Work-and-Stay Agency: A Path to Faster Immigration of International Skilled Workers

15th January 2026 / Nuria Vila Clavell

Formal consultation process launched for the design of the Work-and-Stay Agency

Until the 28th January 2026, employers, including those in the healthcare sector, are invited to submit feedback on the planned Work-and-Stay Agency (WSA).
The aim of the agency is to act as a central point of contact (“one-stop shop”) for all parties involved, to speed up processes and to welcome international professionals to Germany sooner.

In this article, we take a closer look at the concept of the Work-and-Stay Agency: What is behind it and how can you take part in the consultation process?

What is the Work-and-Stay Agency?

The Work-and-Stay Agency (WSA) is a planned digital one-stop platform of the German federal government. Its goal is to simplify, bundle, and accelerate the immigration of skilled workers.
It is not a traditional agency like a job placement service. Instead, it is a central digital service portal that brings together and digitalises all key administrative steps related to entry, residence, and work permits.

Current challenges

The initiative responds to long-standing challenges in Germany’s skilled worker immigration system, in particular:

Ongoing shortages of skilled workers in areas such as healthcare, IT, and engineering
Fragmented responsibilities: a single procedure can currently involve more than seven different authorities, leading to delays and a lack of transparency
Many processes are still paper-based or only partially digitalised, which slows down procedures and makes them difficult to manage for everyone involved

Key objectives of the Work-and-Stay Agency

Simplifying the immigration process for skilled workers from third countries (outside the EU)
One-time submission of documents based on the “once-only” principle
Reducing the number of contacts with different authorities
Greater transparency through digital tracking of application status
Partly English-language processes to reduce language barriers

Which areas will the Work-and-Stay Agency cover?

Visa and residence permit procedures for skilled workers
Possible support for training, studies, and qualification pathways
Digital interfaces connecting all involved bodies such as German embassies, the Federal Employment Agency, and local immigration offices through a central IT structure

What the Work-and-Stay Agency (WSA) is not

It is not a new independent authority replacing existing institutions
The recognition of foreign professional qualifications remains the responsibility of the federal states and professional chambers
The WSA coordinates and connects processes, but does not replace existing responsibilities

👉 Important for healthcare employers: Professional recognition is not part of the WSA’s responsibilities and must still be handled separately, ideally in close coordination with the relevant recruitment or integration agency.

Objectives of the federal government

With the Work-and-Stay Agency, the federal government aims to bundle all bureaucratic steps in one central digital location. This is intended to:

Shorten the time until international skilled workers can enter Germany
Make processes more transparent and predictable for employers
Create an attractive, clearly structured entry point for international professionals

The WSA is designed as a “one-stop government” experience: one portal, one entry point.
It is explicitly not intended to be a new overarching authority, but a digital platform that functionally connects all involved institutions.

📅 Current status (as of January 2026)

Political decisions

On 5 November 2025, the Federal Cabinet adopted the key principles for establishing the Work-and-Stay Agency, a project outlined in the coalition agreement.
The lead ministries are the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), the Federal Foreign Office (AA), and the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI).
These three ministries have now launched a formal consultation process on the concrete implementation of the WSA.

This makes it clear: the project has moved from political intent to a concrete design phase.

Involvement of federal states and stakeholders

As outlined in the key principles, the following are now actively involved:

The federal states
Stakeholders such as employer associations and other affected actors

The goal is to collect structured feedback before making final decisions on the design of the WSA.

Key question of the consultation: centralisation – yes or no?

At the heart of the consultation is the question:

Should the Work-and-Stay Agency lead to more centralised procedures – or primarily remain a coordinating digital platform?

The ministries are particularly looking to assess:

Benefits (e.g. efficiency gains, faster procedures)
Costs and resource requirements (e.g. staff, IT, federal coordination)

To support this, the following have been provided:

An options paper with four different implementation models
A catalogue of guiding questions

Stakeholders are asked to evaluate the options and explain which models they support or reject.

➡️ This clearly shows that the final design of the WSA is still open and will be significantly shaped by political and practical feedback.

Implementation and timeline

The overall timeline remains in place but is being further defined through the consultation:

2026: Planned tender for central IT components and start of platform development
Deadline for submissions: 28 January 2026

Afterwards, the ministries will:

Evaluate the feedback received
Decide on a preferred implementation model
Begin detailed technical and organisational planning

A detailed timeline and cost plan is expected by 1 March 2026. The introduction of the WSA will then take place step by step.

➡️ This makes 2026 a key year, both technically and structurally.

🚀 What this means for employers and international skilled workers

For employers

Easier start of immigration and residence procedures
Potentially faster processing and greater transparency
Better planning when hiring international employees

For international skilled workers

Centralised online submission of documents
Digital tracking of application status
Less bureaucracy and fewer in-person appointments
Faster procedures and therefore quicker entry to Germany

The Work-and-Stay Agency as a way to speed up processes

The Work-and-Stay Agency is an ambitious digitalisation project designed to strengthen Germany’s ability to attract and integrate international skilled workers efficiently.

Although the project is still in an early planning and development phase, political support is clearly visible, and step-by-step implementation is already being prepared.

The consultation process running until the end of January 2026 clearly shows:

The WSA is not yet a fixed central authority
Several structural models are under discussion
Feedback from employers and federal states can significantly influence its design
The federal government is considering not only opportunities, but also resource and implementation risks

CWC Recruitment strongly encourages healthcare institutions in particular to actively participate in the consultation. This phase is crucial for shaping the future of international recruitment and for making immigration processes more sustainable and efficient.

Feedback on the consultation can be submitted until 28 January 2026 via the Employer Association (Arbeitgeberverband e. V.).
Healthcare facilities and employers can submit their feedback collectively through the employer association at www.arbeitgeberverband-pflege.de.

CWC Recruitment is happy to support interested organisations with advice and with preparing the content of their submission.

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