Germany to halve work‑visa quota for Western Balkans from 1 January 2027

Germany plans to cut the annual work-visa quota for Western Balkan nationals in half from 50,000 to 25,000 starting 1 January 2027, a change that industry groups warn will shrink opportunities for Macedonian and regional workers.

The reduction is part of a 34-point reform package agreed by the ruling coalition of CDU/CSU and SPD. Under the existing "Western Balkans rule," citizens of North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo may take jobs in Germany when they have a valid employment contract, even for positions that do not require formal qualifications.

Construction sector raises alarm

The Central Association of the German Construction Industry (ZDB) says the new ceiling would cause an acute labour shortage in building trades. The association warned that the construction sector receives about 30 percent of visas issued under the rule and said the industry could lose some 8,000 workers by the end of the year.

As ZDB put it: "This would be a heavy blow to the construction industry. Around 30 percent of these visas go to the construction sector. Every seventh worker on construction sites in Germany has a foreign passport. The government must not dismantle such a successful model that has been working since 2016."

German employers are urging Berlin to keep the quota at least at 50,000 per year and to speed up and digitise visa procedures at embassies. Demand from the Western Balkans is high: the quota for 2025 was exhausted already in November, and research from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) shows that 98% of people who arrived under the rule found work and do not draw social assistance.

Industry and public-sector shortages in Germany are extensive: official figures point to a shortfall of about 125,500 healthcare workers (nurses and carers), 120,000 teachers and educators in schools and kindergartens, 112,000 vacancies in municipal administrations, and some 92,000 positions lacking in the police and the Bundeswehr.

The president of dbb, Folker Gajer, warned that changed security needs and increased supervisory duties make filling those posts urgent. At the same time, structural shifts in Germany's private and industrial sectors — including companies refitting factories for defence-related production — are changing the profile of workers in demand, roles that have often been filled by labour from the Balkans.

Photo: Ilustracija (AI)