German government: Kosovo citizens received most approvals and visas under Western Balkans Regulation last year

A spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) told Kosovo Online that last year the Federal Employment Agency granted 11,980 preliminary employment approvals to Kosovo citizens under the Western Balkans Regulation, while 9,253 approvals were issued to Serbian citizens. BMAS said that the quota would be reduced from 50,000 to 25,000 annually as of January 1, 2027, and that workers from the region would not be directed toward specific occupations or sectors.

The BMAS spokesperson said that the quota reduction had already been agreed in the German government’s coalition agreement, while the Coalition Committee agreed during the summer that it would take effect at the beginning of 2027.

She noted that consultations on the implementation of the measure were currently underway within the German government.

According to BMAS data, in 2025 Kosovo citizens received the largest number of preliminary approvals under the Western Balkans Regulation—11,980. They were followed by citizens of Albania with 10,345 preliminary approvals, North Macedonia with 9,917 and Serbia with 9,253. Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina received 7,525 approvals, while 980 were issued to citizens of Montenegro.

The total number of approvals issued was therefore exactly 49,000. The German Labor Ministry spokesperson noted, however, that 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.

According to the ministry, 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.

Asked whether the quota reduction would affect sectors already facing labor shortages and whether workers from Serbia and other countries in the region would in future be directed more toward shortage occupations, BMAS said that the German government did not direct workers from Western Balkan countries toward specific occupations or sectors.

Nevertheless, the jobs most commonly performed in Germany by workers from the region currently include positions in postal, courier and express delivery services, hospitality and construction, according to the BMAS spokesperson.

She said that reducing the quota would restrict this particular route of access to the German labor market, but that other pathways were available for workers from third countries.

“There are various other options for the immigration of skilled workers and other workers,” the BMAS spokesperson said, pointing, among other things, to the possibility of short-term quota-based employment and special regulations for skilled workers with recognized vocational or university qualifications.

Germany also offers specific pathways for certain categories of workers, including caregivers and professional drivers, while special rules apply to experienced skilled workers in certain non-regulated occupations.

Regarding the experiences of Western Balkan workers who have moved to Germany in recent years, BMAS said that it did not collect such data, but noted that the Western Balkans Regulation had been used extensively since its introduction.

It added that workers employed under the regulation were entitled to employment conditions equivalent to those of comparable domestic workers, in accordance with Germany’s Residence Act.

The Western Balkans Regulation allows citizens of Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and North Macedonia, under certain conditions, to move to Germany for employment regardless of their formal qualifications. The regulation was expanded in 2023, when the annual quota was increased from 25,000 to 50,000 people.