germany. While in the embassies of Sarajevo and Tirana, waiting for a family union visa totals up to ten months in Skopje until eight months, writes DW, Albinfo.ch. The government gives these figures [...]
These figures are given by the German government in response to a written question, laid down by the Liberals' parliamentary group (FDP) in the German Parliament (Bundestag), on the state of digitisation of visa-making procedure under the Western Balkans regulation.
This means that the duration of waiting for a meeting at the embassy has lasted even longer, from an average of six to eight months that it had been until March of this year for a family union visa, as noted earlier (April 2020) by a study of the privatisation of the Labour Agency for the Western Balkans.
Pandemie Delay
The German government argues this extension with the closure of embassies during Covid 19. Since July 2, 2020, embassies have again begun to give visas on a series of justified cases, such as family union. In addition to the closure of embassies, there are hygiene measures that slow even more the visa - giving procedure. “So for example, the number of people who should simultaneously be in the waiting offices and in visa-giving sports is limited, which makes the waiting time until the embassy meeting become longer”, the government argues in its response.
Otherwise, it is with those who come to Germany with jobs. In Belgrade alone, they must wait two to three months -- and in Tirana until three months -- until they receive an embassy meeting, it is further recorded in response. At other consulates in the Western Balkans, there is no need for wait for a working visa.
Adjusting Western Balkans
On August 26, 2020, the German government approved the extension of the so-called Western Balkan Order. It also allows low - qualified people to come to Germany to work if they have a job contract.
Unlike the current regulation, which exists since 2016, the subsequent regulation, which is expected to take effect on January 1, 2021, envisions a deficit of 25,000 per year. According to the liberal opposition party, extending the Western Balkan regulation, which is so economically valid, was the right move, but not limiting the number of people.
The German government justifys this restrictive move with capacity in embassies. While liberals propose that, instead of limiting the number of immigrants, the most likely is that the German „ambas are given stronger support in visa processing“. Since 2021 Germany has decided to open a Federal Foreign Affairs Ent, but it is still unclear how much this office will deal with the visas of the Western Balkan Order.
The German government explains among other things in its response that the process of leaving the meeting at the embassy is completely digitised in all embassies. The requirements for both national and Schengen visas are submitted online: visa requirements and data are supplied with a digital code, by which they can be read directly from Germany's internal system. The same is true of fingerprints and photographs. The data is digitally processed and automated by the Federal Administration Ent. As Schengen visas are automatically processed, the documents necessary for national visas are still on the way from one office to another.
On October 9, 2020, the Western Balkans regulation will be applied for approval in the House of Lands (Bundesers). After crossing into Bundesrat, the regulation takes effect on January 1st, 2021.
