Abstract

The so-called „Western Balkans regulation“ has created new ways of legal labor migration to Germany for citizens from West Balkan states. The change in the employment regulation enables access to the German labor market without setting qualification requirements, given that a concrete offer of employment exists. The project analyzes the effects of this provision and is structured in two parts. In the quantitative part, the process of migrant integration will be investigated by means of an analysis of register data. The qualitative part uses case studies and qualitative interviews to probe the motives, conditions and processes that underly the creation and persistence of employment in the framework of the Western Balkans regulation.