German business travel hit as Lufthansa suspends Middle-East routes after Iran strikes
German Foreign Office issues rare regional warning as Iran crisis shutters Gulf hubs
EU issues de-escalation call on Afghanistan-Pakistan clashes, warns of regional travel risk
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Germany evaluates Skilled Immigration Act and unveils “Work-and-Stay Agency” one-stop visa platform
A European Commission news release shows Germany’s Skilled Immigration Act is delivering results: nearly 18,000 “Opportunity Cards” and 838 experience-based visas have been issued, while refugee employment continues to rise. Labour Minister Bärbel Bas simultaneously announced a “Work-and-Stay Agency” that will serve as a digital one-stop shop for all skilled-worker visas and residence permits, aiming to cut processing times by more than half. The move will ease chronic labour shortages and give employers a faster, paperless route to international talent.
Bundestag passes first package of EU-aligned asylum reforms, creating ‘secondary migration centres’
Germany’s parliament has adopted a bill that brings national asylum rules in line with the EU’s revamped Common European Asylum System. Key elements include ‘secondary migration centres’ for people already registered elsewhere in the EU, fast-track border procedures of up to 12 weeks, broader detention powers and quicker access to the labour market after three months’ stay. The reform tightens control of secondary movements while giving approved applicants speedier entry to work, affecting employers and mobility programmes that recruit from the asylum pool.
48-hour nationwide public-transport strike cripples German cities and business travel
A two-day nationwide “warning strike” by the union ver.di has shut down most city buses, trams and metros across Germany from 27-28 February 2026. The action affects 150 operators and millions of passengers, with knock-on congestion on rail and roads. Ver.di is pushing for double-digit pay rises and better schedules; employers say demands are unrealistic. Business travellers and mobility managers face meeting cancellations, staff-commute disruptions and higher ground-transport costs.