Study: One-third of International students remain long-term in Germany

It is reported that Germany has the highest foreign student retention rates in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A large proportion of international students extend their stay in Germany for a long period, contributing to the country’s labour market.  

The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), which is a federal authority of Germany, recently did a study that uncovered new figures between the years 2006 and 2021. It is found that between the aforementioned years, 612,000 residence permits have been issued to people in Germany. This means that more than half a million people applied for residence in the country in 15 years. Furthermore, it is to be noted that as per the Central Register of Foreigners, 184,200 students received residence permits, out of which 48 per cent remained in the country after 5 years. Additionally, after 10 years, 38 per cent of them continued to stay in the country. 

The study also found the visible contribution of international students to Germany’s labour market. In fact, 32 per cent of 38 per cent of people who were still living in Germany had a temporary residence permit for employment. The same figures also showed that the people who had German citizenship and those who had a residence permit for family reasons amounted to 28 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. 

Source: Destatis, 2022

Expanding on the context, it is also found that the place from which a significant number of people passed their naturalisation test to get on a German passport was Cameroon. The naturalisation test in Germany is a test that is needed to be taken for the acquisition of German citizenship. Now, of these students, 50 per cent had citizenship after 10 years. 

It was also noted that 32 per cent of students from India were also likely to become naturalised German citizens. 

These findings suggest the impact of global education on every aspect of society, including its labour market and economic progression. The study calls on further research and improvement of access to education all around the world. As International Students not only support themselves but also the country they’re immigrating to, ample opportunities and resources should be made available to them. 

Follow Leverage Edu News Updates for more such interesting articles.