(Bloomberg) —
Germany is seeking to attract skilled Indian workers, its envoy said, as US President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa crackdown rattles India’s software industry and raises tensions with Washington.
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Our migration policy is “reliable, it’s modern and it’s predictable,” said Philipp Ackermann, Germany’s ambassador to India and Bhutan, in a video on his X account. “We do not change our rules fundamentally overnight,” he said, emphasizing that Indians will find both stability and “great job opportunities” in the European nation.
Germany’s outreach comes just days after Trump imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications for skilled workers — a move that disproportionately affects Indians, who account for two-thirds of such visas. The policy threatens India’s $280 billion tech services industry, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
At the same time, the German economy needs hundreds of thousands of immigrants a year to counter the negative impact from its aging society. Ackermann opened the message by noting that Indians are among the top earners in Germany.
“The average Indian working in Germany earns more than the average German working in Germany,” he said. “And that’s pretty good news. Because a high salary means that Indians are contributing big-time to our society and our welfare.”
The UK is also weighing plans to attract top global talent, even as the US moves in the opposite direction. The country is exploring proposals to drop some visa fees for top global talent, the Financial Times reported this week, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The European Union has also raised the number of scholarships offered to Indian students in recent years, it said in a statement earlier this year.
Mobility of skilled workers is critical to India’s services exports, which account for nearly half of the country’s total trade in goods and services, according to official data. New Delhi is pushing for easier movement of professionals in ongoing trade negotiations with the European Union. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a recent visit that he’s hopeful a free trade agreement between the EU and India could be concluded as early as this autumn.
Europe — particularly Germany — has emerged as a key destination for Indian talent, with Indians making up 13% of all international students in 2023–24, according to the German Academic Exchange Service. According to a study shared by the German embassy in India, at the beginning of 2025, there were around 280,000 Indian nationals living in Germany as permanent residents.
(Bloomberg) —
Germany is seeking to attract skilled Indian workers, its envoy said, as US President Donald Trump’s H-1B visa crackdown rattles India’s software industry and raises tensions with Washington.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Our migration policy is “reliable, it’s modern and it’s predictable,” said Philipp Ackermann, Germany’s ambassador to India and Bhutan, in a video on his X account. “We do not change our rules fundamentally overnight,” he said, emphasizing that Indians will find both stability and “great job opportunities” in the European nation.
Germany’s outreach comes just days after Trump imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications for skilled workers — a move that disproportionately affects Indians, who account for two-thirds of such visas. The policy threatens India’s $280 billion tech services industry, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
At the same time, the German economy needs hundreds of thousands of immigrants a year to counter the negative impact from its aging society. Ackermann opened the message by noting that Indians are among the top earners in Germany.
“The average Indian working in Germany earns more than the average German working in Germany,” he said. “And that’s pretty good news. Because a high salary means that Indians are contributing big-time to our society and our welfare.”
The UK is also weighing plans to attract top global talent, even as the US moves in the opposite direction. The country is exploring proposals to drop some visa fees for top global talent, the Financial Times reported this week, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The European Union has also raised the number of scholarships offered to Indian students in recent years, it said in a statement earlier this year.
Mobility of skilled workers is critical to India’s services exports, which account for nearly half of the country’s total trade in goods and services, according to official data. New Delhi is pushing for easier movement of professionals in ongoing trade negotiations with the European Union. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said during a recent visit that he’s hopeful a free trade agreement between the EU and India could be concluded as early as this autumn.
Europe — particularly Germany — has emerged as a key destination for Indian talent, with Indians making up 13% of all international students in 2023–24, according to the German Academic Exchange Service. According to a study shared by the German embassy in India, at the beginning of 2025, there were around 280,000 Indian nationals living in Germany as permanent residents.
