Germany halves quotas: What awaits workers from the Western Balkans?

Germany will halve its annual quota for workers from the Western Balkans from 2027, restricting one route into the German labor market. However, according to Kosovo Online’s interlocutors, the measure will not stop emigration from the region.

Written by: Slobodan Cagic

As of January 1, 2027, Germany will halve the annual quota for workers from the Western Balkans under the so-called Western Balkans Regulation, reducing it from 50,000 to 25,000 people.

The measure had already been envisaged in the German government’s 2025 coalition agreement, while its implementation from the beginning of 2027 was additionally confirmed by the German government at a press conference on July 3, 2026.

At the end of September, the German Construction Industry Federation reacted to the planned quota reduction, warning of its potential consequences. The association said that the construction industry accounted for around 30 percent of visas issued under the program and that halving the quota could particularly affect a sector that relies heavily on workers from Western Balkan countries.

The Western Balkans Regulation applies to Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. According to Germany’s Federal Employment Agency, the regulation enables applicants to obtain a visa for employment in Germany without prior recognition of formal professional qualifications and, in principle, applies to almost all types of employment.

While German ministries point out that other routes are available for foreign workers and that the state does not direct them toward particular occupations, business representatives and experts warn that reducing the quota could make it more difficult to fill vacancies, encourage workers to seek opportunities in other markets and further exacerbate labor shortages in the Western Balkans.

Kosovo citizens received the most employment approvals under the Western Balkans Regulation last year

A spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) told Kosovo Online that in 2025 Kosovo citizens received the largest number of preliminary employment approvals under the Western Balkans Regulation—11,980.

They were followed by citizens of Albania with 10,345 approvals, North Macedonia with 9,917 and Serbia with 9,253. Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina received 7,525 preliminary approvals and citizens of Montenegro 980, bringing the total to exactly 50,000. These were preliminary approvals issued by the Federal Employment Agency, rather than the final number of visas issued.

In response to an inquiry from Kosovo Online, the German Federal Foreign Office said that a total of 33,731 visa applications were processed under the Western Balkans Regulation in 2025. These included 7,279 applications from Kosovo citizens, 6,929 from citizens of North Macedonia, 6,893 from Albanian citizens, 6,161 from citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5,837 from Serbian citizens and 632 from Montenegrin citizens.

The quota reduction will restrict this particular route into the German labor market, but the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs points out that other pathways are available for workers from third countries. These include short-term quota-based employment, special regulations for skilled workers with recognized vocational or university qualifications, and specific procedures for certain categories of workers, including caregivers and professional drivers.

Quota reduction will not solve Serbia’s labor shortage

Spokesperson for the Serbian Association of Employers Jelena Jevtovic told Kosovo Online that the announced reduction in Germany’s quota for Western Balkan workers from 50,000 to 25,000 annually would not solve Serbia’s labor shortage and that retaining workers required greater competitiveness in the domestic economy, higher productivity and higher wages.

“As far as workers are concerned, Germany has been one of the most sought-after labor markets for Serbian workers in recent decades, while at the same time it represents a challenge for our employers, given that workers who are also needed in our country are leaving,” Jevtovic told Kosovo Online.

According to her, the needs of the Serbian and German labor markets largely overlap, particularly in occupations already experiencing worker shortages.

“These include workers in construction, manufacturing, transport, logistics and hospitality, as well as all skilled trades, and this certainly represents a problem,” she said.

The departure of workers makes it even more difficult for domestic employers to find qualified staff, as they are competing not only with other companies in Serbia but also with employers in more economically developed countries.

“Serbia is short of many types of workers precisely because they are leaving for countries such as Germany. In addition to competing with other employers in Serbia to find qualified workers, Serbian employers also face competition from German employers and employers in all those Western countries,” Jevtovic explained.

As one way of enabling higher wages and easing pressure on the domestic labor market, the Serbian Association of Employers has for years advocated creating more favorable conditions for doing business.

