From temporary guests to permanent settlers?

Abstract

"From the 1960s on, German industry increasingly needed labour. So, recruitment agreements for 'guestworkers' were concluded with a number of Mediterranean countries. At that time, the prevaiiling opinion was that temporary immigration would be in the interests of all the parties involved: German firms would get cheap labour, the 'guestworkers' would earn money and take their savings home, and the countries of origin would benefit from the remittances their workers would send home from abroad and also from the knowledge they brought back with them. This ideal scenario turned out to be a pipe-dream. There were certainly advantages but there were also costs. Above all, however, the longer the length of stay, the more improbable a return to the homeland became (illusion of return). Moreover, the rotation principle decided upon at the outset was never strictly enforced. It was also not in the employers' interest to send back a trained foreign worker after just one or two years. So, even though the majority of 'guestworkers' did go home, still a well-known saying in migration research circles was proved true: 'there is nothing more permanent than a temporary migrant worker'. After the 1973 oil crisis and price hike, in principle a recruitment ban was introduced on workers from non-EU countries. This was followed by a period of restrictive regulations which, for a number of reasons - for instance, family reunification was not discontinued - failed to prevent any further increase in the foreign population, which had meanwhile risen to 7,3 million. New immigrant groups appeared, such as asylum-seekers, refugees, immigrants of German origin from Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and the former Soviet Union. So-called project workers from CEECs form a separate group. These workers have been able to carry out fixed-term projects in Germany with their firms since the beginning of the nineties (1990s). With the improving labour market and only occasional shortages of skilled labour, it is only recently that a new immigration situation arose. Since August 2000, there has been an inflow quota of 10,000 (if necessary, 20,000) foreign IT specialists who, as things now stand, may work in Germany for 5 years. This prompted an immigration debate which raises questions that every immigration policy has to answer: who? how many? from where? for how long? Finally, on the basis of the experience gained from the previous immigration programmes, this paper attempts to provide conclusions for a more comprehensive immigration approach which is more labour market-oriented." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Werner, H. (2001): From temporary guests to permanent settlers? A review of the German experience. (International Migration Papers 42), Geneva, 29 p., Anhang.