In addition to economic measures, Jevtovic identified aligning education with the needs of the economy as another important prerequisite.

“Another important factor we have been emphasizing is reform of the education system, because the education system must be adapted to the needs of the labor market and train the professionals that the economy requires. No matter how willing an employer may be to hire someone, pay them a good salary and provide good working conditions, they simply cannot hire workers who do not exist,” she stressed.

Jevtovic believes the announced reduction in Germany’s quota could also serve as an incentive for domestic institutions to reconsider proposals put forward by employers.

The goal, she concluded, should be to give domestic workers more reasons to remain in Serbia rather than forcing employers to recruit workers from abroad because they are unable to fill vacancies.

Measure will not stop workers from leaving Kosovo

Pristina-based economics professor Shkumbin Misini told Kosovo Online that Germany’s reduction of the annual quota for workers from the Western Balkans from 50,000 to 25,000 would not stop workers from leaving the region. He warned that the reasons for emigration went beyond employment and salary levels and that Kosovo and other Western Balkan countries could face increasingly severe labor shortages in the coming years, forcing them to recruit workers from abroad.

The departure of workers from Kosovo and other Western Balkan countries in recent years has contributed to a decline in unemployment but, at the same time, has reduced the number of workers available to domestic economies, Misini assessed.

“Labor market trends over the past five years throughout the Western Balkans have led to a reduction in Kosovo’s workforce. This has also resulted in lower unemployment rates in the countries of the region. However, I believe other factors will also have an impact, because there is a strong desire among people to leave the Western Balkan countries due to dissatisfaction with conditions in their countries and uncertainty about the way they are governed,” Misini told Kosovo Online.

According to him, the decision to leave is determined not only by employment opportunities and salary levels, but also by quality of life, children’s future, healthcare and a sense of security.

For that reason, he believes the reduction in Germany’s quota will not halt the existing emigration trend. He particularly pointed to skilled trades in high demand, whose workers can also find employment in other European markets.

“The desire among Kosovo citizens to leave is very strong, particularly among those in skilled occupations, such as electricians, plumbers, construction workers and similar professions. The very fact that a restriction is being introduced shows that demand among citizens wishing to leave remains high,” he said.

Misini warned that unless policies and governance in the countries of the region changed, emigration could increasingly include people for whom income was not the main concern, but who were instead worried about security and healthcare.

“What I fear is that, unless the policies of Western Balkan countries and the way they are governed change, even people for whom salary is not a problem will begin to leave because they are concerned about insecurity and healthcare. They fear that in the near future they will not have stability in their own country, either in terms of national security or healthcare,” Misini said.

He identified the departure of highly educated and qualified people as one of the greatest risks, as it would make filling vacancies even more difficult in countries already facing a shrinking available workforce.

Citing a World Bank report, he said that the region’s need for foreign workers was expected to increase significantly.
Misini singled out Albania and Montenegro as examples of countries where the need for foreign workers was already evident.

He added that during the summer season there was strong demand for workers in those countries, including workers from Kosovo.

German government’s decision will hit Kosovo and Albania hardest

Aleksandra Bozinovska, Director of the Germany-focused employment agency “Kontekst” in Skopje, told Kosovo Online that the reduction in the annual quota for Western Balkan workers would affect Kosovo and Albania the most, where, according to her assessment, interest in moving to Germany for work was the highest. She said that despite the reduction in the number of available places, employment opportunities varied depending on the type of job, while workers’ experiences largely depended on how well prepared they were and whether their expectations were realistic.

According to her assessment, the processing of documents in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro generally proceeds without lengthy waiting periods, which she believes indicates lower demand compared with Kosovo and Albania.

“The reduction will hit Kosovo and Albania the hardest, in my view, because that is where people currently wait the longest to obtain work permits. In North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, documents are processed on a daily basis. My assessment is that there is not enough demand. The quota allocated to us is sufficient. Even if it is reduced, there may be a slight delay, but it will not be significant. In Kosovo and Albania, however, demand is enormous, and that is where the problem will be felt,” Bozinovska said.

When it comes to the types of jobs that will be available, she explained that the so-called Western Balkans Regulation does not channel workers exclusively toward occupations requiring specific qualifications. Employment opportunities exist across different sectors as long as places remain available within the quota.

Bozinovska said there was no single age group that predominated among people moving to Germany. Those choosing to leave include young people who are still studying, people who have already started families, as well as those approaching the age of 45, which she cited as an important threshold in the context of employment.

“There are all kinds of people. There are those approaching 45, young people who leave, students who work for several summers in a row, complete their studies, graduate and then, after some time, pack their bags and leave. People with families and children leave, young people leave—everyone is leaving,” Bozinovska said.

According to her, workers generally have positive experiences in Germany, although much depends on how well prepared they are before leaving, whether they know what kind of job awaits them and what conditions they can expect. Problems arise when candidates leave with unrealistic expectations or expect their employer to arrange everything for them in advance, including employment and accommodation.

Speaking about interest in moving to Germany for work this year, she said that demand remained, although the volume of business for employment agencies had declined over the past two years. She cited Germany’s economic situation as one of the reasons, explaining that German workers were now given priority in recruitment.

Bozinovska added that it was important to carefully select the jobs to which candidates were referred. As an example, she cited work at Amazon distribution centers, which attracts interest among people from the Balkans but which, in her assessment, could be extremely demanding because of the large number of packages workers were required to process and carry each day.

Halving the quota will not close the door, but it will create problems

Albanian economics and employment expert Eduard Djokutaj told Kosovo Online that Germany’s decision to halve its annual quota for workers from the Western Balkans from 2027 would not close the door to employment in the country, but would create problems for workers and countries in the region. According to him, the impact would vary from country to country depending on the number of people leaving and the occupations in which they worked, with healthcare, construction and tourism among the most represented sectors.

Djokutaj said that the quota reduction applied to the entire Western Balkans, particularly to workers who did not have specific professional qualifications but possessed skills required in the service sector and basic occupations.

“This decision does not close the door to employment in Germany, but the number of available places has been reduced. Germany is making plans because there are currently more than 170 occupations in the country experiencing labor shortages. It wants to achieve a better distribution of workers and planning that does not apply solely to the Balkan countries,” Djokutaj said.

In his assessment, the quota reduction could affect the conclusion of employment contracts, the placement of workers in the cities where they would be employed and the search for alternative employment opportunities. He also expects the decision could encourage countries in the region to reassess their domestic policies and strategies concerning the organized migration of their workforce.

Speaking about which countries could be most affected, Djokutaj pointed to Serbia and North Macedonia, as well as Albania, from which, according to him, a large number of workers had moved to Germany for extended periods.

He stressed that there were both similarities and differences among Western Balkan countries in terms of the structure of the workforce migrating to Germany. Consequently, he said, the effects of the quota reduction would not be the same for all countries, nor would they affect all occupations equally.

“When it comes to Albania, consideration should be given to how the country can adapt to the new circumstances, particularly in the healthcare sector, from which a significant number of qualified workers have moved to Germany. Employment in that sector involves specific procedures and requirements concerning the recognition of professional qualifications, which is why

Albania should reassess its strategy and approach to coordination,” Djokutaj said.

Noting that cooks and waiters were also among the occupations in demand, Djokutaj said that their expectations of working in Germany were often higher than what they encountered upon arrival.

According to him, workers’ success in Germany also depended on their ability to improve their professional knowledge and develop their skills in environments with a greater number of industries and economic activities. Such experience could help them achieve greater professional security and more stable incomes, while allowing them to send part of their earnings back to their countries of origin through remittances.

On the other hand, Djokutaj stressed that legal employment in Germany also brought certain long-term benefits, as years of employment were officially recorded and social security contributions could be recognized in Albania in accordance with the agreement between the two countries.